S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a roundup of recent investment deals and updates in the Asia-Pacific technology, media and communications sector.
TOP NEWS
* India's Reliance Industries Ltd., along with more than 20 global technology companies, will invest 600 billion Indian rupees over 10 years to build an integrated industrial area in Maharashtra, Reuters reported Feb. 18, citing a statement by Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani. Reliance's partners in the project include Cisco Systems Inc., Siemens AG, Corning Inc., HP Inc., Dell Inc., Nokia Corp. and Nvidia Corp.
* Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. Ltd., the Taiwanese manufacturing subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., or Foxconn, plans to use 27.3 billion Chinese yuan from its initial public offering in China to invest in eight new technology projects including industrial internet platforms, 5G and internet of things solutions, data centers and cloud computing, Bloomberg News reported Feb. 10, citing a prospectus submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
* Tencent Holdings Ltd. will invest about 3 billion Chinese yuan in Shanda Games Ltd. to further the growth of Shanda Games, specifically its core business. Tencent also invested 500 million South Korean won in Kakao Games, Tencent News reported Feb. 13. A consortium of five companies, including Tencent, made an 819 million Chinese yuan investment in the company.
STARTUP FUNDING
* Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. unit NTT Docomo Ventures Inc., the venture capital arm of NTT Docomo, on Feb. 20 announced an unspecified investment in Otonomo Technologies, an Israeli startup that provides a marketplace for connected car data.
* Bangalore-based online food delivery startup Swiggy secured US$100 million from its latest funding round, with Naspers Ltd. and Meituan-Dianping as new investors, The Hindu reported Feb. 8.
CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
* KT Corp. is forming a 5 billion South Korean won virtual reality fund, ZDNet Korea reported Feb. 20.
* Toshiba Corp. will invest about ¥5 billion in its Philippine production facilities under a plan to launch high-capacity conventional hard-disk drives during the first half of the year, The Nikkei reported Feb. 16.
* Indonesia-based telco infrastructure company PT Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk will invest 1 trillion Indonesian rupiah to build 1,000 telecom towers this year, Kontan reported Feb. 14.
* JD.com Inc. said Feb. 14 that it raised approximately US$2.5 billion from investors, including Tencent Holdings, for its JD Logistics unit.
OTHER FUNDING
* Thailand's cabinet approved a 5.5 billion baht investment in 19 digital infrastructure projects set to go ahead this year, including high-speed internet connectivity at schools and hospitals, Prachachat reported Feb. 20.
* Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.'s Astro Digital Sdn. Bhd. will invest 100 million Malaysian ringgit in Karangkraf Digital 360 Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of media company Grup Majalah Karangkraf Sdn. Bhd., The Star reported Feb. 8. Astro Digital will own 51% of the shares of Karangkraf through the investment.