Happy Birthday, Sea!

2020-5-8

Dear Sailors,

Today, May 8, 2020, Sea celebrates our eleventh birthday.

Although it is not possible for us to celebrate Sea’s birthday together as we usually would, due to the coronavirus crisis, I think it is particularly valuable for us to mark this special date this year.

On our birthday, we can take a moment to look back on our humble roots and how far we have come. We have an opportunity to honour the hard work that we are all doing to sustain our robust operations even in the midst of external challenges. And we can look ahead, beyond the current storms, to an optimistic future for us all, and further commit ourselves to our long-term goals.

Our humble beginning

The coronavirus crisis represents the most severe shock to the global economy since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. I believe that many Sailors will have had first-hand experience of that difficult period. It is easy to forget now, but at that time it felt like the global economy was in terminal free fall. Day after day, all we heard was bad news about some new economic nightmare somewhere in the world. Everyone was anxious, stressed, and pessimistic about the future, as we watched history-defining crises unfolding one after another. On March 6, 2009, the Dow Jones Index dropped to 6,443.27 - its lowest level throughout the entire Global Financial Crisis. That was just two months before Sea was born.

There were days back then when we wondered if we were crazy to try to build and scale an infant business in that kind of environment. Indeed, for many start-ups it was a waking nightmare. To get a taste of how tough things were for startups in those days, you can read the now legendary presentation published by the esteemed venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, on October 10, 2008, entitled “R.I.P. Good Times”.

Venture capital investment, a critical funding source for most startups, had dried up, and that presented a significant challenge for us in our early days. Ultimately, we never did take any venture investment in those early days. Instead, we bootstrapped the business by ourselves. We worked hard and persevered, and we came out on the other side of the Global Financial Crisis as a strong and resilient business – and on those foundations we built the dynamic global company that Sea has become today.

When I look back, I can see that these challenges we faced when we started our business were actually a great gift for Sea. Because our company was born in difficult times, we had to evolve certain key qualities as we grew – humility, focus, commitment, resilience, adaptability, and prudence. These are the qualities that define our business today, and give us an innate ability to thrive despite external turbulence and uncertainties. These traits are in our genes, hardwired in Sea’s DNA – and they are more valuable to us in the current climate than ever before.

The future is here now

I have always believed that all of us at Sea were building for the future. We were laying foundations today to prepare for the needs of tomorrow. I anticipated a future where the increasing adoption of digital technology would change how people live and work. I believed that, over time, our platforms would become increasingly essential. However, I thought this change would happen gradually as people slowly embraced the benefits and convenience that technology brought to their daily lives, from entertainment, to shopping, to financial services.

But during this unprecedented lockdown, I realised that the future is here now. It has arrived much more quickly than we anticipated.

The pandemic has dramatically accelerated the shift from offline to online. It is transforming how people live in ways that are irreversible - people are adopting lifestyle changes today that will become permanent as they embrace the advantages that digital solutions offer.

We can already see this in the way that our customers are relying on our products and services during the outbreak. People are turning to games for entertainment during the lockdown, and Garena has not only been a key source of enjoyment but has also been an enabler of social interaction as our customers bond through the shared joy of online games even when they cannot meet in person. Shopee is an increasingly integral part of the commercial ecosystem in each of its markets, with consumers now relying on our platform for their staples and daily essentials and more sellers moving more of their trade to our platform. Moreover, as our economies go increasingly digital, the cashless payment and other digital financial services that SeaMoney provides are becoming a vital driver of the digital economy in Southeast Asia.

We have adapted well

The significant increase in demand for our services that we have seen during the global lockdown is stress-testing our operations like never before. It is the most significant test that we have faced since those early days 11 years ago. But if we can pass this test, we can help our communities to get back on their feet quickly - and unlock significant long-term growth opportunities for our business.

I am humbled by how our team is stepping up to address these challenges.

We have been able to respond quickly to rapid changes in the business landscape, even in spite of the physical constraints imposed by the lockdown. For example, in all of Shopee’s key markets we have launched or dramatically scaled up our offerings of groceries, health and hygiene products, and essential household items in a matter of days.

We are also doing everything we can to support economic recovery across Shopee’s markets. We launched a region-wide Shopee Seller Support Package to help merchants to get back on their feet. This includes a number of initiatives localized for the specific needs of merchants and on-the-ground conditions in each of our markets. These range from training and support programs to help new sellers move online or assist existing sellers to grow their business, to free or discounted access to vital services like advertising and marketing that enable sellers to attract new customers online. We are also reducing our fees and commissions for some of our seller services to ease the financial burden on our sellers during this most difficult period.

Meanwhile, our Garena team has quickly scaled up our capacity to meet record surges in customer demand. We have also worked hard to create new ways for our customers to engage online, from creating dedicated online esports events so that our communities can continue to interact with each other even as they play apart, to using our platform to raise awareness of health and safety best practices in fun and creative ways.

I am also proud to see how our teams have come together to get aid to where it is needed most. Across our markets, we have worked with local authorities to provide financial support, as well as essential medical equipment such as ventilators, masks, and personal protective equipment, to the hospitals and healthcare workers on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus.

Our adaptability ensures that our platforms can support our customers and ecosystem partners when they need us most, which helps us build strong bonds of affinity with these customers and partners that will outlast this crisis. This also ensures that we can continue to grow our businesses and extend our leadership, even in the most testing circumstances.

We are not only adapting well as a team, but also in a far stronger position financially. Whereas 11 years ago we watched the funding pool dry up and worried if we could get the resources we needed to scale, today we have an extremely strong balance sheet, which ensures that we can continue to drive and accelerate our growth from a position of strength.

This position of financial strength also ensures that we can continue to provide job security for all our Sailors. We do not need to reduce our headcount or reduce wages. I can assure you that nobody at Sea will be asked to take a pay cut as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Moreover, we are committed to providing financial aid to any of our Sailors whose families have been severely impacted financially by the coronavirus crisis. My fellow Sailors, if you need help, talk to your managers and write me an email. In these trying times, the wellbeing of every one of our Sailors matters deeply to me personally, and we are here to help.

We must run faster

As the coronavirus crisis has evolved, I have felt an intensifying conviction that our mission to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology matters now more than ever. I also feel a great sense of urgency.

The future has arrived, and our customers are rushing into a new digital age. Now, we need to be even quicker, more agile, and more determined than ever before if we are to keep pace with their expectations. Sea is now a globally influential company with millions of consumers and businesses around the world relying on our platforms daily. Our customers depend on us to imagine and create the digital solutions that will better the lives of everyone in our communities for decades to come. Therefore, we must work even harder than before to define and lead the new digital economy in our communities.

This is not just good for our business. We have a responsibility to our customers and our communities to guide them through this transition.

Finally on this special day, I would like to thank every one of our Sailors for your hard work and contribution. These have been challenging and stressful times - not just for our communities but for each of you personally, and your families and friends. Many of you have been working from home, making extra efforts to stay productive remotely. Others have been performing essential tasks at our offices, warehouses, and data centres, navigating restrictive working conditions. As we celebrate Sea’s birthday today, we also celebrate your drive and determination to continue serving our customers and communities even in the most difficult circumstances.

I hope all of you, and your families and loved ones, stay safe and healthy and I look forward to seeing you in person when this crisis is over.

Happy birthday, Sea!