Rocket Internet-Backed Car Listings Site Carmudi Raises $25M To Fuel Growth In Asia And Mexico

(GNN) - Carmudi, a car classifieds site that focuses on emerging markets, announced today that it has raised $25 million to gear up its operations in Mexico and several Asian countries. This round, Carmudi’s second, includes Asia Pacific Internet Group (a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Ooredoo), Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures, as well as an undisclosed private investor.

This brings the total Carmudi has raised so far to $35 million. Its last funding round was in April 2014. The company, which was founded in 2013 and now operates in 20 countries, will use the funds to expand in seven Asian markets (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam) as well as Mexico.

The company’s other markets are spread throughout Africa and the Middle East and include Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.

Carmudi co-founder and global managing director Stefan Haubold says that the company plans to add more countries to its roster, but hasn’t decided which ones yet. Its latest round will be used to invest in product technology, in particular making its mobile app easier to use, and scaling up operations in Asia and Mexico.

The site currently has a total of 300,000 listings for vehicles worldwide, and claims five million users a month. Carmudi’s Android apps were rolled out last year, and it launched a iOS version earlier this month.
Carmudi’s mobile apps have been downloaded 300,000 times so far. In total, mobile visits now account for about 60 percent to 70 percent of its total traffic, which is important because the company is targeting markets where many users access the Internet primarily through smartphones or tablets.

Haubold claims that Carmudi is now the top car classifieds site in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Asia, alternatives to Carmudi’s service include local car listings and classifieds sites in each market.

Haubold says his company differentiates through its mobile apps, which let buyers upload photos and descriptions of their cars; services like loan calculators; and inventory sweeps that clear out listings after a certain length of time (60 days for most listings and 45 for ones placed by dealerships) so buyers see fresh inventory.

In some Southeast Asia markets, Carmudi’s rivals include iCar Asia, which grew last year by making acquisitions of smaller car classified sites in Thailand and Indonesia. Haubold does not consider iCar Asia a competitor, however, because Carmudi has newer listings and operates in markets that do not overlap with iCar Asia.

Carmudi monetizes through listing fees, but is currently focused on expansion and growth, says Haubold.
Rocket Internet has been busy building a network of e-commerce services and marketplaces throughout Southeast Asia, including many (real estate classifieds platform Lamudi, price comparison site Pricepanda, and car-calling app Easy Taxi) included in the Asia Pacific Internet Group’s portfolio. This creates online and offline (in the case of logistics) networks that may eventually help each individual startup scale up faster.

PCB to approve new constitution

#GNN - #KARACHI: The #Pakistan #Cricket Board is set next week to adopt a new constitution intended to make the appointment of its chairman more democratic and weaken political influence.

The changes come as the board prepares to hold a fresh election to end a long-running power struggle for the top job.

"The amended constitution is approved by the Supreme Court and is a truly democratic document and will guarantee an end to the uncertainty in the PCB," acting chairman Najam Sethi said Tuesday.

The post of PCB chairman has changed five times since May over an electoral dispute.According to the new constitution, the holder of the post --

which was previously filled by the government of the day -- will now be elected from a ten-member Board of Governors.

Observers say the move will weaken the influence of the national prime minister because he will only nominate two of the board´s ten members.

Sethi has announced he would not contest the election but would remain part of the board.

The new chairman must hold a bachelors degree, be a citizen of Pakistan and have a clean criminal record.

A PCB chairman will be elected for a three-year tenure but can be voted out by the board. He may be re-elected once.

The International Cricket Council had warned member countries of sanctions unless they ended government interference in the sport by June 2013. But the body later backed down on the warning, saying it was not viable in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where governments have a major say in cricketing matters. (GNN)(AIP)(AFP)

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YouTube ban: Resolution unanimously passed in National Assembly

PPP MNA Shazia Mari presents a resolution seeking removal of ban on YouTube. CREATIVE COMMONS

ISLAMABAD: A resolution seeking the removal of the ban on YouTube was unanimously passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday, GNN News reported.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Shazia Mari presented the resolution in the session of the National Assembly today.

The government had blocked the video-sharing website YouTube in Pakistan on September 17, 2012, following a controversial film.

During the session, State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar suggested that a committee be formed to decide whether the ban should be removed or not.

Mari protested, demanding immediate action from the government in this matter and said it affected students and businessmen negatively.

PPP MNA had previously stated, “It is really disappointing that the government is ignoring this issue and trying to shift responsibility. YouTube is a source of knowledge for a large population of Pakistanis, particularly students and young professionals.”

Today, Tarar further stated that government wanted to lift the ban on YouTube and said that it was not possible to remove all the content considered ‘objectionable’ from the internet or YouTube.

Government will not be an obstacle in this and will support the initiative to lift the ban, claimed Tarar.

No date has been given as to when the ban would be removed as yet.

Other countries

“Pakistan is the only Islamic country where YouTube services are blocked,” Mari told Media.

Other Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia who had also imposed a ban on the video-sharing site for the same reason unblocked it after taking necessary measures, she explained asking for an uplift of the ban.

She further added that after launching next generation services such as 3G and 4G there is no reason to block YouTube.

Institutional matters: ‘Courts should not interfere in ECP affairs’

“The election system of Bangladesh is the best [in this region],”, former election commision secretary said.

BAHAWALPUR: “The election commission should have been an independent body in Pakistan, like it is in Bangladesh,” former election commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad said on Monday.

Dilshad was talking to media people at Bahawalpur Press Club. He said the commission should be empowered to take binding decisions with regard to elections. He also demanded the creation of more provinces on administrative basis, and the ‘restoration’ of Bahawalpur province. He said the 18th Amendment had stripped the chief election commissioner of all powers. Dilshad said in 2008, the election commission had stopped using judicial officers for election duty. However, the Supreme Court intervened and appointed returning officers from the judiciary. He said many returning officers had failed to comply with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

“The election system of Bangladesh is the best [in this region],” Dilshad said. The voters are truly empowered…the ballot papers carry an additional box, which is checked, means that the voter thought none of the candidates worthy of his or her vote, he said.

If that box is checked in 40 per cent of the ballots cast in an area, the candidates are disqualified from participation for the next five years, said Dilshad.

Dilshad said candidates should be required to open a separate bank account for electoral expenses…this way they can submit accurate details of campaign expenses to the Election Commission. In India, once the election commission issues a schedule for elections, no court can stop it, Dilshad said. If the schedule needs to be changed, the election commission deals with the matter.

He said the ECP should be independent and there should be no interference from the courts. In 2013, the then chief justice had addressed returning officers and written letters to them which he should not have done. Dilshad said the Bahawalpur province must be restored in recognition of the sacrifices of the Nawab of Bahawalpur.

Published in GNN & Tribune, May 6th, 2014.