HONG KONG: Chinese restaurant review and food delivery giant Meituan-Dianping said it aims to raise up to US$4.4 billion for its initial public offering in Hong Kong, despite a lukewarm response to other recent IPOs in the city.The target will see Meituan offering 480.27 million new shares at a range of HK$60 (US$7.64) to HK$72 apiece, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (Sep 4).Although it has hundreds of millions of users, the firm is loss-making and has said that it could not guarantee profitability in future.Investor sentiment has already been dampened by uncertainty sparked by the trade row between China and the United States.Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and state-owned China Tower - the world's largest listing for two years - both priced their IPOs at the low end of their expected range in July and August respectively.Groupon-like website Meituan.com was founded by CEO Wang Xing in 2010 and merged with comment-rating platform Dianping Holdings in 2015.Backed by internet giant … [Read more...] about China’s online service giant Meituan aims to raise US$4.4 billion
Merchant online services
China’s online service giant Meituan aims to raise $4.4 bn
The target will see Meituan offering 480.27 million new shares at a range of HK$60 ($7.64) to HK$72 apiece, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday. Although it has hundreds of millions of users, the firm is loss-making and has said that it could not guarantee profitability in future. Investor sentiment has already been dampened by uncertainty sparked by the trade row between China and the United States. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and state-owned China Tower -- the world's largest listing for two years -- both priced their IPOs at the low end of their expected range in July and August respectively. Groupon-like website Meituan.com was founded by CEO Wang Xing in 2010 and merged with comment-rating platform Dianping Holdings in 2015. Backed by internet giant Tencent, it offers a variety of online services, including food ordering and delivery, restaurant and movie ticket booking and group-buying. It also bought Chinese bike-sharing firm Mobike earlier this year, trying to compete … [Read more...] about China’s online service giant Meituan aims to raise $4.4 bn
China’s online service giant Meituan plans massive IPO
The food delivery and restaurant review service is the latest Chinese "unicorn" -- a tech startup valued at least $1 billion -- to seek a listing to raise billions in funds. The file did not disclose which day it will list or the amount of cash it aims to raise, but Bloomberg News reported the firm was said to have been targeting a $6 billion fundraising at a valuation of about $60 billion. The scale would be around the same level as smartphone maker Xiaomi's announced goal of $6.1 billion, which Bloomberg said would be the world's biggest IPO for two years. Xiaomi is expected to list on July 9. Groupon-like website Meituan.com was founded by CEO Wang Xing in 2010 and merged with comment-rating platform Dianping Holdings into a $15 billion provider of online services in 2015. The pair are leading enterprises in China's group-buying market and were backed by internet giants Alibaba and its rival Tencent, respectively. The combined company Meituan-Dianping, now mainly backed by … [Read more...] about China’s online service giant Meituan plans massive IPO
Thaicom diversifies revenue with ship broadband service
The service targets between 70 and 100 ships this year, said Ekachai Phakdurong, Thaicom's senior vice president for media and retail business. Currently, the Nava has around 20 ships using its service after a soft launch in the middle of last year. The ships include those from Thailand and Japan. Thaicom has deployed its Thaicom 8 and Thaicom 4 satellites to provide this Nava service. Ekachai said the service has generated average revenue of US$2,000 a ship per month. It focuses on ships serving East Asian and Asean countries, where there are around 20,000 vessels in operations. The Nava has three main services, including Nava Ship Manager, which offers asset and engine monitoring, fuel advice, and maintenance planning to improve operational efficiency and productivity. The other two are Nava Connect, which provides high-speed Internet connectivity for vessel operation and crew and passengers to keep in connect with their families, and Nava Media, which provides access to online … [Read more...] about Thaicom diversifies revenue with ship broadband service
BoT looks to widen agent services
7-Eleven outlets nationawide offer banking agent services through counter services to customers. The Bank of Thailand plans to extend the business scope of banking agents to money withdrawals and retail payment services, expected to take effect from next month. The central bank is waiting for legal approval before making an official announcement on the amendment of banking agent regulations, said Somboon Chitphentom, assistant governor, financial institutions policy group at the Bank of Thailand. The existing regulation permits banking agents to take deposits, transfer money and pay bills. The amended regulation will require banking agents to have physical service points, suitable equipment and clear-cut operational processes. “Commercial banks must take responsibility for banking agents’ services as they do with their own,” he said. Commercial banks can select their own banking agents and which services will be offered through the agents to be in line with their … [Read more...] about BoT looks to widen agent services