Editor’s note:
A year ago, forty-two local drivers sued Uber and Careem for illegally using private cars as taxis. The Egyptian drivers also claimed that the two companies were registered respectively as a call center and an internet company. In March, a local court made a ruling on the lawsuit, ordering the government to suspend the two company’s licenses.
Then the two ride-hailing companies applied to another court which give its permission to the two companies to continue operations.
KrASIA 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:
SE Asia: South Korean conglomerate SK Holdings is the latest to be revealed as an investor in Singapore-headquartered Grab’s latest funding round. (Deal Street Asia)
Razer, known mainly for gaming laptops and peripherals, expanded its ecosystem with the launch of Razer Game Store, an online game distribution platform. Razer Game Store will compete with Steam and Amazon, but wants to grab the attention of gamers with perks like the chance to earn more credits in Razer’s zSilver loyalty program, plus exclusive discounts on games and Razer hardware. (TechCrunch)
The Philippines: Transport network company (TNC) Grab Philippines said its acquisition of Uber assets and the full transition of accredited Uber drivers to the Grab platform will push through even with the ongoing antitrust investigation on the merger. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has reduced its ownership in Vietnam’s budget airline VietJet Air (VJC) to 4.97 per cent and is no longer a major shareholder of the carrier. (Deal Street Asia)
Malaysia: Malaysia-based digital content provider PopDigital has acquired two Malay language social sites, Buzzkini.com and Salaam.tv. (Deal Street Asia)
China:
South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group plans to raise a 280 billion won (US$264.8 million) fund to invest in Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing Technology Co., according to Korean media reports. (China Money Network)
China’s quality control authority conducted an extensive investigation into the quality of dockless rental bikes and uncovered startling results. Some of the bicycles we rent every day are not as safe as we thought. (Technode)
While its rival Alibaba is taking a lead in China’s social credit rating industry with Sesame Credit, Tencent is zooming in on the credit structure in a sector it’s dominating: gaming. The world’s largest game developer by revenue just launched a credit rating system for online game players, according to an announcement made on its Weibo. (Technode)
Kuaishou, a leading short video platform in China, is planning to add around 3,000 content checkers (in Chinese) to its existing 2,000-member team in order to help filter content deemed illegal or inappropriate by the authority. (Technode)
A Dubai-based cryptocurrency company called Alibabacoin Foundation has rebuffed allegations of trademark infringement brought against it by the giant Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group Holding in a U.S. lawsuit. (Reuters)
Chinese car rental company eHi Car Services Limited (NYSE: EHIC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be taken private by a consortium led by eHi Car’s CEO, Ray Ruiping Zhang, for US$937.5 million. (China Money Network)
Like many financial companies, Ping An Insurance (Group), mainland China’s second largest insurer by premiums, is using face and voice recognition systems to combat fraud. (SCMP)
China’s central bank fined Alipay for inappropriate behavior in marketing and customer information protection. (36Kr)
XU Jiayin, the founder of China’s real estate giant Ever Grande, might have invested in EV maker Faraday Future. (36Kr)
Smartphone maker Gionee is reportedly undergoing a capital chain crisis as the company has spent RMB 6 billion in advertisements. (36Kr)
NetEase‘s game ID5 went rival, ranking on top of the iOS free app and game lists. According to NetEase, the game has already over 10 million players. (36Kr)
China’s Nongfenqi, a loan company dedicated to farmers, raised a Series C round worth over RMB 100 million. The round was led by Zhiyi VC with participation from investors including InnoVen Capital, BAI, and Shunwei Capital. (36Kr)
Tencent issued a white paper on TBaaS (Tencent Blockchain as a service), stating its TBaaS will create business value as a smart platform based on cloud computing and blockchain technologies. (36Kr)
World:
An Egyptian court ruled on Saturday that a judicial decision to suspend the licenses of ride-hailing companies Uber and Careem should not be applied, allowing them to continue their work, judicial sources said. (Reuters)
California’s public utility regulator signaled it would allow self-driving car companies to transport passengers without a backup driver in the vehicle, a step forward for autonomous car developers just as the industry faces heightened scrutiny over safety concerns. (Reuters)
Facebook is suspending a data analytics firm called CubeYou from the platform after CNBC notified the company that CubeYou was collecting information about users through quizzes. (CNBC)
India’s central bank barred banks on Friday from having any links to virtual currency dealers, slashing the prices of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies on local exchanges. Pakistan’s central bank said in a separate statement late on Friday that crypto-currencies were not legal in the country. (CNBC)