Brief: WeChat rules out payment services for non-Chinese users

A man pays with WeChat Pay at King Power, a duty-free retailer in Thailand. / Photo credit: Tencent

WeChat Pay marches on overseas without targeting locals (China). Tencent’s payment service admits that winning over local users in foreign countries is hard due to WeChat’s lack of scale in those areas. Over the next three years, the payment behemoth plans to leverage its popularity back home and stay focused on outbound Chinese tourists. It also won’t introduce new digital wallets to serve overseas customers during this period. (South China Morning Post)

Other news

Lionbridge Capital pockets US$150 million (China). Baidu joined Sunshine Insurance Group’s Riverhead Capital Investment to back the automotive financing startup. Lionbridge will work with its two investors in areas including AI-powered risk control, intelligent driving, internet-of-things vehicles, and financial services. (China Money Network)

Tiger Brokers nets US$80 million in series C round (China). The Xiaomi-backed online stockbroker raised the funds from Prospect Avenue Capital, Orient Hontai Capital, and Oceanpine Capital, catapulting its valuation to over US$1 billion. Tiger Brokers will use the proceeds to boost its technology infrastructure, hire new staff, and speed up the development of its global asset allocation platform. (China Money Network)

Government eyeing US$67 million from licensing cryptocurrency exchanges (The Philippines). The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) is charging applicants up to US$360,000 as a one-off licensing fee. In addition, CEZA will collect a 0.1 percent cut on every transaction that takes place on approved exchange platforms. (Coindesk)

Ucommune makes another acquisition (China). Formerly known as Urwork, the co-working space provider has bought out Shanghai-based Workingdom for US$45 million. The deal marks Ucommune’s fourth M&A move since this year. (ChinaVenture)

Photo credit: Moladin

Moladin racks up US$1.2 million (Indonesia). Participants in the round included East Venture, Berjaya Group, and Ethos Partners. The new funds will allow Moladin, an online platform that provides product reviews and other services to motorcycle riders, to expand its team and grow across Indonesia. (Moladin)

SmartVizX pockets US$1.45 million in pre-series A raise (India). The round was led by YourNest Venture Capital, with Indian Angel Network’s IAN fund also participating. The fresh capital will enable the virtual reality startup to recruit new staff, boost development capabilities, and expand overseas. (Inc42)

Tata Motors buys 26 percent stake in TruckEasy (India). Tata Group’s commercial-vehicle maker plans to gain a foothold in mobility services through the undisclosed investment. TruckEasy, an Uber-like logistics startup, claims to have served over 8,000 customers by partnering with more than 3,000 truck drivers. (Inc42)

Inke shares jump 12.2 percent on IPO (China). The livestreaming platform opened at HK$4.32 (US$0.55), surpassing its HK$3.85 initial offering price. Its peers – Tencent-backed Douyu and Qihoo 360-backed Huajiao – are also reportedly mulling IPOs. (Tencent News)

See: Previous Asian tech news