And, Lava International, a local Indian mobile phone brand, will raise US $ 90 million in financing from US investors; in January, Douyin and TikTok exceeded 100 million installs worldwide.
Latest epidemic information
Japan’s response to the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled: Tokyo Olympic preparations are proceeding as planned. The Tokyo Olympics said that the International Olympic Committee stated that Pound ’s statement showed that the International Olympic Committee is preparing for the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled. The International Olympic Committee has stated on many occasions that preparations for the Olympic Games are proceeding as planned. In order to host the Olympic Games with peace of mind, the countermeasures for new crown pneumonia are very important. The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee will continue to pay attention to the overall situation of new coronary pneumonia, and will work closely with relevant institutions to study necessary countermeasures. As for the judgment period within 3 months (before the end of May), this is not the official opinion of the International Olympic Committee. (CCTV)
OPPO: The epidemic has temporarily affected the market, but the basic market for long-term development such as 5G has not changed. A few days ago, the relevant person in charge of OPPO stated, “It is undeniable that the epidemic situation will have a certain impact on the company. In the first quarter, the epidemic situation challenged the mobile phone market, but the basic market for the advent of 5G and the long-term development of the smartphone market has not changed. “Previously, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun predicted that due to the epidemic, China ’s mobile phone sales may decline sharply in the first quarter of this year, but a retaliatory rebound is expected in the second to third quarter. (Securities Times)
India
IDC: Apple has captured three-quarters of the Indian high-end smartphone market. According to foreign media reports, according to the latest research report by market research company IDC, the iPhone has surpassed Samsung Electronics and OnePlus in the Indian high-end smartphone market in the fourth quarter of last year, accounting for more than the price The US $ 500 (approximately RMB 3,500) high-end smartphone market has a 75.6% share. Meanwhile, sales of the iPad, Apple Watch and AirPod in the Indian market are also strong. With the “double-digit” percentage growth in the Indian market, Apple is also expanding India-made capacity. (Tencent Technology)
Lava International, a local Indian mobile phone brand, will raise $ 90 million in financing from GEM Global Yield Fund. According to ET, the company said that it will use the new funds to develop new products in order to capture the mobile phone market priced below $ 150. Since mid-2015, the Indian mobile phone market has been surrounded by Chinese and Korean players, with local manufacturers accounting for only 3% of the country’s market share.
India’s gold loan platform Rupeek has raised USD 60 million in financing. According to Tech in Asia, investors including GGV Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Red Shirt India and Accel Partners participated in the round. Last year, the startup raised US $ 6.83 million through a Series B financing led by Bertelsmann India, which was used for product development and market expansion. Founded in 2015, Rupeek is a gold loan platform that works with non-bank financial companies to provide loan solutions to borrowers.
RailYatri, a platform for booking train tickets in India, has raised $ 14 million in Series B financing. According to KrASIA, citing print media Entracker, Indian startup RailYatri has recently completed a new financing of 1 billion rupees (approximately 14 million US dollars). Shareholders Omidyar Network and Blume Ventures also participated in this round of financing. After this round of financing, RailYatri plans to increase the number of IntrCity SmartBus buses from the current 84 to 300 in the next few months.
Online travel giant Expedia will lay off 3000 people . According to ET, Expedia will lay off 3,000 people worldwide after reducing its “disappointing” market performance last year, reducing labor by about 12%. Chairman Barry Diller said the move was aimed at streamlining the business to achieve the goal of saving $ 300-500 million.
Wal-Mart plans to convert some stores into its e-commerce Flipkart warehouse. According to ET, US retail giant Wal-Mart said the shift was part of a restructuring of its cash-and-carry business. Wal-Mart’s Best Price has 28 stores across India. As of March 2019, it had accumulated losses of Rs 218.08 crore (approximately US $ 3.044 billion).
Sharechat announces acquisition of fashion e-commerce platformElanic. According to Inc42, ShareChat announced yesterday that it has acquired the peer-to-peer (P2P) e-commerce platform Elanic. This acquisition will help ShareChat develop social e-commerce. With a user base of 60 million monthly active users (MAU) and more than 100 million application downloads, ShareChat has gradually captured the market in India’s second- and third-tier cities.
Southeast Asia
Gojek called previous reports that it would negotiate mergers with Grab “inaccurate.” According to Tech in Asia, a Gojek spokesperson has denied previous reports that two ride-hailing software companies are in merger talks. The spokesman said: “Without any kind of merger plan, recent media reports on discussions of this nature have been inaccurate.” Speculation about mergers of companies continues to increase.
Indogen Capital, a managing partner in Indonesia, said it will raise a $ 50 million venture fund. Management partner Chandra Firmanto told KrASIA that Jakarta venture capital company Indogen Capital plans to raise US $ 50 million for investment in e-commerce and life And financial technology. The first round of financing is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year and is worth $ 10 million, while the second round of financing will be completed in early 2021.
Snapask, a Hong Kong-based online tutoring firm, has raised $ 35 million to grow its Southeast Asian business. According to DealStreetAsia, this round is led by Singapore-based private equity firm Asia Partners and South Korean venture firm InterVest. So far, the company has raised more than $ 50 million. After the transaction is completed, Snapask will continue to focus on product development with the aim of growing its business in Southeast Asia and expanding into new markets including Vietnam.
Latin America
The Brazilian digital bank Nubank doubled its revenue last year and doubled its number of customers. According to LABS, Nubank released an analysis of its 2019 financial results during the Carnival. The company’s revenue doubled last year to BRL 2.1 billion (approximately $ 478.6 million), and the number of customers tripled compared to 2018, reachingTo 19.7 million. But the expansion led to an increase in operating expenses and an increase in overall net losses.
Middle East
The Saudi Aramco CEO says the company will look for potential opportunities to invest in China and India. Aram Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said in Riyadh that Aramco’s efforts to acquire shares in India’s Reliance Industries subsidiary are still under due diligence. “In terms of growth opportunities, we will make some investments in India and China” and “we are exploring opportunities in both markets,” he said. (Sina Finance)
Africa
Goldman Sachs invests $ 55 million in African fintech startup JUMO. According to Wee Tracker, South African fintech company JUMO has received a new round of investment from investors including Goldman Sachs. It is reported that the funds raised will be used to expand new markets and launch new products in Africa and Asia.
Sokowatch, a Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform, has completed a $ 14 million Series A funding round. According to Disrupt Africa, this round of financing is led by venture capital firm Quona Capital for Sokowatch’s expansion in the East African market. Sokowatch was launched in Nairobi in 2016. It focuses on the same-day delivery service. Users can place orders directly on their mobile phones through the Sokowatch APP or by sending text messages.
Bosta, a logistics startup in Egypt, received a 7-figure Series A round of financing. According to Disrupt Africa, Bosta, the last mile express delivery service provider in Egypt, has received a seven-figure round A investment. Bosta provides on-demand express delivery services for e-commerce businesses, with a focus on B2C, enabling businesses to send packages to customers. The company has previously received funding from DPDgroup, Europe’s second-largest express and package express (CEP) operator.