Asia tech news roundup – Dec 26

A JD delivery drone. Photo credit: JD.

Here’s a summary of what happened in Asia-Pacific tech news over the long Christmas weekend.

<h2>Ecommerce</h2>

JD launches second-hand brand (China). The ecommerce giant’s new Paipai marketplace for second-hand goods will compete with Alibaba’s market leader Xianyu and 58 Tongcheng’s Zhuanzhuan, which is backed by Tencent. (Technode)

Flipkart sued for selling counterfeit Skechers (India). US athletic footwear maker Skechers has filed suit in a Delhi court targeting Flipkart and four vendors that allegedly sold fake versions of its products on the ecommerce giant’s marketplace. Skechers claims that raids it carried out on seven warehouses in Delhi and Ahmedabad discovered 15,000 pairs of counterfeit footwear. (The Economic Times)

<h2>Social media</h2>

WeChat to issue digital ID cards for Chinese citizens (China). Guangzhou’s Nansha district is trialing a scheme which allows Chinese citizens to officially identify themselves and access a range of public services using a digital ID linked to their WeChat app, rather than their physical state-issued ID card. The program is expected to be expanded nationwide next month. (Technode)

<h2>Transportation</h2>

Photo credit: oBike.

OBike to reward riders with cryptocoins (Singapore). The bike-sharing company is partnering with media and entertainment startup Tron to launch its own cryptocurrency, oCoins, in Q1 2018. Users can generate the coins by completing rides, and use them to pay for future rides. They’ll also be able to spend oCoins to view online content from Tron’s platform. (oBike)

<h2>Startup business</h2>

5,898 startups recognized under Startup India scheme to date (India). The program was launched by the Indian government in January 2016 to nurture the country’s startups through measures such as tax breaks, discounted patent and trademark filings, and investment. Seventy-five of the recognized startups have received a total of US$52 million in funding through the scheme. (Inc42)

<h2>Investors, incubators, and accelerators</h2>

Telco establishes US$15 million VC fund (Sri Lanka). Dialog Axiata’s Digital Innovation Fund will seek to invest between US$327,000 and US$1.3 million in each startup, with 20 percent of the fund earmarked for seed-stage investments below US$262,000. The telco claims it’s the island nation’s largest VC fund to date. (DealStreetAsia)

See: Previous Asia tech news roundups

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/apac-news-26-12-2017
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