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Photo: Flickr/Allen

How to Win in Ride Hailing Without Any Money

By Shai Oster · May 24, 2018 7:00am PDT · 7 comments

Uber and its archrival Didi Chuxing lead the global ride-hailing business after burning billions of dollars to win market share. But the survival of a small Hong Kong upstart that has fended off the industry’s behemoths raises questions about their costly formula for success. Do you always need to deploy billions of dollars to recruit... Uber and its archrival Didi Chuxing lead the global ride-hailing business after burning billions...

Xiaomi chairman and CEO Lei Jun. Photo by Bloomberg

The China Tech Companies Headed for IPOs in U.S and Hong Kong

By Shai Oster, Juro Osawa and Yunan Zhang · Mar 8, 2018 7:01am PST · 3 comments

This is shaping up to a banner year for Chinese tech companies going public on overseas stock markets, bankers say. At least nine firms have announced plans to go public in either the U.S. or Hong Kong, aiming to raise at least $3 billion total. An additional 30 with valuations of at least $1 billion are in the pipeline. In contrast, just 13... This is shaping up to a banner year for Chinese tech companies going public on overseas stock...

The branding for Baidu's Apollo self-driving car system is displayed on a car at the Baidu World Technology Conference in Beijing, China. Photo by Bloomberg.

Waymo Faces Roadblocks in China

By Shai Oster and Yunan Zhang · Jan 26, 2018 7:02am PST

China is the world’s biggest market for new cars, making it a hugely valuable place for global car makers to do business. But when it comes to autonomous vehicles, China is likely to impose severe restrictions on foreign companies, hurting firms like Alphabet’s Waymo in particular.Chinese policy makers want to leapfrog the West and... China is the world’s biggest market for new cars, making it a hugely valuable place for...

Pedestrians in Shanghai. Flickr/Drew Bates

Big Data Strengthens China’s Grip

By Shai Oster · Oct 18, 2017 12:35pm PDT · 3 comments

Pedestrians in Shanghai. Flickr/Drew Bates

Big Data Strengthens China’s Grip

By Shai Oster · Oct 18, 2017 12:35pm PDT · 3 comments

There was a time when the internet seemed to pose a mortal threat to the Communist Party’s iron grip over China. Free-flowing information was going to trigger an irreversible and inevitable weakening of the party’s dominance. Instead, the same advances in technology that have spawned multibillion-dollar startups also have been... There was a time when the internet seemed to pose a mortal threat to the Communist Party’s...

Illustration by Josh Brill

Reality of ICO Ban: China Wants to Manage Digital Currency Platforms

By Shai Oster · Sep 8, 2017 7:00am PDT · 6 comments

China’s ban of initial coin offerings on Monday initially seemed to threaten the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies. But the ban isn’t as tough as it looks. What China is really doing is taking steps to manage cryptocurrency platforms so it can better control them.It’s telling that China didn’t curtail cryptocurrencies... China’s ban of initial coin offerings on Monday initially seemed to threaten the explosive...

Alibaba founder Jack Ma , Chinese president Xi Jinping and Dalian Wanda chief Wang Jianlin. Photos by Bloomberg and Flickr/Stuart Isett

China’s Crackdown Could Squeeze Tech

By Shai Oster · Jul 28, 2017 10:30am PDT · 2 comments

It’s easy to get caught up in the exciting possibilities of the new tech world being forged in China. Billion-dollar startups seemingly born every other day. Smartphone digital wallets replacing cash. Facial scanners instead of airplane boarding passes. But this euphoria masks one of the harshest crackdowns gripping China in... It’s easy to get caught up in the exciting possibilities of the new tech world being forged...

Stacks of Chinese RMB currency to be handed out to workers at a real estate project in China last month. Photo by AP.

China’s Trapped Money

By Shai Oster · Feb 23, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

There’s a story making the rounds of Chinese startup investors in Beijing and San Francisco. A Chinese firm wanted to invest a few million dollars in an overseas venture. To avoid tougher new regulations on taking money offshore, the firm’s principal sliced up the money and had 30 employees wire tranches of $50,000 each to a foreign... There’s a story making the rounds of Chinese startup investors in Beijing and San...

Xiaomi Chairman and CEO Lei Jun. Photo by Bloomberg.

Time to Rethink Xiaomi’s Value

By Shai Oster · Nov 22, 2016 10:01am PST · 2 comments

Xiaomi Chairman and CEO Lei Jun. Photo by Bloomberg.

Time to Rethink Xiaomi’s Value

By Shai Oster · Nov 22, 2016 10:01am PST · 2 comments

With uncertainty clouding global tech and the funding into China startups decelerating after a record run, it’s a good time to take a second look at some of the highest flyers.None flew as high as Xiaomi, the smartphone-maker funded by the charismatic serial entrepreneur Lei Jun that peddles high-end phones at budget prices in online-only... With uncertainty clouding global tech and the funding into China startups decelerating after a...