Rakuten, a Japan-based online retailer, has started a $10m corporate venturing fund to invest in south-east Asia.
Toru Shimada, executive chairman of Rakuten Asia and head of its Startup Strategic fund, told news provider Tech In Asia: “Within Asia, we already have e-commerce businesses in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan and plan to expand further in south-east Asia. We not only invest in start-ups in Asia but also [those with] business synergies.”