Asia tech news roundup – Nov 13

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Hong Kong. Looking north-westwards, towards Lantau Island. Photo credit: yuliufu / 123RF.

The big Asia-Pacific stories of the day were Razer’s much anticipated IPO, and confirmation that Uber has accepted SoftBank’s terms for a potential investment deal worth as much as US$10 billion.

Consumer tech

Razer raises US$528 million in impressive Hong kong debut (Singapore/Hong Kong). Shares in the US-Singaporean company, which makes gaming peripherals and unveiled its first smartphone last earlier this month, gained as much as 42% on their opening price after today’s oversubscribed listing. Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang is expected to join the billionaire club as a result of the IPO.  (Tech in Asia)

Razer Phone. Photo credit: Razer.

Transportation

Uber approves SoftBank buy-in (Japan). The US ride-hailing company confirmed that it has agreed to terms of an investment deal worth a possible US$10 billion with the Japanese company, which also backs Uber’s regional rivals Didi, Grab, and Ola. However, SoftBank could still walk away from the deal if its minimum stock target cannot be met. (Reuters)

Fintech

Crypto exchange Quoine raises US$105 million via ICO (Japan). The cryptocurrency exchange operator, which has bases in both Japan and Singapore, sold 350 million of its QASH coins – the equivalent of 350,000 ether or US$105 million, making it one of the largest token sales ever held. (DealStreetAsia)

Chief business development officer Chrystie Dao-Szabo and chief executive officer Ethan Dobson, iPaymy’s co-founders. Photo credit: iPaymy.

US$1 million seed funding for iPaymy (Singapore). The startup – which provides a platform that allows small businesses to pay operational expenses using their credit cards – raised the funds from Beenext and GC Incubation. It will use the money for product development, marketing and commercial strategy, and potential expansion to new markets. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

Alibaba breaks Singles Day record (China). Consumers spent a record US$25.3 billion on the Chinese company’s online marketplaces on what has become the country’s biggest shopping day. Its rival JD saw another US$19.1 billion of spending. (Tech in Asia)