Sino Hua-an to acquire tech company Touchpoint Group- Press release
Hua An Group acquired a technology company TouchPoint Group at a signing ceremony today. With the acquisition, Hua An will own 100% equity of TP Group, comprising of TouchPoint International Sdn Bhd and Wavetree PLT. The acquisition is valued at a total investment of MYR72.0 million.
With this acquisition, Hua An now includes digital business transformation solutions as part of its portfolio. This is in line with Hua An’s vision to be a digital transformation enabler in Malaysia. “With the advancement in digital technology and the development of more sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) that disrupt conventional businesses worldwide, this space is going to be one of the fastest-growing industries. With this in mind, I am proud to announce that Hua An will now have a technology arm, and is ready to expand our business into a new growth area. Aside from being a potentially profitable venture, this acquisition will bring a whole new set of expertise and knowledge that we are excited to expand into,” says Y.A.M. Tunku
Naquiyuddin Ibni Tuanku Ja’afar, the Executive Chairman of Huan An.
TP Group is a leader in the digital business transformation solution space in Malaysia, that offers a unique mobile community platform solution based on a digital ecosystem that allows users to do multiple things online and for local businesses to connect with their customers.
Emerging Payments Association Asia Signs MOU with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network- Press release
The Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA), the only payments association in Asia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) to promote the benefits of the APIX Platform to the payments community, with an aim to further develop the industry.
Signing the MOU with AFIN is part of EPAA’s effort to advocate open banking. EPAA’s Project Open Banking Asia initiative is a 51-country initiative investigating API adoption, regulatory guidelines, the Fintech ecosystem, and innovation. EPAA’s research will help formulate policies and standards for the Asian payments sector.
APIX, the flagship product of AFIN, is a global cloud-based platform that enables financial institutions and fintech’s to discover one another on a curated global marketplace, design experiments collaboratively in the sandbox and deploy innovative solutions rapidly at a lower cost. The collaboration with AFIN represents significant value for current and future EPAA members.
John Ryan, Director General of Policy and Projects at EPAA, said “With AFIN onboard, participants—banks, fintechs, paytechs—get access to a safe, cost-effective environment that fosters learning, innovation, and collaboration.”
“AFIN is pleased to welcome the EPAA into our ever-growing community of FinTechs and service providers. Our objective is to promote effective policies and standards in the financial services industry. The EPAA will help accelerate our value creation for the industry,” said Manish Diwaan, Managing Director of AFIN.
Founded in 2018, the Emerging Payments Association Asia (EPAA) is the only payments association in Asia and has in a short time since its inception made significant waves in the payments industry. It has hosted more than 30 successful events, connecting nearly 1,000 payments leaders, driving payments’ advocacy and policy development.
Ucommune unveils three new co-working spaces using innovative asset-light management model- Press release
Ucommune’s latest spaces provide a hub for entrepreneurs and thought leaders to innovate and collaborate.
“The ‘Asset light’ style of management is an innovative approach that allows us to rapidly expand our footprint in China,” said Dr. Daqing Mao, founder, and chairman of Ucommune. “With smart technology and standardized business operations, we can rapidly connect more members in communities across China, unleashing their potential and creating maximum value for society.”
Also read: gojek Xcelerate introduces 10 women-founded startups to its second batch
Using this model, owners can revitalize real estate assets by leveraging Ucommune’s brand and resources to build communities and stimulate local business development. To ensure product and operational quality, Ucommune has released a ‘Standardized Operations Process Manual’, an extensive guidebook covering design, construction, financial management and more.
Since introducing the model, Ucommune has completed over 30 projects in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Urumqi, Hulunbuir and other cities. Members include SMEs and international enterprises, and span a range of industries from technology and AI to design and culture. Looking ahead, Ucommune will continue harnessing the asset-light system to expand to China’s major cities, overseas markets, and establish itself as a global pathfinder and partner to businesses in the coworking space.
Softbank to face valuation cut in OneConnect IPO- Bloomberg
Masayoshi Son, head of Japanese conglomerate Softbank, is facing another valuation cut in one of his investments, said a Bloomberg report.
Ping An Insurance’s OneConnect Financial Technology Co. launched its US$500 million US initial public offering on Tuesday at a much-reduced valuation compared with its last funding round in which SoftBank participated in 2018. This latest sale comes just a couple of months after the investment powerhouse saw the value of one of its most high-profile investments, WeWork, tumble from US$47 billion to less than $8 billion.
OneConnect, which provides cloud computing and other technology services to small- and medium-sized financial institutions, is marketing shares at a valuation of about $4.4 billion to $5.2 billion based on the deal size before an over-allotment option of up to 15%, according to Bloomberg calculations based on an overnight filing. That’s a steep drop from the $7.5 billion OneConnect was valued at when it raised $650 million from investors including Softbank and SBI Group.
Investors had pushed back against the company’s proposed valuation, Bloomberg News reported last week. OneConnect had been gauging whether fund managers would accept an enterprise value equivalent to ~8-10x estimated sales, people familiar with the matter said.
Indonesian consumer insights platform Populix bags US$1m seed funding- DealStreetAsia
Indonesian consumer insights platform Populix has closed a US$1-million seed funding round led by Intudo Ventures and followed by Gobi Agung and Pegasus Tech Ventures, according to a DealStreetAsia article.
Founded in January 2018, Populix, through qualitative and quantitative studies, provides insights that help clients better understand Indonesian consumers and improve business decisions. It leverages technology to accurately understand consumer feedback in real-time.
In addition to research projects, Populix also generates revenue through selling in-house research and datasets to clients. Populix, which was recently inducted into Gojek’s Xcelerate program, says it will use the proceeds from the seed round to develop new products, enhance marketing efforts and hire new staff.
Populix’s products range from intensive research studies to simple surveys and can be arranged either on a project or subscription basis. During the company’s first year of operations, Populix claims to have completed research on more than 70 brands across 27 industries including multinationals, SMEs, institutions, and individuals based in Europe and Asia-Pacific looking to gain insights on Indonesia’s dynamic consumer-driven economy and consumer preferences.
The post Today’s top tech news: Sino Hua An acquires Touchpoint, Softbank troubles don’t seem to be receding appeared first on e27.