Southeast Asia:
Crowd Genie, a Singapore-based P2P lending solutions provider, plans to raise up to $31.69 million in an IPO. The startup aims to provide SMEs with easier capital access. The company will use the proceeds to develop a tokenized platform that streamlines capital flows between borrowers and lenders. (DealStreetAsia)
Indonesian e-commerce startup Bukalapak is claimed to be the forth unicorn company in Indonesia with a new undisclosed funding round. Following Go-Jek, Traveloka, and Tokopedia, the startup has Emtek Group, 500 Startups, GREE Ventures, and QueensBridge Venture Partners as investors prior to the new funding round. (e27)
International Finance Corporation (IFC) sees a growing number of investable opportunities in emerging Asian markets including Myanmar and Indonesia. As the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, IFC has invested several VCs in Southeast Asia and has directly invested in 19 companies in Indonesia alone. In 2016, five startups namely Grab, Go-Jek, Garena, Tokopedia and Trax, nabbed 75 percent of investments in the region. (DealStreetAsia)
Thailand-based VGI Global Media, a SET-listed out-of-home (OOH) media provider, has acquired 25 percent stake in Puncak Berlian Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian OOH media company. This strategic investment of VGI makes the company the largest OOH media group in the region. VGI controls media content in the MRT lines in Maylasia, Indonesia and Thailand. (DealStreetAsia)
Monetary Authority of Singapore signed a cooperation agreement with the central bank of the Philippines to promote Fintech in one another’s respective countries. The agreement facilitates cross-border payment and improves know-your-customer standards. MAS has also announced a $20 million AI grand and updated regulations regarding ICOs. (e27)
China:
Alibaba-led alliance agreed to buy majority stake in China’s largest operator of hypermarket Sun Art Retail for approximately $29 billion, as part of Alibaba’s plan to transform the brick-and-mortar retail. Sun Art Retail now operates about 400 hypermarkets under the Auchan and RT-Mart banners. (Bloomberg)
China launched regulations on financial institutions concerning asset management. No institutions other than financial institutions will be allowed to issue and sell asset management products. (36Kr)
Today convenience store has closed a Series B funding round led by China Equity, raising up to $30 million. Specialised in chain convenience store, the startup plans to use the proceeds to support its supply chain and build a retail cloud. (36Kr)
World:
Walmart pre-ordered 15 Tesla semi-truck while another grocery mogul Loblaw booked 25. The new semi-truck is expected to see its mass production in 2019. The price will probably range from $200 000 to $300 000 each. (36Kr)
The California-based startup accelerator Y Combinator has ended its affiliation with its two-year partner, Trump champion Peter Thiel. Y combinator has successfully launched Airbnb, Stripe and Reddit. Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech investor has served as a partner at Y combinator since 2015. (Bloomberg)
