Experience the wonders of Pandora through first-of-their-kind animatronics,
state-of-the-art audio and visual experiences as well as interactive multisensory elements, only at Avatar: The Experience

31 October 2022 – The much-awaited immersive walkthrough event, Avatar: The Experience, officially opened on 28 October 2022, at Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. The limited-time event is inspired by the film, Avatar, the highest-grossing film globally of all- time.

Set in front of the iconic cascading waterfalls at Cloud Forest, Gardens by the Bay, the official opening ceremony was attended by Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Mr. Heng Swee Kiat and hosted by Cityneon Holdings. The event was co-hosted with Gardens by the Bay, with senior representatives from filmmakers James Cameron and Jon Landau’s Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney Location-Based Entertainment also in attendance.

Avatar: The Experience, set within the visually stunning iconic Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, will elevate guest visits with impressive interactives and striking content throughout five different zones. Interactives include the debut of a life-size animatronic banshee with real-time reactions to guests. Additionally, guests will be introduced to a puppet baby banshee and baby viperwolf handled by expert docents providing unique photo opportunities for this event. The path continues with exciting installations throughout the venue and a first look at an artistic sculpt representation of the new marine Ilu creature from the upcoming film, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Lightstorm’s President of Franchise Development, Ms. Kathy Franklin said, “We are excited that this unique experience at Gardens by the Bay here in Singapore has given guests of all ages a new way to enjoy the wonders of Pandora. Setting Avatar: The Experience amongst the landscapes of Cloud Forest has created a truly immersive journey, one that was creatively inspired and made possible by a global collaboration of teams. We look forward to welcoming Avatar fans from around the world.”

Executive Chairman & Group CEO of Cityneon Holdings, Mr. Ron Tan said, “It is an honour to transform one of Singapore’s most iconic venues, the Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, into Avatar: The Experience, the first-ever around the world. This endeavour can only be made possible with the trust and support from our collaborators at Disney Location-Based Experiences, Lightstorm Entertainment, the Singapore Tourism Board, Gardens by the Bay, and the dedicated team members from Cityneon globally.”

Chief Executive Officer of Gardens by the Bay, Mr. Felix Loh said, “We are thrilled that people in Singapore will be the first in the world to enjoy Avatar: The Experience. Over the past month, our horticulturists have collaborated closely with all teams to infuse our Cloud Forest with the world of Pandora. We hope visitors are as excited as we are to be a part of this extraordinary event.”

Avatar: The Experience will take place in Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay from October 28, 2022 to March 31, 2023. Operating hours are from 9 am to 9 pm daily. Admission tickets to Avatar: The Experience start from $23 and are available for sale to the public by the official ticketing partner, Klook. www.klook.com

Tickets are also available through official venue partner, Gardens by the Bay. www.gardensbythebay.com.sg

For more information please visit: www.AvatarTheExperience.com

ShopBack today announced that it has entered into a subscription agreement with 65 Equity Partners for US$80 million of equity capital in an extended Series F funding round. The announcement follows an earlier US$80 million tranche led by Asia Partners in July 2022, bringing its ongoing Series F round to a total of US$160 million.

The raise will provide the Group with additional capital in its bid to build the leading shopping and rewards platform across the Asia Pacific region. The capital will be invested into launching new shopping products for users, developing growth and payments solutions for merchant partners, extending its services to more markets, and building capabilities for public market readiness.

“We are thankful to have successfully raised an oversubscribed fundraising round during these tumultuous times, underscoring strong fundamentals of the ShopBack business model. Our new partners bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge which will be critical for the next phase of our journey. We are excited to welcome onboard the 65 Equity Partners team and look forward to a fruitful and fulfilling partnership in the years to come,” said Henry Chan, Co-Founder and CEO of ShopBack Group.

“Over the coming months, we will be rolling out features that will enhance the shopping experience for our users, while to our merchant partners, we remain a trusted growth partner, delivering cost-effective marketing solutions to support their growth aspirations,” Chan added.

The Group has made significant advances in product innovation and regional expansion this year. In January, it launched ShopBack Pay, where over two million users in Singapore and Australia can now check out conveniently at more than 3,000 merchant outlets. Last December, ShopBack acquired hoolah, a leading “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) player in Southeast Asia, as part of its foray into financial services. In August, it launched its cashback service in Hong Kong.

Following the investment, 65 Equity Partners will join ShopBack Group’s Board of Directors and play a direct role in supporting the Group’s public readiness efforts. The completion of the raise is subject to customary regulatory approvals. 

