U-Hop is the second largest ride-hailing service in the Phillippines after Grab, according to Deal Street Asia. It currently has 10k drivers on its platform.
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:
The Philippines: Filipino-owned transport network vehicle service (TNVS) firm U-Hop has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: M17 Entertainment, a company that includes 17 Media, a Taiwanese live streaming service and Singaporean dating app Paktor, has is hoping to raise US$115 million public on the New York Stock Exchange. (e27)
Singapore: Fullerton Healthcare Corp., the medical service provider that shelved plans for a Singapore initial public offering in 2016, is now aiming to sell shares in the U.S., people with knowledge of the matter said. (Deal Street Asia)
China:
Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing service, has suspended its Hitch, one of its carpooling services, for one week as it investigates the murder of a passenger. (TechCrunch)
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to help ZTE Corp “get back into business, fast” after a U.S. ban crippled the Chinese technology company, offering a job-saving concession to Beijing ahead of high-stakes trade talks this week. (Reuters)
Huawei, the world’s third-biggest handset maker, is releasing BTC.com’s bitcoin wallet in its AppGallery, according to Alejandro de la Torre, BTC.com’s vice-president of business operations. (SCMP)
Beijing-based Xiaomi said on Friday that it has requested the Patent Re-examination Board, under China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), to invalidate three patent rights that Coolpad unit Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific had claimed were infringed by the world’s fourth-largest smartphone supplier. (SCMP)
Alibaba Group Holding has joined Chinese travel service provider Ctrip.com International, Ltd. to invest RMB400 million (US$63 million) in a series D1 round of financing in Meiweibuyongdeng, a mobile app that helps restaurants better manage their bookings and customer wait times. (China Money Network)
Singapore-based global provider of logistics solutions GLP said that it had established a RMB10 billion (US$1.6 billion) investment fund dedicated to investing in the logistics sectors in China. (China Money Network)
Tencent’s WeChat has ordered the suspension of Xiao Xieyi (小协议) or “Mini Contract”, the first-ever blockchain mini-program on the messaging platform. (e27)
On-demand video streaming platform iQiyi has inked an exclusive three-year deal with American independent film production company FilmNation, granting it exclusive rights to all of FilmNation’s content in mainland China. (Technode)
World:
Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retailer, could be forced to publicly list its newly acquired Indian e-commerce company, Flipkart Group, within four years at the request of a small minority of Flipkart shareholders, a public filing shows. (Bloomberg)
Too many cryptocurrency clients and fewer cloud computing orders than expected underwhelmed Nvidia Corp investors on Thursday, although the graphics chip maker said a supply shortage that hit its core video game audience had eased. (Reuters)