Hong Kong start-up delivery app Lalamove received $10m with help from Thai investor

POPULAR Hong Kong-based delivery app Lalamove has received US$10 million with the help of a Thai investor, pushing its total funding to US$30 million.

Asia PlusGroup Holdings, along with several other existing investors, has injected the US$10 million in Lalamove, completing its third round of fund-raising and propelling it towards expansion.

Lalamove, also known as EasyVan and Huolala, depending on which country it operates in, is an on-demand logistics company, specializing in “last-minute” deliveries in Asia. They currently offer services from 21 cities throughout Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore.

The company has been targeting profitability this year, and CEO Shing Chow said the funding will help it “accelerate” towards a series of city expansions in China and Southeast Asian countries.

Launched in Hong Kong in 2013, Lalamove began as a small start-up working out of Chow’s apartment, but has expanded rapidly since, securing big-name clients such as Google, Ikea and, recently, communications app LINE.

Although Lalamove – which calls itself an “Uber for Logistics” – began as a consumer-facing app, it has been getting more attention from large enterprises due to its efficiency and good track record.

Chow told Tech in Asia that large corporations are also seeing the “value of having things delivered faster to their clients” and added that with Lalamove, they can use “flexible, on demand” drivers.

Chow said: “There is so much potential in making delivery more efficient as mobile internet is changing the way mobile assets are utilized… [This funding] is really a vote of confidence from our existing investors in our model and team.”

Asia PlusGroup Holdings’ CEO Dr Kongkiat Opaswongkam said this was the first time the Thai company has invested in such an app, adding that it demonstrates just how much confidence it has in Lalamove’s success.

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