Asia tech news roundup – Jan 8

Ooi Huey Tyng, GrabPay’s new managing director for Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Photo credit: Grab / MovingStills Photography

Funding for a used luxury goods marketplace, corporate backing for Mobike’s ride-hailing venture, and another high-profile executive appointment at Grab. Here are the day’s top tech news stories from around the region.

Transportation

More details of Didi’s Bluegogo takeover emerge (China). Ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing has agreed to purchase a stake in Bluegogo and pay out late wages owed to the startup’s staff, according to sources familiar with the matter. Users who have requested the return of their deposits will apparently be paid back in Didi ride coupons. The ride-hailing firm – which has had a strained relationship with portfolio company Ofo – plans to wholly acquire Bluegogo if and when it settles its remaining supplier and staff payment issues. (Technode)

Meanwhile, the ride-hailing giant hit a major milestone. Didi released operating stats for 2017, revealing that it had completed 7.43 billion rides – excluding bike-sharing and car owners’ services – for 450 million users in over 400 cities across the country. That’s five rides per person in China. (Didi Chuxing)

Automaker FAW invests in Mobike’s ride-hailing service (China). Changchun-based FAW Car has acquired a 10 percent stake in Mobike Chuxing for an undisclosed amount, and will provide electric cars to the unit as part of their partnership. Tencent-backed Mobike entered the space last month, announcing its first locations in Guizhou. It is up against market leader Didi Chuxing – which backs bike-sharing rival Ofo – and ecommerce firm Meituan, which recently launched its own ride-hailing service. (Reuters)

Uber rickshaws to return (India). Uber will relaunch UberAUTO, its ride-hailing service for auto-rickshaws, two years after withdrawing it. The resurrected UberAUTO will initially be available in Bangalore and Pune, and will expand to other locations later. Ola, Uber’s main competitor in the country, offers rickshaw rides through its app. (VCCircle)

Photo credit: Ola

Fintech

Grab poaches Visa exec to head up regional payments push (Singapore). The ride-hailing firm has appointed Ooi Huey Tyng as managing director of GrabPay for Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. She will lead the company’s effort to expand its digital payments services beyond Singapore, where it launched late last year. Huey Tyng was previously Visa’s country manager for Singapore and Brunei. (Grab)

Tencent obtains license to sell mutual funds (China). The license granted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission will allow Tencent’s Tengan subsidiary to sell mutual fund products directly to its users. Previously, only third-party fund houses and financial services providers could sell funds through Tencent’s QQ and WeChat platforms. (South China Morning Post)

Cryptocurrency mining could be Beijing’s next ban (China). Regulators are reportedly drawing up policies that would prohibit cryptocurrency mining, which has grown into a significant industry in some parts of the country, thanks to favorable electricity prices and agreements with local governments. Beijing banned cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs last year. (China Money Network)

People’s Bank of China headquarters, Beijing. Photo credit: Max12Max / Wikimedia Commons

Ecommerce

Xinshang raises US$50 million in series C fundraise (China). GGV Capital and Joy Capital co-led the round, with Northern Light Venture Capital joining in. Xinshang is a consumer-to-consumer online marketplace for secondhand luxury goods, and claims to facilitate more than half the transactions for such items in China. (China Money Network)

Media and entertainment

Education

Investors, incubators, and accelerators