Coindesk – President Xi Says China Should ‘Seize Opportunity’ to Adopt Blockchain
Dots to connect: cryptocurrencies banned in China, digital renminbi developed by PBOC, other countries following up, surges in cryptocurrency prices, “Blockchain+” in education, employment and food & medicinal safety, etc.
NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES)’s e-learning unit, Youdao (有道) reduced its fundraising target to $116 million from $300 million IPO on October 15. Founded in 2006, Youdao provides online dictionaries, online classrooms and language courses, with 100 million monthly average users in China in the first half of 2019. The company set a price range of $15 to $18 for its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and will be listed under the symbol “DAO”. // reuters | SEC
TikTok (by Bytedance) launched an education program in India on October 17, as the popular short-video app looks to expand its offering and assuage local authority in one of its biggest markets. TikTok has been working with Indian partners in the edtech sector ahead of the campaign launch. TikTok claims to have 200 million users in India, of which 120 million are active every month. // TechCrunch | FT
6th World Internet Conference (or “Wuzhen Summit”) opened in China’s Zhejiang Province (10/20-22). Executives from major tech companies from home and abroad such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Alibaba Group and Huawei attended the conference. // xinhua | scmp
国家统计局 National Bureau of Statistics of China – 2019年三季度国内生产总值（GDP）初步核算结果
The percentage growth decrease is high anticipated. The expected value was at 6.1%.
Dots to connect:
Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is becoming the first foreign payment platform to provide online payment services in China. The license is obtained by acquiring 70% of GoPay (国付宝). The transaction is approved by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on September 30. // Crunchbase ｜ GoPay PR
Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) launched self-driving service Apollo Robotaxi for the general public in Changsha China on September 27. The initial fleet has 45 autonomous cars. // cnet | SCMP
Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK) opened its 2nd store at Kerry Center (嘉里中心) in Shanghai on September 26. Its first store in mainland China launched in January 2019 in Shanghai Xintiandi (新天地). // PR Newswire Asia | Jiemian
Xiaomi (HKSE: 1810) is entering the smart fridge segment (pricing starts at RMB 999) and completing its major appliance offerings comprised of TV, A/C, washing machines and fridges. Users can modify the temperature and mode of the cabin via voice control. Xiaomi has been trying to diversify from its smart phone business with smart home/IoT products. // gizmochina | 36kr
WSJ – Mastercard, Visa, eBay Drop Out of Facebook’s Libra Payments Network
The first official meeting of the Libra Council is scheduled for October 14th in Geneva.
Dots to connect: future governance of cryptocurrency, possibility of a global cryptocurrency network run by companies, China can move into global crypto payments if supported/approved
WSJ – WeWork Still Needs Cash After Pulling IPO
Dots to connect: valuation of startups, business model of burning money, Softbank’s strategy, similar companies in shared economy, corporate governance, etc.