Asia news roundup: Qulian lands $234m, Ant pivots, and Meituan eyes IPO

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Qulian lands record funding in blockchain, Alibaba’s Ant Financial pivots, and Meituan prepares for September IPO.

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Qulian secures US$234 million in series B round (China). The new investment is one of the highest to date in the blockchain space. Qulian, a hyperchain blockchain platform that develops enterprise-grade solutions, has drawn scrutiny from Chinese regulators for its soaring valuation. The round was led by one of the startup’s previous investors, Xinhu Zhongbao, a local real estate and finance firm. (CoinDesk)

Fintech

Ant Financial shifts focus to tech services (China). Alibaba’s finance affiliate is moving away from payment and consumer finances – areas where regulators have increasingly tightened control – and repositioning itself to focus on technology services, sources told Reuters. The rumored pivot arrives ahead of Ant Financial’s IPO, which is slated to happen in 2019. (Reuters)

Ecommerce

Meituan to go public as early as September (China). The country’s fourth most valued startup is in talks with banks for its Hong Kong listing targeted for September, sources told The Information. Meituan, which provides a slew of online-to-offline services that include group-buying and ride-hailing, is seeking a valuation of US$60 billion for the flotation. (The Information)

Alibaba backs homegrown online parenting platform (China). The strategic investment will value Babytree at approximately US$2.19 billion, according to its statement. The startup claims to have the highest user penetration in China’s trillion-dollar family market. The partners plan to work on online community building and data sharing. (Babytree)

Used-car startup lands US$125 million series D round (China). Chezhibao, a customer-to-business secondhand car auction platform, operates in more than 100 Chinese cities. It aims to use proceeds of the round to expand its presence to 200 cities this year. The round was led by Chinese private equity fund Green Harbor. (China Money Network)

Transportation

Grab and UN team up to tackle Phnom Penh’s traffic issues (Cambodia). The ride-hailing company is collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion in the country’s capital. As part of the project, Grab will provide in-kind contribution, such as anonymized data sharing and green vehicles. (Grab)

Grab to stay on Philippine roads despite losing millions (The Philippines). The transportation giant recorded a US$55.6 million loss in the country last year and says the bleeding will continue if the government keeps imposing prices caps and strict regulations. But despite these setbacks, Grab will continue to invest in the country with a US$57 million budget. (Grab)

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Proptech

JLL affiliate creates US$100 million global fund (Singapore). JLL Spark, a division of property service firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) , has launched a fund aimed at supporting startups across a range of proptech businesses, such as real estate development and leasing. The JLL Spark Global Venture Fund will also facilitate collaborations between JLL and its partner businesses in the city-state and overseas. (JLL Spark)

Tiger Global leads US$70 million round in proptech startup (China). Chinese apartment-leasing platform Danke has secured a series B+ round led by the investment firm. The funding comes three months after the startup closed a US$100 million series B round. Danke is targeting to have 300,000 apartments under management by the end of this year. (China Money Network)

Media and entertainment

Chinese short-video giant buys anime platform AcFun (China). Tencent-backed Kuaishou has bought one of the country’s top anime-streaming sites amid an intensifying battle over short videos among tech firms. Douyin, Kuaishou’s largest rival, is run by the fast-ascending Bytedance, parent to China’s biggest news app Jinri Toutiao. Kuaishou is reportedly valued at US$18 billion. (Reuters)

Enterprise software and services

Retail

Big tech

Investors, incubators, and accelerators