99 Group bags US$52m in fresh funds, eyes SEA expansion

Real estate technology company 99 Group has secured US$52 million in a Series C round, of which US$37 million was committed at the first close. The remaining US$15 million will be raised over the next months, bringing 99 Group's total capital raised to over US$80 million, more than doubling it. The proceeds will be used to expand into new Southeast Asian markets as well as continuing to invest in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as leading industry innovation and research. The lead investor is private equity fund manager Gaw Capital Partners.

With the expansion of its business, the company aims to continue its mission in building the “simplest and most trusted” property platform in Southeast Asia, to better serve all its stakeholders including agents, developers, homeowners, sellers and buyers.

99 Group will focus marketing efforts in Singapore to increase the number of homeowners who have access to its Homeowner 360 platform. With the use of this tool, homeowners will be able to track their property gains, receive an estimated value for their property using the company’s X-Value methodology, and have improved insight into their property payback expenses.

99 Group will also collaborate closely with its agent partners in Indonesia to provide customers with a better purchase experience. In order to assist purchasers in determining the affordability of their real estate purchase, it created the Simulasi Gaji KPR (affordability) tool. By assisting users in understanding their budget from the start, 99 Group intends to simplify the process of helping customers find their future home.

The business also plans to increase its workforce in Singapore, Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Bali, and other SEA cities. According to the job listings on 99.co, the 99 Group is actively hiring for positions such as frontend engineer, site reliability engineer, and finance executive. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has contacted 99 Group to inquire further about the funding.

Darius Cheung, CEO of 99 Group, said the company sees tremendous opportunities in these uncertain global markets and its conviction in Southeast Asia’s growth remains steadfast. "This is the perfect timing to raise capital as we have established leadership in core markets and are ready to expand to new markets with all the technology, experience and operational capabilities we have built. Having a strong balance sheet will also allow us to react with agility and decisiveness to potential M&A opportunities, which we predict are going to come in abundance,” he explained.

99 Group operates four major property platforms across Singapore and Indonesia, including 99.co, Rumah123.com, srx.com.sg and iproperty.com.sg. In 2019, the company had acquired iProperty and Rumah123 portals as well as received US$8 million from their parent company REA Group. The following year, 99 Group secured real estate portal and data provider, SRX including all the shares of its parent company, StreetSine Singapore. According to 99 Group, it has seen over eight times growth in sales from 2019 to 2022, and over four times growth in traffic to 30 million per month over the same period.

Humbert Pang, managing principal, head of China and co-chair of alternative investments of Gaw Capital Partners said: “We are very bullish on Southeast Asia, and the investment in 99 is a natural testament to that. It offers us great synergy to help us scan the market for investment opportunities and unparalleled go-to-market capabilities for our projects.”

“In every market, there is always the cornerstone marketplace in proptech where the center of gravity is - the super app of property, if you will. We saw that with Beike early and see that now with 99. With the long runway of growth in Southeast Asia, we believe 99 can be the natural player to consolidate the regional market in the coming years,” said Herbin Koh, director, head of venture and growth equity at Gaw Capital.

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