Singaporean Mobile Marketplace Carousell Launches Hong Kong Property Platform
by Ruby Leung
Carousell, a Singapore-based online marketplace, announced on Monday the official launch of a property listing platform in Hong Kong.
The startup is partnering with Hong Kong companies, including Midland Realty, one of the city’s biggest realtors, to provide listings of local and overseas residential and industrial properties for sale and rent through its Carousell mobile application.
The platform, called Carousell Property, also includes a variety of services, including Home Services (home repairs, moving, renovation), Home & Furniture (furniture, gardening) and Kitchen and Appliances, as well as a chat function to talk directly to merchants.
Since its soft launch in 2019, Carousell Property has seen increasing interest as part of a rise in demand for online shopping. “For a city like Hong Kong that pursues speed and efficiency, shopping on a one-stop marketplace like Carousell Property will help consumers save time,” said Cahill Kei, head of business development of Carousell Hong Kong, in a statement. “The Carousell Property marketplace gives merchants access to more consumers, and makes the entire process, whether you are renting or buying, easy and seamless.”
In addition to Midland Realty, other Hong Kong companies Carousell is partnering with for Carousell Property include moving company Going Moving and co-working company Metro Workshop. Carousell Property said it will be focusing on co-working spaces for the second half of this year.
Carousell was cofounded by Marcus Tan, Lucas Ngoo and Siu Rui Quek in 2012. Since then, Carousell has grown into a platform with more than 250 million listings. In 2016, Ngoo and Quek were honored as part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.
The startup is backed by Norwegian mobile operator Telenor Group, South African tech giant Naspers and venture capital firms Rakuten Ventures and Sequoia India. Carousell mainly operates in Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.