Asia news roundup: Grab and Sea out for more money, Vietnam clamps down on tech, and more

Photo credit: think4photop / 123RF

A look at today’s Asia news.

Transportation

Grab nabs US$1 billion from Toyota as part of ongoing new funding round (Singapore). The Southeast Asian ride-hailer is tightening its relationship with prominent automakers, as Toyota returns to pour more money in the company. The Japanese stalwart’s US$1 billion investment is part of a new funding round that Grab is raising. The Singaporean unicorn says some of the new capital will be used to boost its other businesses like GrabPay and GrabFood. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

SoftBank and Alibaba top up funding in Flipkart rival Paytm Mall by US$220 million (India). The ecommerce platform has raised over US$220 million from SoftBank Group and Alibaba. The fundraise is part of a US$440 million commitment from the two mega-investors into Paytm Mall, US$385 million of which will come from SoftBank. Part of online payments giant Paytm, the Indian retailer claims gross merchandise value of $3 billion. (Livemint)

Meituan-Dianping could be considering US$6 billion IPO in Hong Kong soon (China). The online-to-offline dynamo could be going public in Hong Kong within the month to raise US$6 billion, according to reports. Meituan offers restaurant reviews, food and grocery delivery, and group-buying discounts. Earlier this year, it acquired bike-sharing startup Mobike for US$2.7 billion. (Bloomberg)

Sequoia-backed grocery-delivery startup raises US$3 million (India). DailyNinja, a hyper-local ecommerce startup that delivers milk and groceries, has bagged US$3 million in fresh funding from Saama Capital and existing investor Sequoia. The company wants to use the new resources to boost its operations in Bangalore and Hyderabad, and expand to Chennai. It uses a subscription model and makes deliveries as early as the next morning. (The Economic Times)

“New retail” coffee startup is China’s latest unicorn after fundraise (China). Luckin Coffee, a startup that combines online ordering and delivery of coffee with physical outlets, has reportedly raised between US$200 million and US$300 million at a valuation of over US$1 billion. The company was founded late last year and already has 525 stores across 13 cities in China. The startup’s mission is to “beat Starbucks in China,” but it faces intense competition from domestic and foreign brands. (KrAsia)

Internet

Sea listed on NYSE / Photo credit: NYSE

Sea is looking to raise US$400 million by issuing convertible senior notes (Singapore). The internet unicorn announced today a proposed offering of US$400 million worth of convertible senior notes. Terms of the notes like offering price and interest rate have not been determined yet. Tencent, Sea’s largest shareholder, is expected to buy up to U$50 million of the notes. The Singapore-headquartered  firm posted its Q1 2018 results recently, reporting growth primarily in its ecommerce business, Shopee. (Tech in Asia)

Fintech

Sweden’s Truecaller acquires local fintech startup to capture mobile payments (India). Mobile payments solution Chillr has been bought by the Swedish online services firm, which claims to have 150 million registered users in India. The Mumbai-based company will help Truecaller roll out mobile payment services. The Chillr brand will be integrated into a new product called Truecaller Pay. (TechCrunch)

Media and entertainment

Toutiao’s Tik Tok boasts 150 million daily active users (China). The homegrown startup’s short-video streaming app has revealed its user numbers for the first time. The app, known as Douyin in its home market, claims a massive 150 million daily active users and 300 million monthly active users. The company cites improvements in its tech and user experience as the reason for the spiking numbers. Tik Tok became the most downloaded non-game app on iOS in Q1 2018, beating the likes of Facebook and Instagram. (KrAsia)

Regulation

New cyberlaw puts pressure on foreign tech companies, sparks fears of censorship and market stifling (Vietnam). Legislators have voted for a controversial new internet security law that has set off concerns about online censorship and economic harm. It requires foreign tech companies like Facebook to store data of Vietnamese users in the country, open local offices, and comply immediately with government orders to take down content deemed offensive. Vietnam is home to approximately 55 million social media users, and is one of the most active countries for Facebook. (Reuters)

Big tech

Baidu could be the first local company to do Chinese secondary listing (China). Media reports suggest that internet giant Baidu, currently listed on NASDAQ, is considering a secondary listing in its home market by issuing “Chinese Depository Receipts” (CDRs). The Chinese government has decided to trial CDRs, modeled after the US’ “American Depositary Receipts,” to attract large foreign-listed companies like Alibaba and JD back home. Meanwhile, this week it was announced that six funds in China will seek to raise US$47 billion in order to participate in such local tech IPOs. (KrAsia)

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