Asia news roundup: Grab partners with Maybank, faces Vietnam investigation

Photo credit: Tech in Asia

In news from today and over the weekend, Baidu’s chief operating officer steps down, Vietnam looks into the Grab-Uber deal, and a streaming platform embraces user-generated content.

Fintech

GrabPay heads north, partners with big bank (Malaysia/Singapore). Grab has announced it will soon launch GrabPay in Malaysia, marking the digital wallet’s first expansion beyond Singapore. To make it happen, Grab has partnered with Maybank, the country’s largest bank. Customers can initially use the digital wallet at GrabPay’s partner merchants, and then later on within Maybank’s merchant network, too. They’ll also be able to top up through Maybank’s online banking service, while Maybank clients will be able to use their bank’s QR-code payment system at GrabPay merchants. (Tech in Asia)

Investing in Ant Financial comes with strings attached (China). Investors are being told that if they want to join the Alibaba affiliate’s current funding round, they must not invest in firms controlled by major rivals, such as Tencent. Ant Financial is closing a US$10 billion private fundraising that might value the company at US$150 billion, sources said. (The Wall Street Journal)

Transportation

Grab-Uber antitrust allegations under investigation (Vietnam). The country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade is scrutinizing Grab’s takeover of Uber’s local operations, after a preliminary investigation discovered the deal might have violated antitrust regulations. The probe could last for up to 300 days, according to a statement from the ministry. It previously warned that the deal could be undone if Grab and Uber’s combined market share surpasses a regulatory threshold of 50 percent. (Reuters)

Mobike enters Indian market (China/India). The Chinese bike-sharing firm’s signature orange bicycles will soon appear in New Delhi, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, according to a company spokesperson. Rival Ofo has been in India since November last year and had 1.1 million rides by March this year. In December 2017, Indian ride-hailing company Ola launched bike-sharing services in several university campuses throughout the country. (South China Morning Post)

Ofo to sell ad space on bikes and app (China). Mobike’s key rival is launching custom-designed bikes with ads appearing on its wheels, saddles, and baskets in an effort to raise revenues. There are rumors that Ofo is experiencing a cash strain, so it hasn’t been able to pay bike manufacturers and has cut orders of new bikes. (TechNode)

Media and entertainment

IQiyi’s video streaming portal / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

IQiyi rolls out on-demand cinema screenings, short videos (China). The content streaming platform is now letting users book private, on-demand cinemas to play their choice of films from its archives. The first of these venues – named Yuke – has opened in Zhongshan, Guangdong. In a statement, iQiyi said it will launch more Yuke theaters in large and medium-sized cities in China. In a separate development, the company revealed plans to enter the user-generated short video market, estimating that it will need a one to three-year period to create a successful app that could compete with the likes of Douyin and Kuaishou. (South China Morning Post)

High tech

Orbbec gets US$200 million series D funding (China). The maker of motion sensors secured the investment in a round led by Ant Financial. Also participating were SAIF Partners, Green Pine Capital Partners, R-Z Capital, and Tianlangxing Capital. The company designs and manufactures 3D sensors that enable facial, gesture, and even skeletal recognition. (China Money Network)

Ecommerce

Amazon India’s Dale Vaz goes to Swiggy (India). The ecommerce platform’s head of technology in the country is now with the food-delivery firm Swiggy, according to sources. Vaz, who spent 10 years at Amazon, will reportedly head Swiggy’s engineering team. The move comes weeks after Amazon lost out in its bid to purchase Flipkart, which was acquired by Walmart for US$16 billion. (The Economic Times)

Edtech

Squline to offer language classes Down Under (Indonesia/Australia). The language learning platform will expand to Australia, offering Indonesian classes from native-speaking teachers through video calls. The Australian-Indonesian Association of South Australia says that Indonesian is being taught in 83 state-run schools in the state. (e27)

Big tech