Alibaba to raise up to $12.9bn in landmark Hong Kong listing November 20, 2019 Alibaba is set to raise up to $12.9bn (£10bn) from its record-breaking second listing in Hong Kong, pricing its shares at a 2.8 per cent discount to their New York close. The Chinese e-commerce giant is set to officially announce the terms of the deal later on Wednesday, but investors have been told 176 Hong [...]
Investors underwhelmed by Aviva’s restructuring plans November 20, 2019 Shares in Aviva slipped on Wednesday after the insurer announced plans to restructure its business and sell off its Hong Kong division in a bid to revive investor interest in the group. The insurance company will simplify its business structure into five operating divisions and sell its stake in Hong Kong business, called Blue, to co-investor [...]
Media group Future buys Barcroft Studios as results beat expectations November 15, 2019 Media company Future has acquired production company Barcroft Studios for £23.5m, in a deal announced alongside the group’s annual results, which beat analysts’ expectations. Future, which owns brands including Techradar and PC Gamer, reported an operating profit of £26.7m for the year ending 30 September, a 404 per cent increase. The company’s revenue jumped 70 [...]
Asian markets sink further as Hong Kong protests escalate November 14, 2019 Asian markets have closed lower as anti-government protests continued to paralyse Hong Kong, with escalating violence forcing schools and universities to close and disrupting transport systems in the financial hub. Police fired tear gas at protesters blockading the entrance to a major tunnel linking Hong Kong island to the northern part of the city, while [...]
Alibaba poised to launch record-breaking $13.4bn Hong Kong listing November 13, 2019 Alibaba has launched the share sale for its Hong Kong listing, in a $13.4bn (£10.4bn) fundraising effort that’s set to be the biggest cross-border secondary listing ever. The Chinese online retail giant opened the books for institutional investors looking to buy the shares during trading in New York on Wednesday after winning approval for the [...]
Tencent profit falls as Alibaba threat and economic woes weigh November 13, 2019 Chinese tech giant Tencent has posted a sharp drop in profit for the third quarter as rival Alibaba gears up for its Hong Kong listing. The gaming and social media firm reported net profit of 20.4bn yuan (£2.3bn), down 13 per cent on the same period last year. Read more: Blockchain startup Everledger raises $20m [...]
Bayer leads $25m investment round for healthcare start-up Medopad November 5, 2019 Digital healthcare start-up Medopad has earned $25m in an investment round led by Leaps by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical multinational’s venture capital arm. The investment, which brings Medopad’s total funding to over $50m, will be used to help develop the company’s digital health platform and to fund new clinical studies. Read more: Investment bank in [...]
Hearthstone is caught in a Blizzard over Hong Kong protest October 17, 2019 The protests in Hong Kong have featured prominently in the news cycle since kicking off in March. All across the world, we’ve seen extensive coverage of the outbreaks of violence, as well as the excessive use of force by police to suppress the demonstrations. It’s likely that you’ve been following the story, but what you [...]
Hiro Capital launches with €100m fund as it sets sights on gaming boom October 14, 2019 A team of gaming entrepreneurs has set up a brand new venture capital firm to pump €100m (£87.6m) into the booming games and esports industries. Hiro Capital launched today with the aim of targeting what it describes as a funding gap in the market, splitting its investments between creative games studios and industry technology. Read [...]
Blockchain startup Everledger raises $20m in funding round led by Tencent September 24, 2019 UK-based blockchain startup firm Everledger has raised $20m (£16m) in a series A funding round led by Chinese investment firm Tencent. Everledger also received backing from startup funder Graphene Ventures and Fidelity Investments. Read more: Santander issues first end-to-end $20m blockchain bond Founded in 2015 by Australian business woman Leanne Kemp, Everledger uses blockchain technology [...]