SEA
Go-Jek’s app Get is close to launch in Thailand. The company declined to share details about its Bangkok launch when asked by KrASIA. (KrASIA)
Vietnamese OTA Vntrip now valued at $45m after new funds raised. The startup supports both domestic and unbound travel, including hotels and flights in and to Bangkok. (KrASIA)
Lazada works with Finaxar to offer financing for online vendors. Lazada sellers can now apply for loans directly online through the Finaxar Merchant Credit Line that’s integrated into the Lazada platform. (KrASIA)
Bahasa.ai, an Indonesian AI startup, raises an undisclosed amount in seed funding from East Ventures. The funds will be used to develop the NLP (natural language programming) engine to enable artificial intelligence to use a more contextual and relevant version of Bahasa Indonesia. (Deal Street Asia)
Startup Viet Partners, a Vietnamese VC firm, enters the startup ecosystem with a US$5m fund. Their goal is to fund and add value to growth stage startups with a focus is on tech solutions in the B2B or B2B2C sectors. (e27)
OCBC Bank targets young and tech-savvy investors by being the first bank to offer robo-investment services. Customers get to select from 28 portfolios of equities and exchange-traded funds across 6 markets. (Vulcan Post)
China
Alibaba sets up subsidiary involving Ele.me and Koubei to fight Meituan. This announcement came in the wake of its mixed quarterly results, even as archrival Meituan is going for a potential September 20 public float at the Hong Kong Exchange. (KrASIA)
Alibaba moves into automotive aftermarket in competition with Didi. This setting up of JV will pit Alibaba against Didi for a larger slice of China’s RMB 1.3 trillion car aftercare market. (KrASIA)
Xiaomi posts $2.1b in profits after disappointing IPO. The market uncertainty did little to affect the growing sales from Xiaomi smartphones, Xiaomi hardware, and its ad revenues. (KrASIA)
US-listed Chinese stocks took a beating after Alibaba disappointing earnings result. While Alibaba shares fell by more than 3% on Thursday, the other major US-listed Chinese tech stocks also declined by close to 2% or more. (CNBC)
Industry observers accused Tencent of prioritising investments over innovations. This debate was sparked off by a former tech editor, Pan Luan. Tencent invested more in H1 2018 than the whole of 2017, following investments into the new fields of new retail and e-sports. (SCMP)
Waymo, Google’s self-driving project sets up headquarters of its subsidiary in Shanghai. It plans to design and test self-driving vehicles and products. This latest development came in the wake of news of Google’s secretive China-focused search engine. (Technode)
World
Translink Capital, a US investment firm, is set to raise a new China-focused VC fund. The company specializes in startups investments at the seed, early, and expansion stages, with a preference for sectors like IT, mobile, social, fintech and communications amongst others. (Deal Street Asia)
Google takes away several Iran-related contents. In total, 39 Youtube Channels, six blogs on bloggers, and 13+ google accounts were removed all in the name of being linked to state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. (Channel NewsAsia)
Lyft will be offering reduced-price and free rides to polling places around the US on Election Day (November 6). Additionally, Lyft is looking to provide a product integration to make it easier for voters to cast their votes by helping voters search for their respective polling locations. (TechCrunch)
SEC’s staff have blocked nine bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds from coming to the market and the SEC is reviewing that decision. SEC’s commissioners have previously voted in favor of another bitcoin ETF application. (Reuters)
