Editor’s note:
Vinasun, Vietnam’s taxi firm, has sued Grab for unfair competition. The company claimed Grab has caused its revenue to decline and asked for a compensation of VND41.2 billion ($1.8 million).
In response, Jerry Lim, Country Head of Grab Vietnam, told Deal Street Asia: “Vinasun has resorted to anti-competitive tactics and legal action as a reaction to their declining market share.”
“There is no link between Grab Vietnam and Vinsasun’s losses. If Vinasun wants compensation, it should file a suit against the Ministry of Transport instead,” another Grab representative said.
Kr-ASIA Daily is a five-minute read to brief you everything you need to know to start your day. We only choose the latest tech & startup news that is worth your time, with a focus on Southeast Asia and China.
Southeast Asia:
Vietnam: Terming allegations of unfair business practices by Vietnamese taxi firm Vinasun as baseless, ride-hailing major Grab said its rival was indulging in anti-competitive practices. Jerry Lim, Country Head of Grab Vietnam said Grab’s operations in Vietnam have always been compliant with current rules and regulations. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Indonesia’s ATM Capital-backed co-working space provider Rework has announced the completion of its merger with local rival GoWork to create a new entity, Go-Rework. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: Singapore-based online restaurant Grain has closed a pre-Series B round backed by early-stage venture fund Majuven with participation from food services company FoodXervices, and F&B company First Gourmet. (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is joining a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners – with support from Brookfield Asset Management – in a bid for South Korean security services major ADT Caps, in a deal estimated to be in the region of 3 trillion won ($2.76 billion). (Deal Street Asia)
Singapore: Noida (India)-based student housing startup Placio today announced that it has raised US$2 million in pre-Series A round of financing from Singapore-based private equity fund Prestellar Ventures. The funding will go into Placio’s expansion activities in Southeast Asia. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Jakarta-based logistics solutions provider Etobee has closed a post-Series A bridge round of $3.5 million, according to three people aware of the development. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Intudo Ventures, an Indonesia-focused venture capital firm, raised $20 million in its debut fund as it seeks to capitalize on rising consumption in the world’s fourth most-populous nation. (Deal Street Asia)
Indonesia: Publicly listed lender BRI Agro announced that it has set aside Rp 1 trillion ($70 million) to acquire two unnamed small banks as part of a strategy to accelerate its growth. (Deal Street Asia)
China:
Meituan-Dianping, the world’s #4 most valuable startup, participated the latest funding round in Swiggy, India’s top food delivery firm. The Chinese company holds around 60% of China’s food delivery market. (36Kr)
Meituan Travel, the travel booking arm of China’s largest service-focused e-commerce platform Meituan-Dianping, announced Thursday a partnership with Club Med, the global hotel and resort operator. The Paris-headquartered company will set up a flagship store on Meituan Travel app, allowing travelers to book online. (KrASIA)
Chinese ride-hailer DiDi Chuxing announced Wednesday a partnership with a group of 12 automakers from home and abroad to launch an “open new energy car-sharing system” as part of the company’s wider push to ride the wave of the electric vehicle (EV) trend through working closely with traditional automobile makers, which are also carefully exploring the new terrain. (KrASIA)
Chinese tech giant Tencent teamed up with Medopad, a UK-based artificial intelligence healthcare technology company, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Pinwest. The two are set to jointly develop artificial intelligence-enabled clinical decision support (CDS) software and medical chatbots. (KrASIA)
E-commerce giant JD.com has announced the opening of a local office in Australia as it accelerates growth in the region. (e27)
Huami, the world’s largest wearable devices manufacturer, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the first public company of Xiaomi Ecosystem. (tech.sina)
Huawei announced RMB 5 billion investment in R&D of 5G technologies in 2018. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer plans to roll out 5G smartphone by 2019. (tech.sina)
Xiaomi inked a strategic partnership with Line’s parent company, the Korean search engine Naver to collaborate in development in AI technologies and IoT. (tech.huanqiu)
Xiaomi is likely to replace OPPO as China’s second largest smartphone manufacturer in Q1 2018 and Huawei remains No.1, according to research institute Digitime Research. (tech.iFeng)
SoftBank China participated in a USD 20 million round in Codoon (咕咚), a social networking brand for sports lover. (tech.iFeng)
China’s Ministry of Commerce plans to push for a development in e-commerce in rural areas. (cnstock)
China is likely to roll out a guideline for cross-border e-commerce businesses by the mid-2018. (cnr)
Ant Financial’s credit scoring system Zhima Credit announced it will stop collaborating with lenders without a license. (bbtnews)
Blockchain-based game CryptoKitties will launch in China and Singapore’s App Store by the Chinese Spring Festival. (jiemian)
China’s electric vehicle (EV) startup unicorn Byton is targeting to raise $300-400 million from a Chinese government investment institution at a valuation of $1.2 billion. (Deal Street Asia)
World:
Amazon said it would start delivering Whole Foods groceries via its fastest delivery option in four markets, marking the first major integration between its e-commerce operations and its new brick-and-mortar grocery chain. (wsj)
India’s antitrust watchdog on Thursday imposed a 1.36 billion rupees ($21.17 million) fine on Google for “search bias” and abuse of its dominant position, in the latest regulatory setback for the world’s most popular internet search engine. (Reuters)
Qualcomm‘s board unanimously rejects Broadcom‘s revised unsolicited $121B acquisition offer, offers to meet with them to address “serious deficiencies in value”. (techmeme)
Samsung Electronics’ ailing chairman, Lee Kun-hee, was named by South Korean police on Thursday as a suspect in an 8.2 billion won ($7.5 million) tax evasion case that involved the use of bank accounts held by employees. (Reuters)
Twitter soared the most since its market debut in 2013 after it posted the first revenue growth in four quarters, driven by improvements to its app and added video content that are persuading advertisers to boost spending on the social network. (Bloomberg)
Twitter Q4: profit of $91.1M, its first ever, revenue of $731.6M, up 2% YoY, vs. $686.4M est.; MAUs up 4% YoY but flat QoQ at 330M vs. 333M est.; stock up 10%+. (techmeme)
