SEA
How JD is making its mark in Southeast Asia ? From opting to strike up partnerships and acquiring minority stakes, it is reaping tangible fruits especially in Indonesia and Thailand. (KrASIA)
Asian shopping platform to bring together Shopee, Lazada, Taobao, and Qoo10. This will be done via the launch of ShopFest, a platform that aggregates six different year-end shopping events organized by e-tailers. (KrASIA)
Pomelo, Thai fashion e-tailer Pomelo has made its official launch in Malaysia. The firm will roll out 100 new styles every week and customers in Malaysia can enjoy enhanced delivery services. (e27)
China
China’s P2P lending platform X Financial files for NYSE IPO. The fintech firm is looking to raise US$250 million, effectively following the footsteps of another close Chinese competitor Weidai to compete in the public markets in the US. (KrASIA)
This VV Go platform aims to address the passenger safety concerns in China’s ride-hailing market. The startup is said to be using a blockchain based app to tackle the safety and income issues Didi is facing. (SCMP)
A survey revealed that more than 85% of China’s app users have had their data leaked. This comes at a time when data leak scandals are appearing on local media on a regular basis. (Technode)
China’s ambitions to allow Chinese citizens to profit from the country’s publicly traded high-tech firms have been dealt another blow. The delay of CDR is partly due to the tanking of mainland stocks. (Deal Street Asia)
”Big Chinese’’ is edtech’s next big thing. But investors are still not convinced to bring these courses abroad. Teaching Chinese abroad might not reach profitability quickly in the short term. (Technode)
Hong Kong’s digital banking push escalates the competition between tech newcomers and the traditional lending players. The country’s regulator is looking to issue its first online-only banking license. (Reuters)
Elsewhere
Online polling service SurveyMonkey filed for Nasdaq IPO to raise US$100 million. The company is recently valued at $2 billion yuan in a $250 million round from Tiger Global, ICONIQ Capital, and Social+Capital Partnership. Founded almost 20 years ago, the firm is yet to turn a profit, reporting a net loss of $27.18 million in H1 2018. (Techcrunch)
Apple just bought 6-year-old AR startup Akonia Holographics for an undisclosed sum, as the firm keeps exploring ways to add a touch of augmented reality to its iPhone series, which has long been criticized by some for lack of innovation. (CNBC)
Trump accused Google’s search engine of promoting negative articles and hiding ‘fair media’ coverage of him on Tuesday. This was followed by Trump renewing his attack on technology companies a day later. (Reuters)
