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We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.
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Ant Group’s Relationship with Paytm
Ant Group, the fintech company that was spun out of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is on track to have the largest IPO of the year, with a planned $200 Billion public offering in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. In their recent filing documents, Ant revealed that they have a 30% stake in One97 Communications, which is the owner of Paytm, India’s largest digital payments company and most valuable startup. This matters because it adds a new layer of risk for both Ant and Paytm, given the currently strained and complicated relationships between China and India.
The Indian government has recently imposed new restrictions on foreign investment that has especially affected Chinese investors in Indian companies. Earlier this year, Indian startup Zomato had $100 Million of investment coming from Ant that was temporarily blocked by the Indian government. The truth is that more than half of the top 25 biggest Indian tech companies have at least one Chinese investor. Until political tensions or legislation changes, Paytm will be making sure to distance themselves from their relationship with Ant.
China’s Valentine’s Day Sales Festival
Last week was China’s Qixi Festival, one of the biggest sales holidays of the year that is often compared to Valentine’s Day. This festival is especially important for beauty and luxury brands. This year, we saw more of the same record breaking post-Covid e-commerce growth that China experienced during the 618 Festival in June. Of course, many European luxury fashion brands like Salvatore Ferragamo and Estée Lauder paired with Chinese KOLs to do livestreams. The early data from the Qixi Festival indicate strong year-on-year growth across categories.
JD.com released a report saying that luxury goods saw a 20-30% increase in sales. Gold, silver, and jewellery sales increased over 100% and intercity flower orders increased 33%, perhaps indicating more long-distance relationships in the time of Covid. It’s still amazing to me that Chinese e-commerce sales festivals keep breaking records. Part of this might be pent-up demand from a restricted lockdown Covid period, but it also indicates the sheer size and scale of Chinese buyers coming online.
Facebook Threatens to Sue Thai Government Over Censorship
The Thai Government recently ordered Facebook to shut down a Facebook group that contained over one million members critical of the Thai monarchy. The group was shut down but now Facebook is threatening to file a lawsuit against the Thai government to challenge the order. There are certain laws in Thailand that prohibit defamation of the monarchy and the most harsh sentences for breaking the law include extended jail time.
As a former Facebook employee, I still feel a strong connection to the company that was such an important part of my life. I can understand the difficulty in balancing respect for local laws while also fighting for certain principles and ideas the company values. For several years, I thought that Facebook was not putting sufficient investment into their government and public policy teams. Given all the scandals, government scrutiny and new regulation over the last three years, I’m sure Facebook has reevaluated the importance of public policy. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out in Thailand. In some countries (like Pakistan, India, and Vietnam), Facebook has actually been temporarily banned by the government for violating local laws.
Update #61 - Ant and Paytm, Qixi Festival, and Facebook Thailand