Thursday Tech Briefing: May 31

BIG TECH COMPANIES

1. Wanda Links Up With Tencent, Gaopeng for Retail Tech Joint Venture

WHAT:

• •   Dalian Wanda Group, Tencent and Gaopeng will launch a joint venture to upgrade Wanda’s shopping malls with Internet technologies

• •   Wanda will own 51% of the venture, while Tencent will hold 42.5%. Gaopeng, a venture between Tencent and Groupon, will hold 6.5%

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

• •   The venture marks Tencent’s latest foray into traditional retail. Tencent’s other recent related acquisitions include investments in supermarket operator Yonghui Superstores and the Chinese menswear group Heilan Home Co.

BIG PICTURE:

• •   The move follows a global trend known as “bricks and clicks,” in which e-commerce powerhouses join with brick-and-mortar retailers

• •   Tencent and Alibaba have moved their war for supremacy in cyberspace to the brick-and-mortar realm, in China’s $4.9 trillion retail market

Source: Caixin

2. Huawei Announces Strategic Partnership with iFlytek

WHAT:

• •   Huawei has formed a strategic partnership with voice recognition company iFlytek Co. Ltd. in areas such as public cloud service, ICT products, smart devices and office IT

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

• •   After losing Huawei as a client to Baidu in 2017, iFlytek has managed to win the company back within a year.

BIG PICTURE:

• •   The partnership highlights the fierce competition among Chinese AI companies, as Baidu won a contract from Huawei in 2017 by offering its DuerOS platform for free

• •   Since the rise of Amazon Echo, voice assistant has become an essential part of smart devices. Huawei is competing with rivals like Samsung and Apple to put more AI functions into its products

Source: Official Press Release

DEALS AND FUNDRAISING

3. Tencent Hires Banks for Music Unit’s IPO That Could Value It at $30 Billion

WHAT:

• •   Tencent has hired banks for a New York listing of its music unit, which could value it at $30 billion. The valuation suggests a fundraising target of up to $4 billion

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

• •   Tencent had the biggest share of China’s music streaming revenues last year. The valuation would depend in part on where Spotify is trading at the time of IPO pricing. Tencent music has arranged a stake swap with the Swedish streaming company and owns 9% of it

BIG PICTURE:

• •   Tencent commands a sprawling tech empire. It splashed out on U.S. tech last year, making investments in Snap, Tesla and Spotify

Source:The Financial Times

4. Didi Takes Part in Fund-Raising by Ride-on-Demand App Taxify

WHAT:

• •   Estonian start-up Taxify has raised $175 million in its latest funding round, as it plans to compete with Uber in Europe and Africa

• •   Didi Chuxing was among the investors, in a deal that values the ride-booking group at more than $1 billion

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

• •   Didi Chuxing acquired a majority stake in Brazilian ride-hailing company 99 in January. Taxify is Didi’s second unicorn investment

BIG PICTURE:

• •   Having consolidated its leading position in China, Didi is looking to extend its global reach through a series of investments and service launches overseas

Source: The Financial Times

5. Used Car Operator Uxin to Floor It With $500 Million IPO Plan

WHAT:

• •   Used car services platform operator Uxin Ltd. is aiming to raise up to $500 million in a New York IPO

• •   The company’s revenue more than doubled last year to 1.95 billion yuan ($304 million), and it reported a loss of 1.53 billion yuan in the first three months of the year, nearly triple its loss from a year earlier

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

• •   Uxin is one of the first major deals by a young group of online firms capitalizing on China’s fast-growing preowned-vehicle market. Transaction volume and value of merchandise traded over its platforms both grew about 68% last year

BIG PICTURE:

• •   China is the world’s largest car market, with nearly 29 million units sold last year. The used car market is smaller but developing quickly behind, with 12.4 million cars changing hands last year

Source: Caixin

Compiled by Hou Qijiang, Qian Tong and Zhang Erchi