Prosus hits European big leagues with 25 per cent jump on debut September 11, 2019 Shares in Prosus, an early investor in Tencent, soared on its Amsterdam debut this morning as the company’s former parent priced it lower than the market. The firm jumped 25 per cent in its Amsterdam stock market debut earlier today, instantly becoming one of the biggest internet companies in Europe. Read more: Tencent posts profit [...]
China’s new digital currency will be similar to Facebook’s Libra, officials say September 6, 2019 China’s proposed new digital currency would be similar to Facebook’s Libra and be able to used across major payment platforms, a senior official from Beijing’s central bank has said. “Why is the central bank still doing such a digital currency today when electronic payment methods are so developed?” said Mu Changchun, deputy director of the [...]
Tencent posts profit boost after China lifts gaming ban August 14, 2019 Tencent has reported a 35 per cent rise in profit for the second quarter as growth in its gaming division returned after a lengthy regulatory ban. The Chinese tech giant has suffered a string of disappointing quarterly results after Beijing imposed a nine-month freeze on licences for new online games. Read more: Tencent in talks [...]
Hipgnosis bags rights to music catalogue of Ed Sheeran songwriter August 7, 2019 Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis has acquired the music catalogue of Benny Blanco, the songwriter and producer behind top artists including Ed Sheeran. Read more: Hipgnosis snaps up rights to music catalogue of Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart Hipgnosis has secured 100 per cent copyright ownership over Blanco’s portfolio of songs, which includes 29 number ones [...]
Tencent in talks to buy stake in Universal Music Group August 6, 2019 The French media conglomerate behind Universal Music Group (UMG) is in talks to sell a chunk of the music company to Chinese tech giant Tencent. Vivendi said the deal, which would give Universal a total equity value of €30bn (£27.6bn), will help boost the firm’s presence in Asia. Read more: London firm to launch Spotify-style [...]
Nintendo switches it up in profit loss July 30, 2019 Japanese video game manufacturer Nintendo has announced a 10 per cent decline in its quarterly profit. The decline comes amid a troubling period for Nintendo’s older consoles, with the Kyoto-based company aware of the declining sales of the Nintendo 3DS, whose hardware and software sales have fallen almost 50 per cent year-on-year. Nintendo’s net revenue [...]
China’s Nasdaq rival Star Market see shares surge on first day of trading July 22, 2019 Shares shot up on the launch of China’s new Nasdaq rival – the Star Market – today. Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech-focused stock market aims to use Shanghai’s credentials as a global financial hub as a springboard to success, with 25 firms listed on it already. Read more: Google terminates Project Dragonfly, its censored Chinese search [...]
Digital bank N26 valued at $3.5bn as it adds $160m onto its series D July 18, 2019 German fintech starlet N26 has upped its valuation to $3.5bn (£2.8bn), after extending its series D funding round to raise another $160m. The digital banking app has now raised a total of $470m in the round, which included investors such as Insight Venture Partners, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Tencent, Allianz X, Peter Thiel’s Valar [...]
Police arrest man after Baidu boss drenched on stage July 4, 2019 Chinese police have arrested a man in connection with an incident that saw someone pour a bottle of water over the head of search giant Baidu’s chief executive. Robin Li was left soaked during a keynote address at Baidu’s annual Create conference in Beijing yesterday after a man stepped on stage to empty the bottle [...]
Social media ad spend growth plummets amid decline in trust July 2, 2019 Growth in advertising revenue for social media firms declined by roughly a half in the first three months of the year, in a sign of possible cooling in the digital ad market. Social media giants remain dominant in the online advertising sector, with ad spend rising 26 per cent year-on-year to just under $18bn (£14.2bn), [...]