Hong Kong embraces crypto trading as Singapore tightens regulations
Asia Tech Review: 6 November 2022
Welcome back,
This week I’m writing from San Francisco in what is my first trip back for four years. This time it feels a little different, dare I say lower energy. That seems to be because many people left the costly city during Covid, realising they could leave cheaper or more lavishly elsewhere in the US or abroad. Anecdotally, it seems some have returned but still it seems subdued. That may also be down to this spate of recent big tech layoffs, or the might of the Web Summit event to pull people into Portugal for a huge event.
Still, it is certainly a strange feeling to be back in a less-than-brimming Silicon Valley.
See you next time,
Jon
China
China has gone about integrating its Uyghur Muslim minority by destroying its culture and beliefs, and that also extends to the internet where websites, forums and social media that once housed culture and buzzy conversations have simply disappeared link
US self-driving truck company TuSimple fired its CEO after finding that he had shared confidential information with Hydron, a Chinese startup founded by a fellow TuSimple co-founder, without board approval link
Foxconn is scrambling to contain a weeks-long Covid-19 outbreak at an iPhone factory in central China, trying to appease frightened and frustrated workers during a crucial period for smartphone orders link
Restrictions on US citizens assisting China’s chip industry are expected to be more narrowly enforced than initially feared, potentially meaning that they could have a smaller-than-expected impact on semiconductor companies doing business in China link
Venture capital investments in China are falling sharply this year, making it one of the worst-performing countries globally after the Communist Party’s crackdown and an overall global decline—the value of venture capital deals in the country tumbled 44% to $62.1 billion through October, compared with the same period in 2021, according to research firm Preqin link
China says it plans to ship more than 25M VR devices with a value exceeding 350 billion yuan ($48.20 billion) by 2026 link
A look at how Shein’s rapid ascent to a fast-chain e-commerce giant has led major Chinese internet firms, including ByteDance and Pinduoduo, to copy it fairly shamelessly with efforts of their own link
China’s central bank is struggling to get more than a dozen leading internet groups to comply with a December deadline to share users’ personal information with state-backed credit-scoring companies link
Sequoia Capital China reportedly backed e-bike maker Aventon at a $590M valuation link
Hong Kong
AlipayHK, the Hong Kong-based version of Ant Group’s Alipay app, is reportedly now used by nearly half of the country—that’s 3.3M active users link
Hong Kong has proposed to allow retail investors to trade in cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds—it is also planning to pilot NFT issuance and CBDC to bounce back from setbacks as a global financial hub link
Taiwan
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund formed a joint venture with Foxconn to build and sell EVs using BMW component technology link
India
A look at sexism in India’s tech industry—while opportunities have increased for women in the country’s tech sector they commonly suffer discrimination such as harassment, neglect and unequal pay while just 7% of executive positions are held by women (versus 36% of the overall tech workforce) link
One of Amazon India's biggest sellers, Appario, will cease to list products on the shopping website—the latest drop off following pressure from brick and mortar retailer complaints over preferential treatment link
India’s central bank will begin a central digital bank currency (CBDC) pilot for wholesale business, a retail version will come in the next month link
Coinbase and Polygon are among the backers of a new crypto advocacy group in India link
Snap is making a big push to woo rural Indian users—it once famously wrote off the country for being a low revenue market link
Why did Snapchat u-turn? Well lots of tech companies are figuring out unique policies to succeed in India—one great example is WhatsApp which is reportedly on track to crack $1B in revenue from India next year from its business messaging services link
Just to tie that all together: Facebook-parent Meta's India head Ajit Mohan has moved over to lead Snap in India link
Google is pausing the enforcement of a policy that requires app developers in India to use its proprietary billing system for selling digital goods, following a ruling by the country's antitrust body link
Decentro, a Y Combinator-backed startup that helps companies enter India’s fintech market by using its APIs, raised $4.7M link
Byju's reportedly served 'performance notices' to over 5,000 employees as part of reviews that have seen 2,500 employees let go link
Elsewhere and after revamping to cut costs, Byju's is now eying a billion-dollar IPO for its physical tutor chain Aakash—a planned deal is aimed at raising at least $800M at a valuation of $3.5B link
Meanwhile, Byju’s is also said to be in talks with TPG and others to secure upwards of $300M in fresh funding link
Saas startup Icertis raised $150M from Silicon Valley Bank link
Southeast Asia
Hong Kong may be embracing retailing trading for crypto but Singapore is moving the other way, much to the frustration of industry players like Coinbase. “Singapore wants to be a Web3 hub, and then simultaneously say: ’Oh, we’re not really going to allow retail trading or self-hosted wallets to be available,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in conversation with a top MAS executive link
Indonesia’s state-owned phone carrier PT Telkom Indonesia may raise capital for its data center business potentially at a valuation of over $1B ahead as a planned IPO in 2023 may not come to fruition, according to Bloomberg link
The UK’s Entrepreneur First is ending its venture-building business in Singapore, which was its first international expansion, and also ending operations in Toronto as part of what appears to be cut backs. It remains active in Europe, North America, and India link
Vietnam is luring tech giants out of China with flashy infrastructure projects link
South Korea
Microsoft invested $46M in Korea-based game developer Wemade as part of a sustained push into web3 services link
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