SEA
The recent merger between Grab and Uber has resulted in higher prices and has infringed the Competition act as suggested by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore. There is a possibility the merger could be undone if concerns are not addressed. (KrASIA)
Food tech startup HungerBox has secured $4.5 million Series A funding led by South Korean investment firm Neoplux and India’s private equity fund Sabre Partners. The funds will be used to cultivate rapid growth in India and for its Sotheast Asian expanision. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesian venture capital firm Alpha JWC Ventures has submitted an SEC filing for its new $100 million fund meant to bring to the global stage more Indonesian companies and to capitalize on opportunities in backing visionary founders in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. (Deal Street Asia)
Retail CP All Pcl, subsidiary of Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont is considering bringing its wholesale operations to China and India to capitalize on the large consumer base. (Deal Street Asia)
China
Douyin, known as Tik Tok outside of China, is changing course to launch an official program in an aim to better tap and manage influencers that have been attracting a large swathe of traffic for the hype-popular short video app, as the app is currently undergoing a break-neck growth speed. (KrASIA)
Decent Capital, established by Tencent Holdings co-founder Jason Zeng Liqing, will initially target fintech startups in Singapore, offering opportunities for technical knowledge to be passed between China and Singapore. (SCMP)
China’s Bitcoin tycoon Li Xiaolai slammed some of the most well-known players in the crypto space which include NEO, Tron, Ripple, and Binance in a leaked 50-minute long recording. (TechNode)
Beijing-based short-term property management startup City Home has received US$5 million from Airbnb China, also known as Aibiying in China, to improve its apartment offering and services. (China Money Network)
Chinese venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners wants to increase its investments in Southeast Asia, prioritizing the consumer internet space. (Deal Street Asia)
Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation has backed Beijing-based medtech startup LinkDoc Series D round, and the startup has raised $151 million, pushing its valuation to more than $1 billion. (Deal Street Asia)
Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has started trading cryptocurrencies in Australia, starting July 5. The exchange has initially started with ten trading pairs which include bitcoin, ethereum, litercoin, ethereum classic and bitcoin cash. (China Money Network)
Matrix Partners China has invested in Hangzhou-based biopharmaceutical company Adlai Nortye Biopharma’s US$53 million series B round. (China Money Network)
Rest of Asia
Samsung Electronics estimated its Q2 earnings grew at the slowest pace in more than a year due to weak smartphone sales. (Reuters)
World
The US is still the single largest market for all-time App Store downloads and spends with 40.1 billion downloads counting from when the marketplace was started 10 years ago, according to a recent report by app analytics firm App Annie. (KrASIA)
Uber and Lyft seem to be pursuing crowdsourced bus startup Skedaddle. Skedaddle has been in talks with Uber over an acquisition, while a company spokesperson from Lyft told TechCrunch Lyft is not in discussions to acquire Skedaddle. (Techcrunch)
Telecoms firm Altice’s Portuguese unit is partnering with Huawei to roll out 5G networks in the country, propelling the country to become a European leader in 5G. (Reuters)
Gadgets
Apple is reportedly planning to release this fall three iPhone lines, a 5.8-inch iPhone X, a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, and a 6.1-inch iPhone with Face ID. (TC)
Good News Bad News
Bike-sharing operator oBike has crossed the 4 July deadline set by LTA to remove its bikes and has appointed liquidators, working together with the LTA, to retrieve the company’s bikes. (Channel News Asia)