Under the Radar: 99 Group’s CEO Darius Cheung on the opportunities and challenges for proptech firms in Southeast Asia and how short-term volatilities could weigh on demand

Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

The property market is in focus today as we speak to a leading real estate technology company that operates real estate portals across South East Asia.

Launched in 2014 as 99.co, our guest 99 Group was conceived during the 2008 US mortgage subprime crisis, an event which the firm believed was “born out of desire and misinformation”.

The founding team at 99 Group hence made it a point to make the company into a simple and trusted platform to un-complicated the property journey.

This can be seen in the firm’s positioning strategy, where it aims to differentiate itself from other property search websites through its user-friendly designs, with features including price analysis data, finance planners, smart filters, as well as the ability to search by map or commute time.

Fast forward to today, 99 Group is said to be one of the fastest growing property portal firms in the region, with a presence in both Singapore and Indonesia.

The group is said to specialise in digital property advertising and has a portfolio of three brands: namely its flagship 99.co property portal and SRX.com.sg right here in Singapore, as well as 99.co/id and Rumah 123 in Indonesia.

So far, 99 Group said it has achieved what it described as solid growth, with revenues of US$17 million recorded for 2023, a CAGR of 47% since 2019.

But what are the key trends the firm is capitalising on to take it forward and which are the markets with the biggest potential in the region? And what are the challenges for proptech firms even as Southeast Asia rises as a hotbed for property technology or proptech innovation?

Meanwhile, the ongoing narrative about interest rates in the region continues to weigh on home buyers’ and investors' minds. So how far has this influenced the types of listings that appear on 99 Group’s platforms and how is the firm attracting and showing the right listings to its consumers to increase retention and action?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Darius Mahtani Cheung, Founder and CEO, 99 Group.

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