Asia news roundup: Rotimatic maker bags $30m, ZTE banned from buying US tech, and more

Photo credit: Zimplistic

The US has banned a telecommunications-gear maker in China from buying American products amid growing trade tensions between the two giant economies.

Consumer tech

Zimplistic lands US$30 million in series C round (Singapore). The startup, which has developed Indian-style flatbread-making appliance Rotimatic, announced today that it has closed its series C fundraise. The round was co-led by private equity firm Credence Partners and EDBI, the investment unit of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. Existing backers also joined the round. Zimplistic said the capital will go towards realising its goal of converting 25 percent of the global flatbread-consuming population into Rotimatic users. (Tech in Asia)

Ecommerce

Government releases ecommerce statistics for the first time (Singapore). The city-state’s Department of Statistics has begun releasing monthly figures for online retail sales, which will help lawmakers determine if there should be any changes made to current tax policy. The agency reported digital transactions worth US$110 million in February, which made up 3.9 percent of overall retail sales in the country – a 0.2 percent dip from the previous month. (Bloomberg)

JD to invest US$85.4 million in Allianz China arm (China). The Beijing-based ecommerce firm has announced that it will take up a 33 percent stake in the China unit of global insurance company Allianz, in a bid to expand its foothold in the online finance sector. The investment is subject to approval from China’s banking regulator – if greenlighted, it would make JD the second largest shareholder in Allianz China. (Reuters)

Enterprise software and services

Kdan raises US$5 million in series A funding round (Taiwan). The mobile software company, which offers content creation tools and online cloud services to users, has closed its series A financing round. Investors included WI Harper Group, Darwin Venture Management, and Accord Ventures. Kdan will use the funding to expand its footprint in the US and China as well as develop new features aimed at enterprises and educational institutions. (Kdan)

Dexecure co-founder and CEO Inian Parameshwaran (L) and director of sales Harun Hujic (R) / Photo credit: Dexecure

Dexecure secures US$763,000 in seed round (Singapore). The SaaS startup, which has developed tech to optimize and speed up loading for mobile and desktop websites, has bagged approximately US$763,000 in seed funding from Cocoon Capital and Walden International. It will use the funding to hire sales team members and explore potential new product lines. (Dexecure)

Retail

Better Life’s chairman says staffless stores are a “pseudo-proposition” and “a dead end” (China). Wang Tian, chairman of the Tencent- and JD-backed retail conglomerate, has suggested in a social media post that staffless convenience stores – something that his firm’s investors have devoted considerable efforts to – will not work. Better Life operates department stores, convenience shops, and supermarkets in the country. (KrAsia)

Blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Coinhako launches Bitcoin Cash e-wallet (Singapore). The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet firm, which claims to process over seven figures’ worth of digital currency transactions every month, has launched Bitcoin Cash capability for their e-wallet, allowing users to buy, sell, or trade the bitcoin spin-off cryptocurrency on its platform. (Coinhako)

Media and entertainment

Streaming content from iQiyi / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Beijing-based Iqiyi joins AOMedia as group’s first Chinese member (China). The video-streaming platform, touted as the country’s Netflix-equivalent, announced that it has joined the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), an international group made up of leading companies in the video-related tech industry. AOMedia’s founders, which include Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, IBM, and Netflix, formed the organisation to address the need for open standards for video compression and delivery over the web. (Iqiyi)

Life sciences

Big tech