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91APP and Shopify: Opening Taiwan’s Capital Markets to SaaS
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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above
English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2020-12-17. Translated 2026-10-21 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文
Reading guide
Robin considers Shopify the closest comparison to 91APP. At the time, Shopify had a market capitalization of US$140 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 738, and a price-to-sales ratio of 56, while 91APP offered more functionality and had greater ambitions in online-merge-offline (OMO) commerce. His broader concern is what this means for Taiwan’s capital markets. Regardless of whether someone uses 91APP’s products or services, he hopes its entry into Taiwan’s capital markets will encourage more Taiwanese SaaS companies to move forward and break free of a hardware-centered mindset. Beyond a technology landscape dominated by TSMC, Taiwan needs new opportunities for transformation, and Robin sees 91APP as a pioneer opening that door. The valuation figures reflect December 2020.
Key points
- Shopify had a market capitalization of US$140 billion and a price-to-sales ratio of 56 at the time in 2020.
- 91APP offered more functionality and had greater ambitions in OMO commerce.
- Encourage Taiwanese SaaS companies to move beyond a hardware-centered mindset.
- 91APP was opening the door to Taiwan’s capital markets for SaaS companies.
Full text — English translation
These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.
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