China’s Didi Chuxing signs strategic cooperation agreement with German automotive supplier Continental AG

The collaboration is aimed at building next-gen purpose-built electric-vehicles for Didi’s services. On Tuesday, China’s Didi Chuxing, a ride-sharing company, disclosed it has signed an agreement with German automotive supplier Continental AG to co-develop connected vehicles and design purpose-built electric vehicles (EVs) for Didi’s services. “Based on DiDi’s practical experience on mobility as well as…

SoftBank Group deepens investment in Yahoo Japan by $2 billion

The 3-way deal, ahead of SoftBank’s planned listing of its domestic telecoms unit – likely to be the largest Japanese IPO in nearly two decades, could boost demand for online shopping and mobile payments among Japan’s tech-savvy shoppers. In a move that sees Japan’s SoftBank Group tightening its grip over Yahoo Japan, the conglomerate disclosed…

Facebook staring at potential class-action lawsuit in Australia

The likelihood of the class-action lawsuit will depend on the findings of the Australian Information Commissioner which is probing Facebook’s improper handling of 311,000 Australian users’ data. On Tuesday, IMF Bentham Ltd, a litigation funding provider, disclosed it was funding a representative who has complained against Facebook Inc’s alleged breaches of Australia’s Privacy Principles. IMF…

Grab expands into grocery delivery services across Southeast Asia

Through this strategic move, Grab is expanding from its core ride-hailing services into other areas including electronic money transfers, loans, payment services and food delivery. Through GrabFresh, it now serves on-demand grocery deliveries. It is targetting revenues of $1 billion by the end of 2018. On Tuesday, in a strategic move that banks on its…

Xiaomi weak Hong Kong listing casts shadow on other tech listings in the pipeline

Investor appetite in Hong Kong for Xiaomi’s stock is low due to a range of reasons which include overall market sentiments, Xiaomi’s valuation of the stock in comparison to its peers, and the fact that investors see it as a hardware firm as opposed to a hardware and internet services firm.  Shares of Chinese smartphone…