Asia news roundup: Meituan plots $60b IPO, government says Aadhaar is hack-proof, and more

Shanghai, where Meituan-Dianping debuted its ride-hailing service earlier this week / Photo credit: dibrova / 123RF

Here’s a wrap of the day’s news.

Media and entertainment

Tech giants express concern about Singapore’s plan to fight fake news (Singapore). Social media giants including Facebook and Twitter were asked to speak at a public hearing on “fake news” at Singapore’s parliament yesterday. Officials from the companies claim enough laws are in place to tackle the problem, and that more legislation would not be the answer. The city-state began the public hearing on March 14, and it will last for two weeks. (Reuters)

Policy and regulation

Indian government claims Aadhaar data safe from hacking (India). Ajay Bhushan of the Unique Identification Authority of India defended the controversial Aadhaar Act in the country’s Supreme Court, saying it is imperviable. The Aadhaar card is a biometric number assigned to Indian citizens containing their personal data including their bank account numbers. In January of 2018, reports of alleged leakages of personal data was reported sparking severe criticism. The case is still pending in the Supreme Court. (Inc42)

Delivery and logistics

Meituan seeks US$60 billion valuation in Hong Kong IPO (China). China’s food delivery and review goliath, Meituan-Dianping, has reportedly begun discussions on a Hong Kong IPO which could raise at least US$60 billion if conditions allow. (Bloomberg)

Startup ecosystem

Ant Financial, Didi, and Xiaomi named as China’s biggest unicorns (China). The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology named 164 companies in the 2017 China Unicorn Enterprise Development Report, its list of the country’s unicorns. Ant Financial came in first with a valuation at US$75 billion, with Didi Chuxing and Xiaomi in second and third place with valuations of US$56 billion and US$46 billion respectively. Most of the listed unicorns come from the ecommerce, fintech, healthcare, and media and entertainment categories. (Technode)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups