In addition, Airwallex launched WeChat International Acquiring to help overseas merchants expand the Asian market; Info Edge, an investor of Zomato, raised a $100 million venture capital fund.
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Globalization of Chinese Enterprises
IDC: Huawei ranked second in the global smartwatch market share in the first quarter. Recently, the market research organization IDC released a report on the global wearable device market in the first quarter of 2020. Global wearable device shipments reached 72.6 million units in the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 29.7%. The data shows that in the first quarter of 2020, Huawei has a major market share in the smart wearable device market and continues to maintain rapid growth, with a growth rate of 62.2%. IDC analyzed in the report that Huawei still achieved growth due to its strong online business and close ties with retailers. In Europe, Latin America and other Asian markets have also achieved some success. (Tencent Technology)
Airwallex launches WeChat International Acquiring to help overseas merchants expand the Asian market. Going overseas, we learned that the WeChat international acquiring service launched by Airwallex and WeChat Pay was officially launched. From now on, merchants in Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore can add WeChat payment methods to their e-commerce platforms to easily reach more than 800 million Chinese consumers around the world and expand market sales. Airwallex is a financial technology unicorn company that provides digital financial technology products for enterprises of all sizes by building a global financial infrastructure. Since its establishment in 2015, Airwallex has set up 10 offices around the world and has more than 420 employees, including from Tencent, Sequoia China, DST Global, Gaoyuan Capital, Victoria Harbour Investment, ANZi Ventures, Investors such as Mastercard and Salesforce Ventures totaled more than $360 million in financing.
AliExpress: May bicycle sales in the Spanish market rose more than 22 times. It is learned that Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress data shows that in May, the bicycle sales in the Spanish market increased by more than 22 times, and Italy and the United Kingdom also increased by about 4 times. Sales of electric scooters have also increased substantially. Italy has risen nearly 9 times, Britain has risen nearly 8 times, France has risen 380%, and Spain, which has a large body, has also increased 280%.
Reliance Industries completed a $7 billion rights issue on Wednesday. According to DealStreetAsia, this is the largest rights issue in India’s history. Investors can only pay a quarter of the price in advance, and the rest in two installments until November 2021. The group said the stock will be placed on June 10 and listed on the exchange on June 12.
Amazon is negotiating the acquisition of a stake in Bharti, India’s largest operator worth at least $2 billion. Based on Bharti’s current market value, the completion of the proposed investment will mean Amazon’s acquisition of approximately 5% of its shares. The terms of the transaction may change, or an agreement may not be reached. (Reuters)
Microsoft announced the launch of an agricultural technology entrepreneurship project in India, dedicated to promoting agricultural transformation. According to DealStreetAsia, Microsoft said in a statement that the Microsoft for Agritech Startups program is designed to help startups build industry-specific solutions and expand the market through deep technology, business and marketing resources. It is reported that India’s agricultural technology startups are transforming by developing innovative digital solutions to maximize agricultural productivity, supply chain efficiency and provide more input channels for agricultural enterprises.
Zomato investor Info Edge completed a fund raising of US$100 million. According to ET Tech, Info Edge is an investor in Zomato and the financial platform PolicyBazaar. Currently, the company has raised US$100 million (750 million rupees) for its funds. It is reported that the fund has already invested in four companies-fintech startup DotPe, new media company Qyuki, e-sports platform FanClash and telemedicine platform Truemeds.
Southeast Asia
SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial group, and Kejora Capital, a venture capital firm focused on Southeast Asia, jointly launched a $30 million Indonesian technology fund. According to Tech in Aisa, the fund’s investment areas include supply chain, education, medicine, consumer goods and retail, agriculture, fintech and digital media. The fund is expected to close for the first time on June 30. According to a statement, Confirmed investors include family offices, companies and other institutional investors in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Europe.
The Indonesian accounting application BukuWarung has been selected by Y Combinator as its summer project list. According to DealStreetAsia, the source revealed that the startup is raising US$5 million to US$10 million in funding. BukuWarung said that 250,000 SMEs in more than 500 cities and small towns in Indonesia have made millions of credit and cash transactions on their apps.
Eight Indonesian fintech companies are licensed by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK). According to DealStreetAsia, the Indonesian Fintech Loan Association (AFPI) announced on Tuesday that Indonesian fintech startups Pinjam Modal, Taralite, Danarupiah, Pinjamwinwin, Julo, Indodana, Awantunai and Alami have obtained from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) license. AFPI Chairman Adrian Gunadi said that the total number of fintech companies that have obtained a loan business license has reached 33.
Latin America
The Bank of Argentina Galicia, the Bank of Santander and the Spanish Foreign Bank have created the Play Digital payment platform. According to Latamlist, the platform aims to promote the development of traditional banks’ electronic payment services. The platform allows customers to transfer money between accounts using the unique code sent to the phone. It is reported that Play Digital will compete with Mercado Pago, an online payment platform with 3.4 million users in Argentina.
Middle East
Saudi Arabian takeaway startup Jahez completed a $36 million Series A round of financing. According to Menabytes, this round of financing was led by Saudi venture capital firm Impact 46. Jahez is currently planning to enter the cloud kitchen, grocery and non-food e-commerce fields. The company will use the new funds to further develop its technology, launch new products and services, and consolidate its position in Saudi Arabia.
Africa
The African telecom operator MTN plans to open at the end of June5G network. According to IT News Africa, MTN is promoting the use of Huawei’s recently launched P40 series smartphones to achieve 5G connectivity. It is reported that MTN has not stated how it plans to provide 5G services. The company has struggled to obtain certain licenses for many years to use the radio spectrum technology that is most suitable for 5G technology.
Other
New Bank of Japan will acquire UDC Finance, a New Zealand financial company, for US$480 million. According to DealStreetAsia, this is the bank’s largest overseas acquisition to date. Shinsei Bank said that small finance is its key business area, and UDC, which sells auto finance and mechanical finance products, is similar to several domestic financial subsidiaries of the company and can complement each other’s strengths.
Japan is considering establishing a universal digital payment infrastructure. The three major banks in Japan, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, have established a research group to study the establishment of a possible universal digital payment infrastructure, a move supported by the Central Bank and the Japanese financial regulator . Representatives of the Bank of Japan, the Ministry of Finance, and the Japanese Ministry of Finance will join the group as observers. Cashless payment is currently in addition to IC transportation cards such as JR East’s Suica card, as well as mobile payment such as “LINE Pay”. Mizuho Financial Group also launched its own digital currency “J-Coin Pay”. The research team will explore whether it is possible to build an infrastructure that will make these services compatible. (Finance Association)
Text| Luo Linqi@出海
Picture| Unsplash
