As most companies were trying to figure out how to handle the economic downturn Airwallex was able to raise $160mn;...
Tencent and Alibaba have built firms that enable them to write significant checks and have crowded out private equity and venture capital firms; SoftBank is the only other regional player on a similar level; they are not always driven by returns like traditional investors and this allows them to define success differently; some private equity firms are beginning to wonder if they are beginning to abuse their power; if a company receives investment from one of these giants they are also not held to the same pressures of a traditional investor like going public; these giants are helping to push innovation across the region and globe, but many are starting to ask at what cost. Source.
This week, let's dive into the Apple augmented reality glasses leak, the Magic Leap $350 million financing, and the uncanny imagery created by Epic Games' Unreal Engine. We summarize and pull apart the thesis of the Metaverse -- a virtual world as realistic and economically important as our own -- and how media and financial companies should think about the opportunity.
CB Insights outlines five tech giants' notable investments, partnerships and M&A moves in the Southeast Asia region; the five tech giants included in the article are Alibaba, Ant Financial, Tencent, Didi Chuxing and JD.com; the article highlights Ant Financial's investments in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia, as well as its strategic partnerships throughout Southeast Asia. Source
China has been looking to create a credit scoring system seen in many developed economies like the U.S. and the U.K.; initially asking 8 top companies to be involved, though they found it hard to form as companies were unwilling to share proprietary data with competitors; the PBoC is now tasked with having a industry wide system that does not favor giants like Alibaba and Tencent. Source.
Fintech is expected to generate $65 billion in sales by 2020 and Alibaba and Tencent are projected to capture half of the market; this would significantly increase valuations for both large e-commerce firms; online payments growth is also projected to be significant, supporting further value increases for both firms. Source
Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and Tencent are leading e-commerce market growth, seeking to do everything from cloud computing to digital payments; the Chinese market infrastructure is also helping their business growth and their business models are rivaling comparative US companies; Jack Ma's Alibaba is expanding rapidly in the global markets with partnerships and acquisitions and Tencent is following closely with numerous acquisitions as well; investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates China's online retail market to double in size by 2020 to $1.7 trillion and aggressive market expansion from Alibaba and Tencent appears to be successfully supporting that estimate. Source
Fintech is expensive. Fintech is everywhere. If you are a thinking about starting a financial services company, and it does not have technology at its core -- don't. You will lose to someone similarly positioned building a more augmented business. Fintech is the global competition for regulation, talent, and macroeconomic supremacy. Fintech is the trade war between the US and China. Fintech is Facebook and Amazon. Fintech is the next bubble to burst. Fintech has burst already.
Tencent, with advantages in cloud computing, big data, social networking, and mobile payments, will cooperate with China Development Bank to provide students loans; China Development Bank is a "policy financial institute" under the State Council; the bank covers over 90% of the student loans market. Source (Chinese)
In 2015 China’s Central Bank contracted eight companies, including affiliates of Tencent, Ping An and Alibaba, to help build a...