TIA Indonesia to streamline operations, wind down its Bahasa website

[SINGAPORE] Regional tech news publication Tech in Asia (TIA) is winding down its Indonesia product, it announced on Tuesday (Jul 1).

The closure of Tech in Asia Indonesia’s local language publication will be effective Jul 15, as TIA streamlines its operations.

Founder and CEO Willis Wee stressed that TIA “is not pulling out of” Indonesia, adding: “We are still fully committed to covering and supporting (Indonesia’s vibrant tech ecosystem), and we’ll maintain our operations and team members in Indonesia to support this, including hosting our annual events.”

The main change is discontinuing the Indonesian-language publication, he said.

Wee said that the publication will be sharpening its focus on TIA International.

“After careful consideration, we saw that some of our initiatives either don’t align with these more focused strategic goals or haven’t gotten the traction we hoped for,” he said, in a letter to readers published on the website.

Wee added that the current economic climate has also added more pressure.  

“While we’ve made changes and tried new ideas where possible, our current cost structure isn’t sustainable. These tough but necessary decisions are meant to give Tech in Asia a stronger path forward,” he said.

In total, after including the streamlining of other teams, 18 per cent of TIA’s team will be affected. They will be given severance packages that meet local requirements, and support will be offered to help them in this transition – including allowing them to keep their laptops, TIA said.

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SPH Media, which acquired TIA last year, said it supported TIA’s decision to restructure its operations. 

“The move is aimed at sharpening focus on regionalisation and ensuring the sustainability of the business in a challenging media and economic environment,” it said in a statement.

“This restructuring reflects a prudent business decision to ensure Tech in Asia remains focused, agile, and aligned with growth areas. Tech in Asia remains an important asset in our portfolio,” it said.

In a personal note to staff, Wee said he intends to focus on getting TIA back to profitability as soon as possible, as well as to continue its R&D efforts in artificial intelligence and automation to support SPH Media’s tech initiatives.

All TIA Indonesian subscribers will automatically be transferred to a TIA International Premium subscription, and will gain full access to all international English-language content. 

These subscribers will continue to pay their current Indonesian subscription price, and the preferential rate will apply for as long as their subscriptions remain active, said TIA.

There is no action needed, as their access will be upgraded automatically.