SINGAPORE - Three homegrown companies have made it to Deloitte's 2017 Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500 - an annual ranking that tracks the fastest-growing Asia-Pacific companies based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth over a three-year period.
Software firms vKirirom and Sense Infosys came in 28th and 151st respectively, having experienced revenue growths of 1421 per cent and 362 per cent over the past three years. Meanwhile, Wireless communications outfit Yourwifi rounded out the trio of Singapore companies, ranking 292th with 174 per cent growth.
The rankings were led by Tencent-backed Wuhan Douyu Network Technology, which has grown at a rate of 70,776 per cent over three years; the second-highest growth captured since the rankings began 16 years ago.
Wuhan Douyu develops and operates Douyutv.com, a live game streaming video platform similar to Amazon's Twitch. "We are seeing a large increase in revenue generated from mobile entertainment for Chinese technology companies," said Toshifumi Kusunoki, Deloitte leader, Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific.
Wuhan Douyu's growth comes as many Chinese companies have tapped the growing digital penetration in China as seen from Chinese firms claiming five of the top 10, and 119 of the top 500 positions in the 2017 rankings.
Deloitte's China technology media and telecommunications managing partner, William Chou, said: "The generations born in China after 1990 show a much higher propensity to consume, rather than save, due to lower aversion to credit and a greater acceptance of digital payments."Therefore companies that are focused on providing China's millennials with inexpensive entertainment options, such as gaming and live streaming, or those focused on eCommerce and fintech, are continuing to succeed." However, the revenue growth was not restricted to Chinese companies as the top 500 averaged an revenue growth of 600 per cent in 2017, beating 2016's average revenue growth of 573 per cent. In addition, the top 10 companies achieved an average revenue growth of 11,995 per cent in 2017 as both groups recorded the highest revenue growth figures since 2008."The Asia-Pacific region continues to be at the forefront of revolutionary digital change," Mr Kusunoki said.
Other companies that made the top 10 were focused on mobile entertainment, digital finance and fintech, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
Of the firms in the rankings, software firms continued to dominate sector growth with 212 companies in the top 500, up from 199 last year. Hardware was the second most prevalent sector accounting for 18 per cent of the ranked companies.
The Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500 covers a range of sectors including software and hardware tech, clean technology, media, communications and life sciences. It includes firms in Australia; China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan; India; Japan; South Korea; Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
