Hi there, it’s Robin.
This week has been a roller coaster ride for the tech companies in China, with many ups and downs. It also sets the tone for the future of the tech scene in the Southeast Asia region.
In a recent Mary Meeker’s report, Chinese internet firms have finally caught up with the Americans, accounting for close to half of the top 20 global internet companies in terms of market capitalization.
Following this remarkable statistics, China has officially announced on Wednesday, the introduction of CDR trial rules in a bid to win back the likes of Alibaba and Baidu from the U.S bourses.
Is this the tipping point? Who will take on the global technology leadership role in the future?
These could be some of the questions in the minds of many.
Coincidentally, as if to give a prelude to what the future holds, China welcomes the rise of another unicorn, Hellobike.
E-commerce in China has given way to the new retail concept, coined by Jack Ma.
With Alibaba appointing Beijing as the test center for its development this week, Alibaba is well on track to achieve its vision of the future.
Other hotly contested sectors in China don’t seem to offer much respite.
For instance, the Tencent – ByteDance feud continues to heat up even more, with Tencent-backed Kuaishou acquiring AcFun amidst escalating competition with Douyin and Alibaba looking to invest in Toutiao, further fueling the ‘war’.
The same can then be said of the Southeast Asia region.
Quickly enough, Go-Jek gets an offer of an additional $ 1 billion in investments by Friday to boost its war chest to compete with Grab within the region.
Moreover, the competition can get even stiffer, with Chinese giants eyeing a share of the 600 million population market.
For example, in the biggest deal this week, Ant Financial raised its first $14 billion dual tranche funds, consisting of both existing investors and notable foreign institutional investors, with an aim to accelerate its expansion into the region.
Singapore-based Bigo also received a $272 million boost in Series D funding from YY Inc, a Chinese live streaming social media platform, in its quest for international expansion, implying an intensifying for the nearby region.
Read on to find out more interesting stories from last week, and feel free to tip us if you have news clue or you just want to talk with us, email us at KrASIAofficial@gmail.com and we’re looking forward to hearing from you.
Here are some stories you shouldn’t miss.
China
Post bike-sharing frenzy, this startup raises $10M from IDG to test fridge-sharing in China
Didi now serves 550m users 30m rides per day, growing against Meituan challenges
Tencent-backed Twitch-like Douyu reportedly files for $700m HK IPO
This decentralized social network raises $16m to take on, Facebook?
Southeast Asia
For the first time, Grab reveals annual revenue to be over $1 billion
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