“We are excited to partner ShopBack in their next phase of growth, as the company further strengthens its position as the leading shopping and rewards platform in the Asia-Pacific. This investment aligns strategically with our mandate of supporting high growth businesses led by founders and entrepreneurs in their continued business development, as well as facilitating their potential listings on the Singapore Exchange,” said Tan Chong Lee, Chief Executive Officer of 65 Equity Partners.

ShopBack also recently strengthened its management bench to spearhead its growth efforts, bringing on board Chief Technology Officer San Oo from communications giant Slack Technologies,Commercial Managing Director Alessio Romeni, formerly Chief Revenue Officer of fashion ecommerce powerhouse Zalora, and Global Accounts Managing Director Alexander Yardley, who previously headed up commercial leadership roles at Agoda and eBay Inc.

Malaysia & Singapore, 02 August, 2022 – Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform CARSOME Group Inc (CARSOME) recently celebrated its seventh year anniversary, off the back of over 260,000 completed transactions since inception and millions of customers served through its platform. Since its establishment in 2015 with the mission to bring trust, choice and transparency, CARSOME has innovated the used-car market through data and technology and become a household brand in the region that brings consumers an alternative to buy and sell their used car.

CARSOME’s journey started seven years ago. Co-Founders Eric Cheng and Jiun Ee Teoh (JT) met over a coffee chat, talking about their exhausted used car buying experiences as two frustrated customers. Soon they realized such an experience was not just common; it was a norm. Both of them decided to find a solution.They knew that the process had to be standardized, made digital and with a customer-first approach in Southeast Asia. Then they created CARSOME, with the mission of transforming and reinventing the car transaction and ownership experience in the region by bringing trust, choice and transparency to customers.

This mission remained unchanged for the past seven years, from the first car sold through the platform to the 260,000th and beyond. Today, CARSOME has built a trusted and liked household brand in the region with millions of customers served through its platforms. CARSOME has grown into the region’s largest used car e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia measured by either transaction volume or value, selling more than 18,000 cars per month totaling more than US$1.7 Billion annualized value.

Key Milestones and Achievements

From Malaysia to Regional. CARSOME was bootstrapped from Malaysia by launching a wholesale business in 2015 and its first consumer-facing Inspection Center in 2016. CARSOME grew fast in its home market and soon became the top used car platform in Malaysia in 2018. They further expanded into Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand in 2016, 2019 and 2020, and today CARSOME is leading by market share in every market they are present in. Markets outside Malaysia also become CARSOME’s strongest growth engine and are expected to contribute to more than 40% of group revenue by end of this year.

From Wholesale to Retail. CARSOME test-launched retail business in Malaysia with its first consumer-facing Experience Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Within less than two years, CARSOME’s retail business has expanded into all four countries and become its fastest growing business, delivering more than 10x growth year-on-year and becoming an important pillar in addition to existing wholesale business. Today, it’s already contributing to more than 25% of group revenue and is expected to contribute to about half of the group’s revenue in the mid-long term. Recently, CARSOME also launched PJ Automall, one of the biggest offline Experience Centers in Malaysia to further strengthen its retail business, as well as online-to-offline hybrid offering for customers.

Expanding “Phygitally”. CARSOME continued to expand footprints with more than 120 consumer-facing Inspection and Experience Centres across 4 countries, interconnected through logistics hubs. In 2021, launched the region’s first and largest state-of-art inspection and reconditioning center – which CARSOME’s employees voted for the name: CARSOME Certified Lab in Malaysia with a monthly 2,000+ cars reconditioning capacity. The company expects to launch 3 more CARSOME Certified Labs by the end of this year, which will also cover retail reconditioning demand in Indonesia and Thailand.

Launching CARSOME Academy. In 2021, CARSOME established CARSOME Academy in Malaysia and welcomed the first batch of students. The programme, championed by its Co-Founder JT, offers Malaysian youth technical training and guaranteed career opportunities upon graduation. It is officially accredited as a Recognition of Prior Achievement Center by the Department of Skill Development under Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources. CARSOME also launched CARSOME Academy in Indonesia and Thailand in 2022 to further promote automotive workforce and job opportunities in the region. As of today CARSOME Academy has provided courses to more than 1,500 students totaling more than 6,000 hours of training.

Growing CARSOME Family. In 2022, CARSOME acquired a couple of strategic partners. It completed acquisitions of iCar Asia – the region’s largest online auto classified platform; WapCar – the region’s leading auto content and social media platforms; and 51% of Cartimes – Singapore’s award-winning and leading car dealership with decades of operating experiences. As a group, CARSOME now manages more than 14 Million monthly unique visitors and more than 20,000 dealers. CARSOME is now able to bring together the best solutions powered by integrated data assets, to better deliver our promise to customers in the region.

