trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/gch8_xllepopnyf5cefgcw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Bilibili files for US$400M IPO; China to grant tech IPOs speedy approvals

Blog

Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 2022

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 50: InfoSec spending up, again…

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud


Bilibili files for US$400M IPO; China to grant tech IPOs speedy approvals

TOP NEWS

* Chinese anime streaming platform Bilibili Inc. has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO of US$400 million. The Shanghai-based company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BILI. Pricing terms or the number of shares to be listed were not disclosed.

* China plans to grant speedy approvals to tech companies seeking domestic IPOs, JRJ news reports. Chinese regulators have reportedly issued guidelines saying that if unicorns involved in biotechnology, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and high-end manufacturing seek listings, brokers should report this to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The new IPO procedure will see tech companies obtaining regulatory approval in two to three months, Global Times reports, citing Sina.com.

JAPAN

* Dentsu Inc. said its global business unit Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd. agreed to acquire a 100% stake in major Polish marketing communication group Red8 Group Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

* Tokyo-based YouTuber management agency VAZ Inc. raised ¥1.15 billion during its series C funding round by private equity placement. The latest round had 21 companies as investors including Yomiuri-Tv Enterprise Ltd., Japanese talent agency Horipro Inc. and media company DWANGO Co. Ltd.

* Panasonic Corp. and Chinese state-owned Beijing Automotive Group will establish a joint venture to build key components for electric vehicles in a bid to expand their collaboration to smart cars and self-driving vehicles, The Nikkei reports.

SOUTH KOREA

* Netmarble Games Corp. named Park Sean as CEO, Yonhap News Agency reports. Park will serve as co-head of the company with incumbent chief Kwon Young-sig. Kwon will run Netmarble's game business while Park, the former chief strategy officer of mobile messenger service Kakao Talk, will direct the company's strategy and investment.

* Naver Corp.'s Naver Labs signed a memorandum of understanding with Amsterdam-based mapping service provider HERE Technology to automate indoor mapping through AI technology. Under the partnership, the two companies will build location and mapping services for major landmarks around the world using Naver's scalable and semantic indoor mapping technology.

* In other Naver news, the company disclosed plans to invest another 50 billion South Korean won into its affiliate Snow, a selfie app. The total amount of investment Naver has injected into Snow stands at 107 billion won.

CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

* JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Asia-Pacific investment banking chairman, Brian Gu, is leaving the company to join Xiaopeng Motors, an electric-car manufacturing startup based in Guangzhou, China, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Xiaopeng Motors, also referred to as Xpeng, is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group Co. Ltd.

* Tencent Holdings Ltd Chairman Ma Huateng is urging the Chinese government to introduce an ID system that would link travel documents with a mobile phone as a means of boosting regional trade between Hong Kong and mainland China, Bloomberg News reports.

* Amazon.com Inc. partnered with CHIEF, a division of Chunghwa Telecom, to expand its cloud businesses in Taiwan, UDN reports. The partnership allows Amazon to use CHIEF's data center in Taiwan to offer faster services with a new range of flexible pricing packages to local clients.

* Beijing-based streaming company Duomi Music plans to drop its music business, Jiemian reports. Duomi also suspended the social media account Oupu, which interacts with music fans.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* The private database of BSNL, which contains details of more than 47,000 employees, has reportedly been hacked by an anonymous French security researcher. The Indian state-owned telco reportedly acknowledged and fixed the issues after it was reported, according to The Economic Times.

* Aircel Cellular Ltd. is in talks with Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Reliance Jio for roaming agreements that could keep its network running, India's The Economic Times reports, citing sources. A potential deal, however, is reportedly hindered by Aircel's incapacity to pay. GTL Infrastructure Ltd., the debt-ridden telco's tower partner, earlier stopped operating part of Aircel's network over non-payment of dues.

* In other Aircel news, the company's creditors will seek the assistance of the National Companies Law Tribunal to recover dues from the debt-ridden mobile operator, multiple people involved in the discussions told The Economic Times.

* Tata Sky Ltd. extended its live TV and on-demand service by making it available on the web, Television Post reports. Subscribers of the Indian direct-to-home operator can watch live TV and on-demand content at watch.tatasky.com by logging in with their registered mobile number.

* Facebook Inc. is testing a new feature in India that allows users to record audio snippets as a status update option, IANS reports.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* Indonesian telco tower infrastructure company PT Gihon Telekomunikasi Indonesia is conducting an IPO for 33.49% of its post public offering paid-up capital. The company, which priced its offer at 100 rupiah per share, plans to list on the Indonesian Stock Exchange by April 9.

* Z Trading Co. Ltd., the distributor of GMM Grammy PCL's GMM Z Stream set-top box, struck a deal with iflix's Thai unit wherein the set-top box will come pre-installed with the iflix app. According to Siam Phone, the deal also gives users of the GMM Z Stream set-top box free access to iflix for three months.

* PT Indosat Tbk's head of corporate communication Deva Rachman said Indosat is allocating 7 trillion rupiah for its capital expenditure in 2018, Liputan6 reports. According to Rachman, some of the capital expenditure financings would be from the bond issued in 2017.

* Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is developing a smart login system for its Pracharat Internet project, which brings broadband internet access to rural villages across the country, Krungthep Turakij reports. Instead of asking users to key in their national ID numbers, the system will match the detected phone number with the registered ID number to verify users.

* Malaysian telco operator Maxis Bhd. appointed Robert Nason as interim CEO and executive director, effective April 1. Nason will relinquish his roles as chairman and member of the audit committee and chairman of the business and IT transformation committee.

* Indonesian digital business platform PT Kioson Komersial Indonesia Tbk appointed Stephen Liestyo as its new commissioner and Brian Limiardi as its new director, Kontan reports.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* FOXTEL is in discussions with subscription video platforms Netflix Inc. and Stan about bundling their services together. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a tie-up between the three companies might mean Foxtel customers will only have to pay a single bill to watch the full range of content from Stan, Netflix or both, on a single platform.

* Nine Entertainment Co. and News Corp.'s Sky News Business are in talks to build a new business journalism venture as they seek to leverage their combined TV, pay TV and online outlets, The Australian Financial Review reports.

* Fairfax Media Ltd.'s metro business is cutting ties with Nielsen's daily digital content ratings review, AdNews reports. The Australian publisher will instead provide the market with its own "independently audited" audience data.

* Nehemiah Richardson, Telstra Corp. Ltd.'s M&A boss since December 2015, is leaving the company. According to The Australian Financial Review, Richardson declined to comment on where he was headed next.

FEATURED NEWS

Comcast to gain significant streaming video footprint with potential Sky deal: A potential combination with European video operator Sky would link Comcast to an aggressive digital video strategy in Western Europe and other international markets.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Wireless Investor: Brazil emptying 700 MHz for mobile; towercos watchful as MNOs begin to recover: Brazil's Digital Switchover, clearing the country's 700 MHz for mobile use, is expected to finish by 2019. In addition to 10-year and 4G subs forecasts, Kagan's update on Brazilian mobile includes spectrum and tower information.

Economics of Advertising: ESPN tops January Nielsen ratings: The basic cable networks rang in 2018 with bifurcated results, as evidenced by taking a look at the average C3 prime-time TV household delivery figures from Nielsen Holdings for the top 10 highest rated networks.

Nozomi Ibayashi, Nicole Shiwon Kim, Frances Wang, Ed Eduard and Wil Hathaway contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require a subscription.