Go-Jek is reportedly recruiting executives for its venture arm which will make strategic investments in startups to support its growth, Deal Street Asia reports on Wednesday.
KrASIA Daily is a three-minute read to brief you everything you need to know to start your day. We only choose the latest tech & startup news that is worth your time, with a focus on Southeast Asia and China.
Southeast Asia:
Indonesia: Indonesia’s mobile on-demand services and payment platform Go-Jek has expanded into the venture capital space by setting up its own VC arm, according to industry sources. (Deal Street Asia)
The Philippines: Ride-hailing company Grab Philippines is planning to impose a fee on riders for trip cancellations. (Rappler)
Indonesia: According to 36Kr sources, Indonesian Accommodation booking site Travelio recently announced completion of a US$4 million round of financing led by Vynn Capital with participation from Stellar Kapital, Insignia Venture Partners, Indogen Capital and Fenox Venture Capital. (KrASIA)
Singapore: CCRManager, a Singaporean company that facilitating for the trade industry, announced today it has raised a US$6.5 million Series A led by Francis A. Rozario, who used to lead Temasek investments in Asian banks. (e27)
Singapore & Indonesia: Singapore-headquartered SportsHero, a real-time fantasy sports app and social prediction platform, has announced expansion into Indonesia, with a fully localised user experience and user acquisition strategy. (e27)
Singapore: Two Singaporean virtual reality content firms announced this week a rare acquisition in the industry resulting in one of the largest VR production companies in the region. The acquiring firm is named Vostok VR and it will be buying TaKanto Virtual Reality. The two brands will maintain operations in the market. (e27)
China:
Tencent-backed WeDoctor, a diagnosis and appointment booking platform founded in 2010, announced on Wednesday it has raised US$500 million from a consortium led by AIA Company Ltd at a valuation of US$5.5 billion. (KrASIA)
China’s second-largest online retailer JD.com has acquired 10% of Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed China Logistics Property Holdings (CNLP) for HK$899 million (US$114.52 million), according to CNLP’s security filing. (CMN)
ZTE Corp’s main business operations have ceased due to a ban imposed by the U.S. government, but the Chinese firm is trying to have the ban modified or reversed, it said in exchange filings late on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Flash Express, a Thai-Chinese logistics service, announced it has raised 10 million dollars from Banyan Ventures, adding that the company plans to inject 2.5 billion baht (around 77.9 million dollars) over five years to expand its network in Thailand and other SE Asian countries including Laos, Malaysia, and Myanmar. (KrASIA)
China’s fastest expanding coffee brand Luckin Coffee, announced the official opening on May 8, after establishing 525 stores in 13 Chinese cities during its 4-month trial run, poised to further eat into Starbucks’ market share with its aggressive internet-enabled business model. (KrASIA)
Chinese internet giant Tencent signed a trade deal with Britain to work with its cultural industries, deepening cooperation between the two countries and setting the stage for its own further international expansion. (Reuters)
Chinese fashion-focused e-commerce platform Meili Inc is seeking $500 million in an initial public offering targeted for the second half of this year, people with direct knowledge told Reuters. (Reuters)
The phrase “Sluggish sales of…” and a picture of an unfortunate old man making poor sales of its local produce have gone viral. The Beijing Youth Daily claims that a handful of online marketplace merchants are abusing his dramatic face expression that arouse people’s empathy in an attempt to increase sales. (Technode)
World:
Walmart Inc agreed to pay $16 billion for a roughly 77 percent stake in Indian online marketplace Flipkart, the U.S. retailer’s largest deal as it opens up another front to battle rival Amazon.com Inc in one of the world’s fledgling e-commerce markets. (Reuters)
Facebook instituted its biggest executive shakeup in its 15-year history this week, appointing new leaders for WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook’s core app while giving other longtime Facebook executives new responsibilities, including a new effort to tackle blockchain technology. (Recode)
Amazon is launching a new chain of showrooms it’s calling the Amazon Experience Centersacross Lennar model homes to demo and help sell its smart home devices, Amazon Dash Buttons, and other consumer electronics services such as streaming Prime Content with Fire TV. (TechCrunch)