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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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European Fintech Companies Strive for Success in Southeast Asia 💳
As you may have noticed from my previous articles, fintech in Southeast Asia is one of the biggest business opportunities in the region. The quality of financial services in Southeast Asian countries is quite poor; mobile penetration is high; and the coronavirus is pushing even more consumer behaviour online. This article from Sifted highlights how Asia is the main priority for European fintech companies thinking about international expansion.
Companies like Revolut, Thought Machine, and Transfer Wise see Asia as their biggest opportunity and have made recent moves to establish a presence in the region. They face competition from local Southeast Asian players and Chinese players, on top of government regulation on topics like digital banking licenses. The articles notes how many European fintechs are prioritising expansion in Asia over any other region, including North America. In the global fintech world, it seems that Asia is increasingly becoming seen as the ultimate prize.
Kuaishou’s Next Step in Growth Leads to IPO 📽
Kuaishou, the Chinese short-form video app that serves as primary rival to Douyin (the Chinese TikTok), has had a stellar year. Much like Douyin, TikTok, and most other mobile entertainment apps, Kuaishou’s growing user numbers and engagement have also led to major increases in revenue. To cap off their success in 2020, Kuaishou has announced that they plan to go public in Hong Kong early next year.
Kuaishou’s latest valuation is $28 Billion, which makes them one of the top 20 most valuable tech startups in the world. The company was founded in Beijing nine years ago and has around 300 Million daily active users. This year, the e-commerce livestreaming behaviour has exploded on the app, with 170 Million people doing daily livestreams. While TikTok might go public in the US next year (depending on the latest news in the acquisition saga), Kuaishou is purposely choosing the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which is at least partially impacted by the difficult state of US-China relations.
Pinduoduo’s Moving Even Deeper into Groceries
Pinduoduo is China’s premier social commerce app, a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq worth $93 Billion dollars that is only five years old. They set very ambitious goals and usually achieve them. One of the next priorities for Pinduoduo is selling groceries and helping the Chinese agricultural industry. Pinduoduo has just announced a strategic partnership with China Post, which is basically China’s national postal system, like the US Postal Service of China.
Right now, the China Post has the ability to deliver products anywhere in the country. With a Pinduoduo partnership, this expands the levels of access for both sellers and buyers on the e-commerce platform. Now even more remote farmers can sell their produce more easily on the platform and buyers can receive their goods more quickly through China Post. Fresh produce is one of the most commonly sold items on Pinduoduo, and one of the main sales methods comes through livestreaming. This should help take China’s agricultural industry into the future, even just by one further step.
Update #74 - Euro-Asian Fintech, Kuaishou Going Public, and Rural Chinese Groceries