“We see immense growth potential in Malaysia, mostly on the back of deep smartphone penetration ...”
TANG SIEW WAI, Carousell Malaysia country head
MOBILE classifieds marketplace Carousell Malaysia expects to close a partnership agreement with a local financial institution by yearend.
Newly-appointed country head Tang Siew Wai said though the finer details were still in discussions, the agreement would include a payment gateway, such as an e-wallet.
“We are keen on the idea of an e-wallet as an option for payments on our platform, but we are also aware that the e-wallet space in Malaysia is congested,” he said here recently.
“We are in discussions with a local financial player towards this end, but are unable to release any details yet.”
Malaysia is within the group’s top three key markets, right alongside Singapore and Hong Kong, and has the best potential for growth.
The group is present in seven markets, including Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.
“We see immense growth po- tential in Malaysia, mostly on the back of deep smartphone penetration, young demographic and a strong desire to participate in the online marketplace,” said Tang.
A total of 17 million listings are on Carousell Malaysia as at the end of the year, with five million items sold, while the average amount a “carouseller” in Malaysia had earned since its December 2014 launch is some RM4,800 per month.
The group saw 144 million listings with 49 million items sold collectively through its seven markets.
Carousell also raised US$85 million (RM340.28 million) in its Series C funding held last month, pushing the group’s value to some US$500 million.
Tang said some of the US$85 million was allocated towards its Malaysian presence to beef up its technology and localise its offerings.
When it comes to monetising the platform, Carousell Malaysia do not take a cut from its sellers, but relies on advertising and sponsorships.
“We profit through traditional advertising or through partners who want to take advantage of our heavy traffic.
“We also offer a service called Carousell Bump, in which a user can push their spot up on the listing page for a fee,” said Tang, adding that its monetisation model was unlikely to change anytime soon.
Going forward, Tang believes that the digital marketplace will be even more robust on the back of the government change.
“Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is very business-friendly. Part of the new government’s initiative is to lower the price of broadband services here,” he said.
“On the back of these two factors, we believe that the growth potential for e-commerce businesses here is immense.”