A $70b tech giant is shaking up food delivery

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Hello readers,

In the red corner is the popular Sea-backed Vietnamese food delivery platform Now. In the green corner is Southeast Asian food delivery and ride-hailing giant Grab.

Who will emerge as Vietnam’s leading food delivery platform? Read the full article to find out or scroll down for a quick summary of the two players.

But before that, take a look at the quick bytes of the day:

1️⃣ ByteDance investors look to finance TikTok bid with stakes

ByteDance investors are in talks to bid for short-video platform TikTok by exchanging their stakes in the parent firm for equity in the TikTok assets that are for sale, which could be valued between US$25 billion and US$30 billion. Some of ByteDance’s investors, including General Atlantic, are competing to take a majority stake in the TikTok assets. Under their plan, Microsoft and Oracle could get a minority stake in the assets.

2️⃣ Tencent nears $1.3b deal to take Leyou private

Chinese tech giant Tencent is close to taking Hong Kong-listed gaming firm Leyou Technologies private in a deal that would value the gaming company at about US$1.3 billion. The parties are discussing an offer price range of HK$3.30 to HK$3.40 for each Leyou share. Meanwhile, Leyou’s major shareholder, Charles Yuk, plans to sell his entire stake in the company. Yuk held about 69% of Leyou shares as of the end of December.

3️⃣ Taiwan tells Alibaba’s Taobao to re-register or leave

Taiwan gave the local unit of ecommerce platform Taobao six months to re-register as Chinese-backed rather than foreign or leave the island. This comes on the back of Taiwan’s increased oversight of Chinese investments and the operations of Chinese tech firms on the island. Last week, Taiwan announced that it plans to stop local sales of Chinese internet television streaming services, though it doesn’t plan to block them.

4️⃣ Apple addresses antitrust concerns in Korea

Apple’s South Korean unit has proposed measures to address antitrust concerns and offered to provide 100 billion won (US$84.02 million) worth of support programs for small businesses, consumers, and others. The tech giant has been under investigation by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) over allegations that it abused its dominant position by forcing mobile carriers to pay for advertising and warranty repairs. Apple has agreed to fix “unfair” terms with mobile carriers as part of its proposal, the KFTC said in a briefing.

5️⃣ Ola expands its foods business

A food fight among food delivery platforms

TikTok sued in Vietnam

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