– SINGAPORE, Singapore – Sea Limited today announced a US$550 million new round of investment in the company for continued growth. The majority of the new capital will be invested in the growth of its e-commerce platform Shopee, with a focus on key markets such as Indonesia. Shopee has more than doubled in size in the past nine months and now has an annualized gross merchandise value exceeding US$3.0 billion.
Founded in 2009 as Garena Interactive Holding Limited, Sea is the company’s new brand at the corporate holding company level to reflect its leadership across multiple platforms.
“Garena is a brand that is beloved across our game ecosystem, our Shopee brand has become synonymous with e-commerce in our region, and AirPay is quickly becoming a leader in digital financial services,” said Sea Founder, Chairman, and Group CEO Forrest Li. “We cherish these three brands, and are now embracing an overall identity for our entire company.”
“Our new name draws inspiration from the acronym for our region, symbolizing our strong ‘home court advantage.’ In addition, the sea connects every one of our markets, symbolizing our corporate motto of ‘connecting the dots.’ Finally, Sea is a humble, authentic word that evokes the pioneering spirit of exploration – a wonderful symbol of our corporate values,” added Li.
Investors in the round included:
- Cathay Financial Holding Co., Ltd., a leader in the insurance, securities, and banking industry in Taiwan;
- GDP Venture, a leading growth investor focused on the Indonesian consumer internet industry and an existing investor in Sea; Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C., a global institutional asset management firm;
- Hillhouse Capital, a global firm of investment and operating professionals who manage over US$25 billion in assets on behalf of institutional clients such as family offices, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, and U.S. and European university endowments and foundations;
- JG Summit Holdings, Inc., one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines;
- President International Development Corporation, an investment arm of Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, which is one of the largest food conglomerates in Asia and also one of the largest retailers in Taiwan.
“We see tremendous growth opportunities for Sea in Greater Southeast Asia across each of its three platforms,” said Lei Zhang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Hillhouse Capital. “We are excited to partner with an exceptional management team to build and grow the business over the long-term.”
“Sea is a leader in Taiwan’s digital transformation,” said Joseph Tsai, Vice Chairman of Cathay United Bank. “Sea’s support for eSports has been recognized at the highest levels in Taiwan, and has helped Taiwan in turn become a global leader in this high-growth industry.”
“The Sea management team has a proven track record of strong execution across multiple markets and multiple internet business categories. We look forward to participating in their ongoing success,” said G. Raymond Zage III, Partner at Farallon and Chief Executive Officer of Farallon Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.
“We are excited to be deepening our partnership with Sea, which is playing a key role in supporting Indonesia’s economic growth by empowering e-commerce sellers in our country,” said Martin Hartono, CEO of GDP Venture.
“We look forward to working closely with Sea to deepen its presence in the Philippines and to nurture the growth of our country’s eSports and e-commerce ecosystems,” said Lance Gokongwei, President and Chief Operating Officer of JG Summit Holdings.
“Shopee’s remarkable rate of growth underscores Sea’s commitment to inclusive economic development,” said Tony Su of President International Development Corporation. “We look forward to deepening our existing partnership with Sea and to supporting its continued growth.”
“We are delighted to welcome this distinguished group of investors to Sea,” said Group President Nicholas A. Nash. “Our new partners share our passion for serving the consumers and small businesses of Greater Southeast Asia, as well as our deep belief in the power of technology to transform our region’s economies.”
In parallel, Sea today announced the appointment of three senior advisors:
- Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo joined Sea as a senior non-business advisor in 2016. From 1988 to 2011, Mr. Yeo served for 23 years in the Singapore Government, including as Minister of State for Finance, then as Minister for Information and the Arts, Health, Trade and Industry, and Foreign Affairs.
- Former Indonesia Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu joined Sea as a senior advisor in 2017. Prof. Pangestu served as Indonesia’s Minister of Trade from 2004 to 2011 and as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2011 until October 2014.
- Pandu Sjahrir joined Sea as the Chairman (President Commissioner) of its Indonesia operations in 2017. He founded and now currently serves as a Director of PT Toba Bara Sejahtra Tbk, which received the “Best of The Best Indonesia Companies” award from Forbes magazine in 2013. “We are honored to welcome these exceptional individuals to Sea,” said Mr. Li. “Their wisdom and experience as leaders in our region will play an important role in our continued organizational growth.”
About Sea Limited
Sea’s mission is to better the lives of the consumers and small businesses of Greater Southeast Asia with technology. Greater Southeast Asia includes the key markets of Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, which collectively had 585.5 million people and US$3.0 trillion of GDP in 2016.
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