Financial tech startup WeLab raises $220M from investors including Alibaba, the IFC and Credit Suisse

 WeLab, an financial tech startup that operates online lending platforms in Hong Kong and China, has raised $220 million in combined equity and debt financing. The round, which WeLab says is its Series B+, brings its total funding so far to $425 million. Investors include the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepeneurs Fund, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Credit Suisse,… Read More

View More Financial tech startup WeLab raises $220M from investors including Alibaba, the IFC and Credit Suisse

Tencent could play a role redesigning Snapchat following $2B investment

 Tencent, the Chinese internet giant valued at $470 billion, may have a hand in rebooting the Snapchat app to make it more competitive with Instagram and Facebook.
Off the back of some very poor financials announced this week, parent company Snap said it is retooling the messaging app “to make it easier to use.”
Now Tencent, which upped its stake in Snap with the purchase of 12… Read More

View More Tencent could play a role redesigning Snapchat following $2B investment

Some poor guy had to sit between Trump and South Korea’s president for a ‘casual’ meal

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Oh man, imagine having to be this guy.

On Tuesday, U.S. president Donald Trump stopped by military base Camp Humphreys for lunch, during his official visit to South Korea.

For some reason, they sat one single soldier between Trump and South Korean president, Moon Jae-in. So that guy sat awkwardly while Trump and Moon talked across him.

"Why me?"

“Why me?”

Image: weibo

A video clip of the incident has been picked up on South Korean TV, highlighting the poor guy’s stunned expression as he sat between the two world leaders, apparently too terrified to eat. Read more…

More about Asia, Military, South Korea, Donald Trump, and Soldier

View More Some poor guy had to sit between Trump and South Korea’s president for a ‘casual’ meal

China Literature makes stellar public debut following $1B Hong Kong IPO

 China Literature, the e-publishing business backed by Tencent, enjoyed an impressive debut as public company with its share price rising as high double during its first day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The business raised over $1 billion from the listing which saw it spin out from Tencent. The listing price was set to HK$55 and the share valued reached HK$110 in early trading, going on… Read More

View More China Literature makes stellar public debut following $1B Hong Kong IPO

India’s Uber rival Ola to license connected car platform to vehicle makers worldwide

 Ride-sharing companies the world over are branching out to go beyond just handling your car trips. In recent weeks we’ve seen Uber, the pioneer of the genre, announced its own Visa card while Southeast Asia’s Grab is developing a payment wallet that lets you pay for lunch, dinner and other small items. Now India-based Ola is doubling down on connect car tecnology after it… Read More

View More India’s Uber rival Ola to license connected car platform to vehicle makers worldwide

Amazon launches its Echo devices and Alexa in Japan

 Amazon has continued its hardware push into Asia after it launched the Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot in Japan today. Alongside the hardware, it is also making its Alexa voice assistant available in the country. That means that developers will gain access to Alexa Skills — which has support for Japanese — while consumers will also be able to use Alexa alongside their hardware and… Read More

View More Amazon launches its Echo devices and Alexa in Japan

Tencent’s online publishing arm set to raise $1B in Hong Kong IPO

 Tencent’s China Literature, an Amazon-like e-book business, is continuing the trend of Asian tech IPOs after it announced its public listing in Hong Kong will raise $1.06 billion on Wednesday. The company set the price for its 151,371,800 share offering at HK$55, the top end of its range, and it could sell an additional 22.7 million through a greenshoe option with underwriters. The… Read More

View More Tencent’s online publishing arm set to raise $1B in Hong Kong IPO

Amazon launches Alexa-less Fire TV Stick for international users of its Prime video service

 We’re approaching one year since Amazon expanded its Prime video service to over 200 countries internationally, and today the company is doubling down on that global audience with the introduction of a ‘Basic Edition’ of its popular Fire TV Stick that ships to over 100 countries. The company unveiled a much-improved second-generation version of the product in September, adding… Read More

View More Amazon launches Alexa-less Fire TV Stick for international users of its Prime video service

ShopBack raises $25M for its cash back shopping service in Southeast Asia

 One of Southeast Asia’s lesser-known startups has come out from under the radar today after ShopBack, a cash back-focused e-commerce service, announced it has raised $25 million. Founded in 2014, the Singapore-based startup helps users shop ‘smarter’ using a selection of curated deals and cashback offers through partner merchants across seven countries in Southeast Asia… Read More

View More ShopBack raises $25M for its cash back shopping service in Southeast Asia