Staying “hungry” for data. Data and technology innovation are at the core of CARSOME’s business, underpinning growth and profitability, and driving decision making. CARSOME has been constantly hungry for data and strengthened technology capabilities to provide enhanced transparency and optimized user experience. The past years’ transaction history, inspection records and customers’ digital footprints had helped build the region’s largest proprietary transaction dataset among used car e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia. This has led to a series of core competitive advantages such as demand evaluation, automatic pricing algorithm, personalized content and offerings.

Winning Digital Bank License in Malaysia. Recently, CARSOME also won one of Malaysia’s first batch of digital bank licenses, as part of the consortium led by KAF Investment Bank. The consortium is committed to explore various ways of partnership, with the purpose of driving financial inclusion in Malaysia and beyond.

Propelling CARSOME into the Future

In Southeast Asia, cars are not just for mobility, it creates extra income, encourages freedom and allows for better jobs. CARSOME will continue to serve customers, focusing on solving real problems and building a business that enriches their lives.

More recently, CARSOME announced the appointment of football legend, Eric Cantona, as its brand ambassador. As one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Cantona and CARSOME both share a common drive in their relentless spirit to go above and beyond for their fans and consumers.

Cheng concluded: “Despite the current climate of an ongoing global recession, growth in demands for used cars continue to remain strong in Southeast Asia. At CARSOME, we are optimistic about our prospects and expect a strong growth in this sector for the next five years, driven by factors such as a rising middle class, increasing car penetration and rising digitalization.”

Cheng concluded: “Despite the current climate of an ongoing global recession, growth in demands for used cars continue to remain strong in Southeast Asia. At CARSOME, we are optimistic about our prospects and expect a strong growth in this sector for the next five years, driven by factors such as a rising middle class, increasing car penetration and rising digitalization.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Singapore, 14 July 2022 – Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, CARSOME, today announced the appointment of football legend, Eric Cantona, as its brand ambassador. As one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Cantona and CARSOME both share a common drive in their relentless spirit to go above and beyond for their fans and consumers.

In his capacity as ambassador to the brand, Cantona will take an active involvement in CARSOME’s upcoming promotional activities this year as well as group-wide advertising campaigns in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand where CARSOME is the market leader.

CARSOME Co-founder and Group CEO, Eric Cheng explained that Cantona’s relentless spirit to go above and beyond for football fans embodies the company’s drive to further elevate the car ownership experience and have CARSOME as the trusted platform for buying or selling a car.

“We are excited to have Eric Cantona onboard as CARSOME’s brand ambassador. I believe Eric’s personification of victory and fearlessness displayed throughout his life and career will bring us to even greater heights in the used car market as we continue to deliver trust, transparency and choice to our customers,” Cheng said.

Dubbed by fans as ‘King Eric’, Cantona’s commanding, unpredictable, yet charismatic presence on and off pitch saw him leaving a legacy in the history of football and remains an influential figure till today. He was the key piece of the puzzle in solving Manchester United’s goal-scoring troubles in his debut season. His instrumental role in breaking the club’s championship dry spell after 26 years of trophyless seasons is very much likened to CARSOME as a brand that set out seven years ago to redefine the used car industry, at a time when customers deeply lacked trust in the used car market.

Fast forward to 2022, CARSOME has set an industry standard for customers to purchase quality assured pre-owned cars through CARSOME Certified. With this, customers can experience a hassle-free car buying experience and go home confidently with quality refurbished cars which have gone through a stringent 175-point inspection and vigorous refurbishment process. The first in the market to offer a one-year extended warranty and five-day money-back guarantee, with up to 30 brands of cars to choose from, CARSOME shares Cantona’s boldness to break the barrier of normalcy to stay on top of the game and be a leader.

Cantona’s one-of-a-kind determination also personifies CARSOME’s unyielding journey in transforming the car transaction and ownership experience in Southeast Asia by delivering the brand promise of bringing trust, transparency, and choice, to consumers and dealers through our technology platform and deep expertise.

“I am pleased to see the progressive and innovative work done by a market-leading Southeast Asian brand like CARSOME. I am confident that our partnership will introduce more car buyers to high industry standards set by CARSOME Certified, and subsequently welcome them to a world where the car ownership journey is a trusted and pleasant one,” Cantona added.

The CARSOME x Cantona campaign officially kicks off in Malaysia and Indonesia today, while it will be introduced to Thailand in the near future. For more information and updates on Cantona’s future events, stay tuned to CARSOME’s website or social media pages.