Fintech

Meituan Dianping IPO demands a nemesis discount

3 September 2018

As China’s takeaway-to-taxis unicorn seeks up to a $55 bln valuation, former investor Alibaba is intensifying the rivalry. It began a loyalty plan to get customers spending more and brought in SoftBank to back its Ele.me delivery service. Bad blood should be priced into the deal.

Baidu’s core strength exercise is underappreciated

1 August 2018

The $85 bln Chinese search giant delivered 45 pct earnings growth last quarter, having shed a few distractions. The market is still cautious on Robin Li’s big AI plan as economic headwinds loom. But applying machine learning to content delivery - and censorship – should pay off.

The Exchange: Asia’s bubbly entrepreneurs

20 July 2018

Pete Sweeney hits the RISE tech conference in Hong Kong and hears pitches on vegan cryptocurrency, fog computing and big data for shrimp farmers. Trade tensions haven’t dented enthusiasm, but venture capitalists expect a correction to flush the dumb money from the market.

Alibaba’s $2 bln food sale hints at indigestion

17 July 2018

The e-commerce firm is raising new funds from outside investors for its meal delivery arm Ele.me, media reports. This comes just three months after Alibaba took full control of the unit. Rival Meituan's mooted $4 bln Hong Kong flotation might be giving Jack Ma stomach jitters.

SoftBank gets some help tinkering with valuation

12 July 2018

Masayoshi Son’s sprawling operation attracted an investment of over $1 bln from hedge fund Tiger Global. That should help SoftBank narrow its conglomerate discount, as might spinning off the Japanese mobile unit. The massive Vision Fund, though, is a murky hodgepodge unto itself.

Xiaomi IPO will punish bankers twice

9 July 2018

The Chinese smartphone-maker’s shares opened below the issue price in their $54 bln debut. It’s not the start tech companies covet. Advisers failed to sufficiently lower an unrealistic valuation goal. Their penalty may be that other big listings in Hong Kong are delayed.

Viewsroom: Is Silicon Valley getting nervous yet?

4 July 2018

The tech hub is getting squeezed by new policy restrictions amid a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. How is the Valley holding up? Plus: India's state lenders are losing CEOs. Is running these banks into the ground part of the plan?

Fintech lending throws banks another curveball

28 June 2018

Kabbage extends one-fifth of its small business loans at night or over the weekend. It’s no surprise such borrowers aren’t nine-to-fivers. But traditional lenders are. The ability of new entrants to transact 24/7 is just one more way technology is upending the industry.

Baidu’s $1 bln buyback is too little or too much

28 June 2018

The $85 bln Chinese web giant has failed to impress with its repurchase plan. The amount wasn't big enough to excite investors and in any event, the search engine operator is supposed to be focused on turning into an AI champion. It has better things to do with the cash.

China dims chances to shine in Asia’s cloud

27 June 2018

Demand is rising for remote data services across the region, including from proliferating startups. Chinese vendors such as Alibaba are best placed to challenge the likes of Amazon. Beijing's push for "internet sovereignty," though, may impede expansion, even by local champions.

Chinese P2P giant Lufax dodges valuation bullet

15 June 2018

A mooted private fundraising of more than $1 bln makes sense. With regulatory change coming to peer-to-peer lenders, floating now could upset Beijing, and might only be doable at a bargain price. Abundant venture capital offers a way to keep growing without a distracting IPO.

Hong Kong could teach China tech some manners

14 June 2018

Sina plans a secondary listing in the city, under new rules welcoming Chinese tech outfits traded overseas. In New York, the $7 bln web portal and its peers can issue super-voting stock on a whim and skip annual general meetings. The Fragrant Harbour will be less soft.

UK lawmakers’ TSB intervention is unhelpful

8 June 2018

A British parliamentary committee has called for the bank's boss to be fired, after protracted IT problems. The move risks undermining separate investigations by regulators. Removing Paul Pester now wouldn’t help TSB customers, and could even make the situation worse.

Ant’s $14 bln haul epitomises private excess

8 June 2018

The Chinese fintech group’s eye-popping funding round cements a $150 bln valuation. Ant raised nearly as much as Facebook and GM did in their IPOs, even as tech valuations cool and regulatory risks loom over Jack Ma’s firm. As insiders pile in, public investors may get squeezed.

Ant Financial quacks like a bank

21 May 2018

The Alibaba-linked outfit is pitching itself as more tech than fin to secure a $150 bln valuation. With over 600 mln users relying on it for payments, wealth management and loans, though, Ant is part of the fabric of Chinese finance. Beijing would be wise to regulate accordingly.

PayPal takes $2.2 bln step into physical payments

18 May 2018

The online pioneer is buying iZettle, which provides mobile card readers to small merchants. The valuation is higher than U.S. rival Square, and twice the Swedish group’s mooted IPO value. For PayPal, though, it’s a worthwhile move to expand its appeal to real-world retailers.

Kodak’s lost crypto moment mirrors its decline

10 May 2018

The imaging firm’s partner aims to raise $50 mln in a coin offering to develop a photographic-rights platform. Kodak stock popped over 300 pct when it unveiled the plan in January but it has since lost most of that ground. The ICO hype has faded even faster than film photos did.

SoftBank-backed fintech slaps on smart M&A patch

26 April 2018

Online lender Kabbage is buying analytics firm Orchard, whose investors include Wall Street chiefs Vikram Pandit and John Mack. The deal is more about adding data than revenue, but that shows fintech lenders are starting to put profit and customer retention ahead of rapid growth.

Viewsroom: Fintech’s growing pains

19 April 2018

Upstarts like LendingClub and SoFi need to find ways to keep customers returning – just as traditional banks are fighting back and Goldman Sachs’ digital push into consumer lending takes off. Also: how Malaysia’s prime minister may be re-elected despite the 1MDB scandal.

Blockchain makes online lenders taste own medicine

11 April 2018

The likes of Prosper and SoFi found cryptocurrency technology stealing the limelight at their annual get-together. Traditional banks were once unsure whether to take the hyped upstarts seriously. The maturing fintech players now face a similar dilemma with blockchain.