Asia tech news roundup – Jan 2

Photo credit: Mobike

These were the top tech headlines as Asia-Pacific welcomed in the new year.

Transportation

Mobike makes the move into ride-hailing (China). The bike-sharing company will launch the service in China’s Guizhou province, with a car-hailing feature added into its existing app. Mobike’s rival Ofo has partnered with ride-hailing market leader Didi Chuxing to offer a similar service through its app. Technode

Ecommerce

Alibaba could expand India footprint with XpressBees interest (India). The Chinese tech giant is said to be planning a US$100 million investment in local logistics firm XpressBees. Alibaba has been ramping up its Indian investments as it seeks to compete in the country’s ecommerce market with homegrown player Flipkart and US entrant Amazon. The Economic Times

Mobile

New Year’s outage for WhatsApp users (Asia-Pacific). The Facebook-operated messaging service experienced an hour-long global outage, with users in India – the app’s biggest market – losing coverage for several minutes after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Reuters

Photo credit: Jan Persiel

Fintech

Increased scrutiny for cryptocurrency exchanges (India). Regulators in the country are likely to take action against exchanges and other platforms they consider to be operating collective investment schemes or illegally pooling buyers’ money, anonymous officials said. The country’s finance ministry had earlier referred to some virtual currency trading activities as “Ponzi schemes.” Livemint

Analysts expect economic boost thanks to bitcoin (Japan). A report from financial services giant Nomura suggests that the cryptocurrency’s remarkable 1,500 percent rise in value during 2017 could lead to an uptick in consumer spending next year as bitcoin holders realize their returns. Bloomberg

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups