Thank you and happy holidays!

2021-12-24

Dear Sailors,

What a year 2021 has been – thank you all for working so hard to make it a successful one for Sea!

Looking back, I’m proud of many things we have done this year. First among them is how much effort all of you have put into helping the communities we serve weather this pandemic. Although vaccines have helped to improve things, mutations in the virus have presented challenges in many countries, and I was glad to see our teams swinging into action to see how we could help. Just a few examples among many: partnering with local governments to support vaccination and contact tracing efforts, launching Frontliners Packages for essential workers, and using our platforms to distribute aid and essential information quickly and efficiently – all meaningful work with real, tangible benefits for our communities.

I was also encouraged by how, in the face of the continuing pandemic, all our businesses have doubled down on helping the under-served improve their lives through technology. We have bolstered efforts to partner with local agencies to provide infrastructure, training and assistance in markets like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. This work is more important than ever. Whether helping rural villagers and farmers understand e-commerce, providing opportunities to the next generation of coders and game designers, or using our platforms to distribute financial assistance digitally, these efforts help ensure that, as the world goes increasingly online, groups are not left behind.

These developments make me happy because they show how we stay true to our core values of We Serve and We Commit: facing challenges alongside our communities of users, as their partners in overcoming adversity.

The second thing I am proud of is how well and how quickly our businesses have adapted to operating in this “new normal”, where the pandemic continues to result in periodic restrictions and lockdowns around the world. Even in this tough business environment, you have all managed to continue setting records each quarter! As of the third quarter of this year, Free Fire continued to be the highest grossing mobile game in Southeast Asia, Latin America and India; Shopee still ranked first on multiple app metrics across Southeast Asia and Taiwan, while also making encouraging progress in Brazil; and SeaMoney’s mobile wallet services showed triple digit year-on-year growth. These are great results!

I believe this success is driven by our unwavering belief that we can use technology to overcome almost any challenge. Garena, for instance, did not let travel restrictions dampen this year’s Garena World event, by making it fully virtual and using augmented reality, animation, visual effects and other technologies to provide fans with an immersive experience. The event was a huge success, generating an online attendance of 1.2 million and more than 40 million views in total, with 39 teams from around the world competing in game tournaments. Shopee, too, held the second season of the Shopee Code League this year, now the largest online code league in Southeast Asia and Taiwan and attended by over 15,000 participants from 8 countries – demonstrating that we can continue to grow the international digital talent ecosystem even without physical travel. And SeaMoney has focused on how to provide maximum safety and convenience for users in a contactless world, partnering with numerous online and offline merchants, from mom-and-pop stores to franchise businesses.

These results tell me that we have also stayed true to our core values of We Adapt and We Run: recognising that change is the only constant in the digital age, and that even as things shift rapidly around us, we can remain nimble and find a path to success.

The third thing I am proud of is all the work our teams have done to bring the real world and online world closer, resulting in more meaningful community engagement in both. Garena is pushing the envelope to make esports, one day, as ingrained in mass culture as physical sporting events, and continues to find ways to delight users both with internal game enhancements and by partnering with real-world franchises such as Venom and Sao Paulo Fashion Week. Shopee remains committed to growing e-commerce capabilities in the real world, providing free training and opportunity projects in multiple markets to help develop digital entrepreneurial skills among the young. And SeaMoney rolled out new features allowing users to see real-world store promotions in their vicinity, and purchase vouchers in the app to redeem immediately at physical outlets – driving significant extra footfall for retail merchants who have suffered a loss of business due to lockdowns.

This is evidence of our continuing commitment to keeping our users at the center of everything we do: identifying what each community uniquely needs most, where the most fruitful partnership opportunities are, and then working hard to deliver on both.

What I hope we can all take away from this year derives from our final core value: We Stay Humble. It is the reminder that doing good in the world can also make business sense. In 2021, we have stayed true to our purpose and desire to serve the under-served and better lives through technology, and also done well commercially. If we continue to be relentlessly committed to doing what is best for our users, I do not think we will go wrong.

Looking ahead, 2022 promises many exciting things for Sea. We are exploring new markets with Shopee, in Poland, France, Spain and India. Garena, riding on its incredible track record with Free Fire, is continuing to provide new and exciting entertainment content and partner with more game studios globally. And SeaMoney, after a year of excellent results, is further expanding its partnerships with merchants to make our mobile wallet platform an enduring one across our markets.

Sailors, you have given it your all this year, and I know that many of you are continuing to work at full speed even as the holiday season arrives. I urge you, when you can, to also find time to rest and recharge. We are in a marathon, not a sprint, and I want you to come back refreshed and excited to take on the new year.

In my holiday note to you a year ago, I said I believed that 2021 would bring us to even greater heights than 2020. With your perseverance and effort, that has indeed happened. Onward now to 2022, together!

I wish you and your loved ones a joyful end of year season!