Professional online networking service LinkedIn announced on May 31 that it will open its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore, serving over 18 million members in the region and Japan. The office, due to start operations in June, will drive the company’s expansion and be the launchpad for future growth in the region. An office in Japan set to open later this year.
Leading LinkedIn’s push in the region is Arvind Rajan, the Managing Director and Vice-President, Asia Pacific and Japan. He is tasked with increasing revenue from recruitment licensing solutions, advertising sales and member subscriptions.
So why Singapore, compared to countries with bigger markets in India? According to Rajan, the country was chosen because of its role for attracting the region’s best talent, and the company sees it as an ideal entry point into the local regional markets.
“We are establishing our regional headquarters here to serve as a gateway to the rest of the region, to enhance local market understanding, and to develop further strategic relationships,” Rajan said in a press release.
“We intend to focus our efforts on delivering the best product experience for our members in their careers, the brand marketers who want to reach them, and the recruiters who are looking to hire the best talent,” he added.
Admittedly, Singapore has a much smaller user-base compared to India, but Rajan said in an interview with ZDNet that Singapore’s high user-penetration and vibrant economy were key factors in LinkedIn’s decision to plant itself here – a choice made at the end of 2010, before the company went IPO earlier this month.
“It’s not just the Singapore market by itself, but Singapore has access to customers that have a regional responsibility. So I’m not only selling to a particular company for their needs in Singapore, but their needs across the region, which makes it so exciting,” he said in the interview with ZDNet.
LinkedIn earlier this month went public in what was the biggest Internet IPO since Google in 2004. On May 19, its first day of trading, it opened at $83 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 84% from its IPO price of $45. At the end of the first trading day, LinkedIn was worth $8.9 billion, sparking warnings from Wall Street pundits of another Internet bubble.
As of May 27, the company has a market cap of $8.35 billion.
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