Editor’s note:
China’s smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi, is one of the most valuable startups in the world and it’s now eyeing an IPO.
The Beijing-based startup has chosen GoldMan Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank and is considering Chinese underwriters as well.
One of the startups in its Xiaomi Ecosystem, the world’s largest wearable devices startup Huami, has filed for a Nasdaq IPO and is likely to trade publicly before Xiaomi, potentially have an impact on the latter’s market valuation.
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:
Indonesia: Tokyo-based fintech firm Money Forward has made a significant yet undisclosed investment in Jakarta-based HR and Accounting Software Sleekr, marking the Japanese firm’s first overseas deal. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: City-state’s central bank head said on Monday he hoped the technologies underpinning cryptocurrencies such as blockchain would not be undermined by an eventual crash in the virtual coins. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: City-state-based Hatcher+, a venture investment platform, has partnered with Funderbeam to enable shares in its individual portfolio companies to be listed on the latter’s blockchain-based exchange. (Deal Street Asia)
SE Asia: Temasek-backed venture debt provider Innoven Capital on Monday said its Southeast Asia office had closed over 20 transactions in FY2017, including 18 new additions to its portfolio and four cross-border deals in collaboration with the company’s global network spanning offices in China and India. (Deal Street Asia)
Thailand: ZmyHome, a Thai real estate portal, has raised $400,000 in seed funding from Singapore-based venture capital firm KK Fund to improve its technology platform and expand its user base in the country. (Deal Street Asia)
Malaysia: Malaysia-headquarted CMS Opus Private Equity Monday said it had rebranded to COPE Private Equity, and added that as it prepares for ‘next chapter of growth’, the name change would represent a ‘fresh identity and perspective’. (Deal Street Asia)
Malaysia: Malaysian logistics startup Zoom has raised a RM4 million (US$1.01 million) in a Pre-Series A round led by Gobi Partners. Other participating investors include Cana Asia, Spiral Ventures, and Cradle Fund. (e27)
Singapore: California-based smart scooter startup Scooterson has secured US$1.75 million in seed funding from Arsat Industry. A portion of the capital will also go into hiring talent, particularly engineers, for Scooterson’s R&D team in Singapore. (e27)
The Philippines: Rappler, the Philippines digital media organization that grew into Southeast Asia’s most famous ‘new media’ company has had its news license revoked by the Philippines Security and Exchange commission because it allegedly violated the Constitution and the Anti-Dummy Law. (e27)
Singapore: JLL Singapore, the real estate and property management company, announced today that it has lead a US$3.8 million Series A round in an Indian startup named Foyr. (e27)
China:
Xiaomi has selected GoldMan Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank for its planned IPO and is also considering Chinese underwriters. (KrASIA)
Ofo announced to have sued Tencent for defamation. Tencent posted last Firday that ofo is undergoing cash woes and the bike-sharing startup has seen a sharp fall in its rides. (36Kr)
Danish toymaker Lego is teaming up with Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) to jointly develop online games and potentially a social network aimed at Chinese children. (Reuters)
Shanghai-based co-working space operator naked Hub is planning to acquire Australia’s premium co-working space provider Gravity Coworking as part of its efforts to expand its presence globally, according to a China Money Network report. (Deal Street Asia)
Ofo has confirmed in a press release that it’s launching its service across seven Indian cities: Indore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Coimbatore, and Chennai. The company noted that it will be supported by Paytm to enable mobile payments for renting out bikes. (The Next Web)
Li Xuyang, head of Tencent Anti-fraud Lab: There are more than 2000 types of token and more than 3000 platform for token trading. Crimes related to cryptocurrencies always involves large amount of fortune. (weibo)
There are only 20% bitcoin left for miners to mine until Jan 13, 2018. (Jinse)
China’s Blockchain startup PETs Chain sealed a partnership with OFID to push for the development of biological data. Team members of PETs comes from Tencent and Zynga China. (36Kr)
Suning financial institute has established a blockchain lab in 2017 to study the blockchain and its applications in the real world. (36Kr)
China is escalating its clampdown on cryptocurrency trading, targeting online platforms and mobile apps that offer exchange-like services, according to people familiar with the matter. (Bloomberg)
Google has relaunched its map service in China after an eight-year absence, signaling a new era of cooperation between the American internet giant and local partners in fields such as artificial intelligence. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Apple and Chinese technology giant Tencent have settled their tiff over tips, allowing users of Tencent’s popular WeChat messaging app to resume giving monetary gifts to their favorite video-streaming stars and content creators. (wsj)
Artificial intelligence programs built by Alibaba and Microsoft have beaten humans on a Stanford University reading comprehension test. (CNN)
JD launched a platform allowing users to sell golds on it. (Toutiao)
Baidu-backed live streaming company iQIYI has reportedly filed for a U.S. IPO and seeks to raise $1 billion. (tech.163)
JD launched its household products brand Jing Zao. (36Kr)
Live streaming platform Huajiao rolled out a feature allowing teams to participate in its live trivia games. (Weibo)
Wang Huixing, Tencent VP: Tencent is relying on its partners for the innovation of blockchain technologies. Tencent provides an open platform and technical support. (egsea)
World:
Blockchain game startup CrytoKitties has closed a $70 million Series A round led by QuantumFund, joint by ConsenSys Ventures, DouleRock and Google’s subsidiary fund. (36Kr)
Gurgaon-based tech-enabled logistics services provider Rivigo Services Pvt. Ltd has raised Rs 322.5 crore ($50 million) in a Series D round, which saw its valuation soar to near-Unicorn levels. (VCCircle)
SoftBank Group aims to list its mobile phone unit SoftBank Corp. in Tokyo and overseas this year, possibly bringing in some 2 trillion yen ($18 billion), one of the largest initial public offerings ever for a Japanese company. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Cryptocurrency investors in South Korea will be fined for refusing to convert their virtual accounts into real-name ones, financial authorities said Sunday. (Yonghap News)
Autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai, founded in late 2016, raises $112M Series A led by China-focused VC funds Morningside Venture Capital and Legend Capital. (Techmeme)
Telegram plans to raise $1.2B in its ICO, starting with a $600M pre-sale, and to rival Ethereum with its Telegram Open Network platform, company documents show. (Techmeme)
BlackBerry launched a new cybersecurity software, which identifies vulnerabilities in programs used in self-driving cars. (Reuters)
