Ping An offers up a glimpse of China’s bank reboot 18 Mar 2019 The insurance giant is preparing a $1 bln IPO for OneConnect, a startup offering tech support for mainland lenders, including fancy credit checks. Beijing wants banks to lend more to smaller, private firms, but few can handle the risk. It’s a dilemma that leaves a lucrative gap.
Breakdown: Shanghai stock venue shows promise 18 Mar 2019 After multiple Chinese trading-experiment flops, a new board for fast-growing tech and biotech startups looks more auspicious. Its rules strike a balance between liberalisation and discipline. The approach could improve mainland markets at the expense of New York and Hong Kong.
China’s housing unicorns are financial engineers 8 Mar 2019 A fundraising values flat-leasing startup Danke at $2 bln. Like rivals, it raises cash for expansion by taking out loans in tenants' names, rather than charge monthly rents. Owners, renters and banks are exposed if Danke flops. The practice is likely to overstay its welcome.
Payments IPO can shrug off sluggish Italy 26 Feb 2019 Domestic market leader Nexi is seeking a listing that may value it at some 7 billion euros including debt. Cash-loving Italians have traditionally shunned bank cards and digital transactions, but that’s changing. Closing the gap promises decent growth, even in a slowing economy.
Nintendo plays winning Japanese buyback game 26 Feb 2019 The Super Mario maker is repurchasing $300 mln of stock and cancelling hoarded shares as owners like Bank of Kyoto adapt to new cross-holding rules. Buybacks can be a poor use of cash, but with Japan Inc holding $4 trln in reserve Nintendo is joining a worthwhile movement.
China’s big urban-zone idea lacks finer points 19 Feb 2019 Beijing unveiled a blueprint to link Hong Kong, Macau and mainland cities into a $1.5 trln economic powerhouse. The Greater Bay Area plan is packed with industrial-planning jargon. What’s missing is nitty-gritty on taxes, consumer banking and commuting, which will matter most.
Wirecard lands dubious credit from German watchdog 18 Feb 2019 The regulator slapped a short-selling ban on the payments group’s shares. The thesis that Wirecard’s volatility could cause “general market uncertainty” is odd since wild price swings had abated. And the prohibition does nothing to fix the company’s problem: lack of transparency.
SoftBank adds to contradictions with Mubadala punt 18 Feb 2019 Masayoshi Son’s group is bankrolling half the Abu Dhabi state investor’s $400 mln start-up vehicle. That’s peanuts next to the $100 bln Vision Fund, and gives SoftBank access to early-stage bets. But outsourcing those decisions is an odd look for a supposed tech visionary.
Didi offers India’s hotel startup a lift in China 15 Feb 2019 No-frills chain Oyo is growing fast in a country where few foreign tech firms have thrived. An investment from local ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will help smooth the way for the $5 bln group. In return, the buyer gets a valuable ally in its duel with rival superapp Meituan.
Foreign IPO tide flows back into Hong Kong 14 Feb 2019 Global Switch and Home Credit are eyeing $1 bln floats in a city which has struggled to attract interest offshore. AB InBev might list its Asia operations too. Rule changes letting the benchmark index include overseas-based firms are one incentive. A thin China pipeline is another.
Chinese banks resist maxing out credit cards 13 Feb 2019 Lenders have issued more than 650 mln of them to local consumers, facilitating debt-fueled shopping sprees. It’s a lucrative but risky supplement to other types of loans, and some banks are pulling back. That’s negative for economic stimulus, but financially prudent.
Atos payments spinoff flags parent’s bugs 30 Jan 2019 CEO Thierry Breton is handing shareholders a 2 bln euro chunk of the IT group’s stake in listed payments unit Worldline. Ideally, he’d give them the lot. Investors are left holding a subscale computing business with dicey U.S. prospects. Its lowly valuation is warranted.
Chasing $13 bln Nexon throws Tencent off its game 25 Jan 2019 The Chinese titan behind “League of Legends” is eying control of its rival, which makes “Counter-Strike.” Tencent probably could help Nexon move faster from PCs to mobile. But slower industry growth and a Beijing crackdown suggest boss Pony Ma would be wiser to focus elsewhere.
KKR scrapes second-rate return out of First Data 18 Jan 2019 After a long 12-year investment in the payment processor, a sale to Fiserv sets the stage for a profitable exit. It’s a wonder the $29 bln buyout survived the financial crisis, considering the debt and multiple CEOs. Anything better than breaking even amounts to a win.
Last deal for First Data carries late-cycle risk 16 Jan 2019 Fiserv’s $22 bln all-stock acquisition of the transaction processor at a 30 pct premium comes with plenty of cost savings. Revenue synergies would be icing on the cake. But as with KKR’s toppy leveraged buyout of First Data in 2007, market turns can undermine M&A logic.
Blockchain will finally make itself useful 31 Dec 2018 The distributed-ledger technology associated with bitcoin is due a breakthrough in 2019. Banks and companies are gradually applying versions of it to tasks like settlement. Demonstrating blockchain’s utility, though, will say little about the value of cryptocurrencies themselves.
Korean unicorns gallop into the limelight 14 Dec 2018 Payments app Toss is the latest of a handful of local startups to secure a $1 bln-plus valuation, after fundraising led by U.S. investors. A wealthy, tech-savvy market is nurturing a new breed of tech firms that can stand out abroad too. SoftBank and others are taking notice.
Chinese phenom Pinduoduo has some explaining to do 15 Nov 2018 The $19 bln favoured e-commerce site for frugal “aunties from Wuhan” is inflating its top line and understating its costs, alleges short-seller Blue Orca. If true, the charges are damning and threaten PDD’s superlative as the fastest-growing internet seller on the planet.
Payment stars are victims of their own growth hype 14 Nov 2018 Amsterdam’s Adyen and Munich-based Wirecard lost 3 bln euros of market value despite the German group upping its targets. A trigger may have been Adyen’s non-inclusion in a big index. Still, companies priced for years of rapid growth are most vulnerable late in an economic cycle.
EU tech’s unholy alliance takes shape in Lisbon 12 Nov 2018 Europe is tackling the deficiencies that made it a digital also-ran, like lack of talent and funding. Yet vast data hoards and market share still give U.S. giants like Google a massive advantage. Policymakers at last week’s Web Summit in Portugal seemed eager to close the gap.