Editor’s note:
Go-Jek’s has just secured a $1.2 billion from Google, Temasek, and Meituan-Dianping. Yesterday, it’s rival, Grab is taking on the competition and is said to acquire Uber’s operation in Southeast Asia.
In 2016, Didi acquired Uber China and now it’s China’s top 1 ride-hailing company.
Does that mean Grab is going to dominate the SE Asian market?
Kr-ASIA Daily is a five-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:
Grab has been in talks with Uber to acquire the latter’s Southeast Asian operations as the company moves to tighten its grip on the rapidly growing shared transportation sector in the region, according to people familiar with the matter. (KrASIA)
Singapore: oBike has entered into a partnership with Grab. The partnership will see oBike integrate GrabPay into its mobile app, offering bike-riders an additional cashless payment option. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: City-state-based Parcel Perform, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup that enables e-commerce merchants to improve their customers’ checkout experience, closed a $1.1 million seed round led by Wavemaker Partners and joined by 500 Durians, the Southeast Asia fund of 500 Startups. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: Singapore Exchange Ltd. said it allow companies with dual-class share structures to list, a month after Hong Kong announced a similar proposal, as competition between markets for technology listings becomes increasingly fierce. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: City-state-headquartered property portal 99.co had acquired UrbanIndo.com, one of the largest real estate platforms in Indonesia, for an undisclosed sum. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Impact investment fund Patamar Capital has made its first direct investment from its women SME-focused fund by leading a round in Indonesia’s farm-to-table fresh produce distribution platform SayurBox. (Deal Street Asia)
Myanmar: Singapore-based Campana Group – which operates international terrestrial and submarine telecom network across Myanmar, Thailand, and Singapore – is raising $60 million for infrastructure development including the construction of Singapore Myanmar Cable Network (SIGMA). (Deal Street Asia)
Vietnam: Uber has appointed two new members to its Asia Pacific’s leadership team as a part of its plan to improve service quality in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. (Deal Street Asia)
Vietnam: Vietnam is dramatically accelerating sales of stakes in state-owned companies to boost revenue and ease a strained budget, while seeking to exceed its economic growth target this year. The government plans to sell 6.5 times more shares than it offered last year. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Lazada Indonesia plans to implement an electronic payment gateway system this year with technologies of its majority shareholder Alibaba. The infrastructure of the electronic gateway system will be ready for use in the third or fourth quarter – during the annual National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas). (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Uber Indonesia and Grab Indonesia have indicated they will comply with Transportation Ministerial Decree No. 108/2017 on public transportation without fixed routes. The government through the Communications and Information Ministry set up a system to monitor drivers of online-based ride-hailing companies. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: City-state-based audience data supplier Eyeota is looking to sell audience data to advertisers around the world, and it’s announcing that it’s raised $12.5 million in Series B funding for further growth. (TechCrunch)
China:
Alibaba-backed HelloBike is about to complete its new financing round of over US$ 1 billion as the bike-sharing firm is working relentlessly to strengthen its competitive position in a nascent yet fiercely rivaled industry, according to a source familiar with the matter. (KrASIA)
The government of Shenzhen has banned the deployment in its city of bikes by Bluegogo, the bike sharing start-up controlled by China’s largest ride sharing firm Didi Chuxing, citing problems with bad debts. (China Money Network)
Mobile Go, China’s in-car staff-less snack bar operator, has closed an RMB 60 million (approx. USD 9.37 million) Series A round led by Hillhouse Capital. GSJ Ventures, Didi Chuxing, and IDG Capital have also joined the round. (KrASIA)
Tencent founder Pony Ma commented on WeChat moment: Is any material equivalent to the resources consumed in producing cryptocurrencies? (tech.163)
JD teamed up with e-commerce fashion entreprise Meili United Group to roll out e-commerce platform on WeChat. (36Kr)
Wanda Group is reportedly in talks with Citibank and UBS for an IPO of its sport business. (36Kr)
Weibo launched its live trivia game, leveraging super stars and influencers to attract users. (36Kr)
China’s mobile device manufacturer, Smartisan, is set to rebrand its Chinese name as Ye Wang Technologies. (Jiemian)
Home appliance manufacturer Gree has signed US’s biggest contract of photovoltaic air conditioning. (egsea)
Jumei.com, a cosmetic shopping platform, has started campaigning for its self-service cosmetic bars. (Jiemian)
Beauty camera app Meitu announced the company is set to build a blockchain ecosystem based on AI technologies. (36Kr)
Logistics companies SF Express and STO Express’s subsidiary are set to invest RMB 2 billion (approx. USD 311 million) in Hive Box, a last mile logistics company. (36Kr)
Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao is exploring opportunities in autonomous driving and is reportedly hiring talent in the field. (The Paper)
Alibaba unveiled its AI font designer which can improve the work efficiency. (tech.sina)
JD co-led a Series C+ financing round in Yitiao, a video platform and e-commerce startup which is valued at USD 500 million. (36Kr)
World:
Uber’s food delivery branch Uber Eats has acquired New York-based Ando, a food delivery startup that makes its own food. (TechCrunch)
South Korean app Snow, the Snapchat clone app in Asia that Facebook once tried to buy, has scooped up a $50 million investment from SoftBank and Sequoia China. (TechCrunch)
More than 10 percent of funds raised through “initial coin offerings” are lost or stolen in hacker attacks, according to new research by Ernst & Young that delves into the risks of investing in cryptocurrency projects online. (Reuters)
Facebook will double the number of scientists working on artificial intelligence (AI) research at its Paris base to 60, the company has announced. (Fortune)
Google is going to create a new research center dedicated to artificial intelligence in Paris. (TechCrunch)
Apple launches Apple Music for Artists, a dashboard designed to provide acts with hundreds of data points giving deep analytical insight into their fans’ listening and buying habits. (Billboard)
The U.S. dropped out of the top 10 in the 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index for the first time in the six years the gauge has been compiled. South Korea and Sweden retained their No. 1 and No. 2 rankings. (Bloomberg)
Rupert Murdoch, the media billionaire who controls the Wall Street Journal, called on Facebook to begin paying publishers fees to carry the news that its users post and share online in a sign of the print industry’s growing frustration with social media. (Bloomberg)
HQ Trivial is now available in the UK. (tech.qq)