The Indian cabinet has approved a $ 600 million plan to boost electronics manufacturing; Uber and Ola have suspended their taxi services in New Delhi.
India
Curefit, an Indian fitness startup, raised $ 110 million in a Series D2 round. According to foreign media reports, this round of financing was led by Singapore investment company Temasek and investors such as Accel Partners. Founded in 2016, Curefit is an Indian health and fitness company that combines participation, guidance, and delivery through online and offline channels to provide consumers with health management solutions from the product end to the user end.
Uber and Ola have suspended their taxi services in New Delhi. According to Tech Crunch, affected by the epidemic, ride-hailing giants Uber and Ola will suspend their ride-hailing services in New Delhi until March 31. The measure was issued after India declared a blockade of the capital.
India’s online retail e-commerce sales have fallen by 20%. According to ET Tech, due to the decrease in disposable income, the online retail industry (including eyewear e-commerce unicorn Lenskart, fashion e-commerce platform Myntra, “India Jumei Youpin” Nykaa, online furniture platform Pepperfry, mother and child (Including giant FirstCry and lingerie e-commerce platform Zivame) sales fell by 20%. Meanwhile, out of concern over the outbreak, the company is cutting marketing costs to increase runways. There are predictions that the downturn will continue.
The Indian cabinet has approved a Rs 48 crore (approximately $ 600 million) plan to promote electronics manufacturing. According to ET Tech, the Indian cabinet has approved three plans totaling more than Rs 48 crore to promote the electronics and parts manufacturing industry, the largest of which is the 5-year incentive plan for the production of smartphones and components ( PLI). Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, said at a cabinet briefing that the plans are aimed at attracting global companies to establish supply chains in India while accelerating the development of local businesses. The plan is expected to bring in new investments of Rs 50 crore in the future and create jobs for 2 million people.
Southeast Asia
Singapore’s early VC Expara Ventures has launched an accelerator focused on new crown virus solutions. According to DealStreetAsia, early-stage Southeast Asian VC Expara Ventures has launched a new accelerator project and is looking to provide a global epidemic solution.Solutions for start-ups.
Suzuki Motor will invest US $ 109 million to increase production at its Myanmar plant. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation announced today that it will quadruple its output at its Myanmar plant. This investment will cost approximately 12 billion yen (approximately US $ 108.9 million) and will be fully operational in September 2021. Suzuki expects its share of the Myanmar market to grow significantly.
Temasek’s subsidiary participates in the bid for Singapore’s Fullerton Medical Group. According to DealStreetAsia, Temasek subsidiary will participate in the first round of bidding of Singapore’s Fullerton Medical Group this month.
Middle East
UAE Bank announces a series of relief measures. According to Gulf News, under the leadership of the Central Bank, a number of UAE including the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) Commercial banks have recently introduced a series of relief measures for individuals and businesses to mitigate the economic impact of the outbreak. For example, retail loans and small business customers on unpaid leave can apply to banks for a repayment period of up to three months, and credit card customers can enjoy interest-free benefits and tuition installment plans.
Africa
Kenya’s P2P microfinance company Pezesha wins CATAPULT 2020 Africa training camp project. It is reported that 13 African fintech startups have participated in the project in recent years, and Kenyan P2P microfinance company Pezesha finally won the championship. Launched by Luxembourg Technology Finance Fund LHoFT for a week, the project aims to help promote fintech startups in India.
Latin America
The Brazilian Development Bank announced a $ 10.9 billion aid plan. According to LABS, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) announced yesterday the launch of an aid program totalling 55 billion reais ($ 10.9 billion) to ease the impact of the epidemic on the country’s economy. The funds will be used for the federal severance fund, credit lines for SMEs and cash relief.
Others
SoftBank announced a $ 41 billion stock repurchase and debt reduction plan. The SoftBank Group announced plans to raise as much as 4.5 trillion yen (about 41 billion U.S. dollars) and reduce debt in the coming year to address investors’ concerns about its business losing money during the outbreak. softSilver said that in the next four quarters, some assets will be sold or monetized, and a new share repurchase program of up to 2 trillion yen will be launched. (Bloomberg)
Yanolja, a Korean tourism technology unicorn, is expected to achieve strong growth in 2020. According to DealStreetAsia, although the epidemic is hitting the global tourism and hospitality industries, South Korea-based tourism technology unicorn Yanolja has made optimistic growth expectations for total revenue this year. Yanolja’s total domestic and global business revenue last year increased by 78.8% year-on-year, and realized revenue of $ 260 million. A spokesperson for Yanolja said that “the impact of the outbreak on the business is very limited.”
文 | Zehui @ 出海
Picture | Visual China
