{
  "id": 12816835,
  "title": "Beyond marketplaces: Commerce.Asia leads Malaysia's social commerce shift",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/beyond-marketplaces-commerce-asia-leads-malaysias-social-commerce",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-08T07:02:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/feature/2026/10/1550479/beyond-marketplaces-commerceasia-leads-malaysias-social-commerce"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: Commerce.Asia has emerged as Malaysia's leading force in social commerce, winning recognition at the PIKOM Digital Excellence Awards 2026 for their comprehensive approach to online trade. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape where consumers discover products through content, livestreaming, and affiliate marketing, traditional marketplace management is insufficient. To thrive, businesses now need a strategic partner capable of engaging customers across all digital channels. This is where Commerce.Asia comes in, led by CEO Wilson Leong.\n\nLeong emphasizes that Commerce.Asia's success stems from its ability to provide end-to-end support for brands, covering everything from distribution and warehousing to livestream content networks and digital payments. Unlike other players that specialize in isolated components like logistics or basic checkout software, Commerce.Asia operates as a unified ecosystem, seamlessly integrating all aspects of online commerce into one platform.\n\nThe company's expertise is demonstrated through two notable success stories: Milk Diapers, which grew from zero to millions in revenue within a year, and AKEMI, which scaled an existing business 30-fold from 2019/20 to end-2025. Commerce.Asia took on the entire distribution, marketplace strategy, warehousing, and fulfillment process, allowing brands to focus on their core products while leaving the operational complexities to the experts.\n\nA key differentiator for Commerce.Asia is its Unified Payment Platform, which won the Fintech category at the awards. This platform enables merchants to accept payments across all their online sales channels, registered as a non-bank merchant acquirer with Bank Negara Malaysia. Leong envisions this capability as an opportunity for Malaysian companies to build real, sustainable social commerce expertise and serve brands across the region.\n\nLooking ahead, Leong stresses that the industry must mature alongside changing consumer behavior by treating social commerce as a mature, sustainable capability rather than just a passing trend. Commerce.Asia is well-positioned to lead this transformation, providing brands with the end-to-end support they need to succeed in the dynamic world of social commerce.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Winning the E-Commerce (Managed Service) category at the PIKOM Digital Excellence Awards 2026 validates a deliberate shift in how businesses handle online trade.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}