Revolut rival digital bank N26 lands $300m funding round, becoming Europe’s most valuable fintech startup January 10, 2019 Digital banking startup N26 has closed the biggest funding round in European fintech in recent years, valuing the Monzo and Revolut challenger at $2.7bn (£2.1bn). The Berlin-based fintech, which offers a current account and debit card through its mobile banking app, has raised $300m in a series D round led by US venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners. [...]
Britain needs to step up to win the global AI healthcare race January 7, 2019 At this time of year, the news is invariably gearing up for a season full of stories about a crisis in hospital care. But away from the headlines, Britain is on the brink of a real global health success story – one we must capitalise on in 2019. It’s no stretch to say that the UK [...]
Stock predictions 2019: Which stocks and shares will do well this year? January 2, 2019 After a tumultuous year in the markets with Brexit uncertainty, the threat of trade war and rapidly changing consumer habits, the FTSE 100 suffered its worst year since the financial crisis in 2018, ending it 12.5 per cent down. While there is no sign that 2019 will be any less eventful, with the date Britain [...]
Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing expands into fintech as driver regulation rears its head January 2, 2019 Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has expanded into financial services, as fresh domestic regulation threatened to put a dampener on its driver numbers. The firm has today launched a suite of financial products, including crowdfunded health insurance, wealth management and lending, all aimed at short-term workers on temporary contracts. The move comes after Didi announced a [...]
Chinese streaming giant Tencent Music raises $1.1bn in IPO December 12, 2018 Chinese tech giant Tencent will raise roughly $1.1bn (£877m) in the US initial public offering (IPO) of its music streaming division. Tencent Music priced its shares at $13 each, at the low end of its $13-$15 range, and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today. The share price puts Tencent Music’s value [...]
Culture and creativity will drive a new golden era for the UK and China December 6, 2018 The strength of Britain’s technological and creative industries, combined with the longstanding value of its archetypal brands, has given rise to a growing desire among Chinese companies to invest in the UK. This follows on from the strong trade ties between the two nations. The UK exported £22bn worth of goods and services to China [...]
Tencent music arm makes its move on delayed IPO set to raise up to $1.23bn December 3, 2018 Tech giant Tencent Holdings’ music subsidiary has moved forward on a New York Stock Exchange initial public offering (IPO) of up to $1.23bn (£1bn) today. Tencent Music Entertainment is hoping to raise between $1.07bn and $1.23bn, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, in a delayed offering that was originally planned to launch in [...]
Chinese online retailer JD.com’s revenue growth slows amid trade war concerns November 19, 2018 Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com today reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since its 2014 initial public offering. The company, which is backed by Walmart, Google and China’s Tencent, reported a 25 per cent rise in revenues for the last quarter, totalling 104.8bn yuan (£11.75m). But the growth was well below previous rates, which hit 60 per [...]
Chinese tech giant Tencent beats expectations on quarterly profit, but gets hurt by slowed revenue growth November 14, 2018 Tencent has trounced consensus estimates on profits in its third quarter, as gains from its investments helped to offset weaker results in its core gaming business hit by legal woes. Its share price was down 0.8 per cent as markets closed in Hong Kong this morning. The figures Net profit in the three months to September [...]
How emerging markets have changed over the past 20 years November 8, 2018 The transformation of emerging markets has been remarkable. The countries and companies that dominated 20 years ago have changed dramatically, influenced by the major geopolitical, economic and demographic changes that have taken place over this time. Navigating these changes can be complex, but these developments underline the importance of taking a flexible, active approach and [...]