Daily Briefing: South Korea-based Shinsegae invests in Grab; Company fined $6,000 for illegal fruit, vegetable, processed food imports

And KKR’s Asia-Pacific managing director Terence Lee quits after 10 years.

From DealStreetAsia:

South Korean retailer Shinsegae Group has invested an undisclosed amount in Singapore-headquartered Southeast Asian ride-hailing superapp Grab, according to local reports.

The funding has been reportedly routed through the retailer’s newly formed corporate venture arm Signet Partners, which has also invested in companies like the US-based fashion brand Entireworld, and fashion tech firm Ably Corporation in its home market.

According to The Korea Herald, it is Grab’s wide reach in Southeast Asia that caught the fancy of Shinsegae. The retailer continues to spot significant opportunities in the ride-hailer’s mobile platform adoption.

The report added that Shinsegae is scouting for investment opportunities in the startup ecosystem, both at its home and overseas overmarket, to expand its operations.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

A company was fined $6,000 on 17 February for illegally importing fresh fruits, vegetables, and processed food for sale, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

This comes after SFA officers detected 187.5 kg of undeclared fresh fruits and vegetables and 584 kg of undeclared processed food in consignments imported from Malaysia by Chai Yuen Di Vegetable during an inspection in February last year.

All the items were seized.

SFA said food can only be imported by licensed importers and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit.

“Illegally imported food products are of unknown sources and can pose a food safety risk,” said SFA.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

Terence Lee, KKR & Co.’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, has resigned from the buyout firm after 10 years, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Lee, who is based in Singapore, led the firm’s technology, media, and telecommunications private equity and growth equity investments in Southeast Asia.

Following his departure, he has also stepped down from the boards of companies where he represented KKR, said one of the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private. Prior to his resignation, Lee sat on the boards of companies including Voyager Innovations Inc. in the Philippines, PropertyGuru Ltd. in Singapore, Gojek in Indonesia, and Weststar Aviation Services Sdn. in Malaysia, according to the company’s website.

He also served as a member of the firm’s global impact investment committee.

Read more here.