Recent stories about Asia

A ByteDance employee at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing. Photo by Getty Images.

asia enterprise

TikTok Owner Now Aiming to Expand Into U.S. Enterprise Software Market

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Dec. 20, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 4 comments

If some American politicians and regulators had their way, TikTok would be banned in the U.S. Executives at TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, though, appear so unconcerned by the threat that they’re trying to expand into a new business in the U.S.—selling software for businesses. ByteDance is stepping up its hiring in the U.S.... If some American politicians and regulators had their way, TikTok would be banned in the U.S....

Zhang Lei, chairman and chief executive officer of Hillhouse Capital Group. Photo by Bloomberg.

Chinese Investment Giant Hillhouse Capital Seeks to Expand Outside China

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Dec. 6, 2022 10:42 AM PST · 2 comments

Hillhouse Capital Group, the Chinese sprawling investment powerhouse that has drawn comparisons to Tiger Global Management, has a new challenge: growing outside China. The firm is best known for investments in Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, JD.com, Didi Global and TikTok owner ByteDance. But the devastation of China’s private equity... Hillhouse Capital Group, the Chinese sprawling investment powerhouse that has drawn comparisons...

Shou Zi Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok. Photo by Bloomberg.

ByteDance Investors Struggle to Sell Shares at Discounted $240 Billion Value Amid IPO Uncertainty

By Juro Osawa · Nov. 28, 2022 4:40 AM PST · 1 comment

Investors in TikTok owner ByteDance are struggling to sell their shares in the secondary market, even at current asking prices valuing the company at around $240 billion, 20% below where ByteDance recently bought back stock, according to brokers and investors with knowledge of the matter. The price drop reflects a lack of investors... Investors in TikTok owner ByteDance are struggling to sell their shares in the secondary market,...

Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

TikTok Is the Canary in the U.S.-China Coal Mine

By Graham Webster · Nov. 16, 2022 9:00 AM PST

Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan.

TikTok Is the Canary in the U.S.-China Coal Mine

By Graham Webster · Nov. 16, 2022 9:00 AM PST

With U.S.-China relations at their lowest point in decades, President Joe Biden went into his meeting Monday with China’s top leader, General Secretary Xi Jinping, looking to “build a floor for the relationship.” The long-delayed meeting looked like it could prove to be a turning point in bilateral diplomacy, but in the tech... With U.S.-China relations at their lowest point in decades, President Joe Biden went into his...

TikTok's Los Angeles office. Photo by Getty Images

As Meta and Twitter Lay Off Thousands in Bay Area, TikTok Plans to Double Staff

By Juro Osawa · Nov. 16, 2022 6:00 AM PST · 1 comment

When Elon Musk bought Twitter and cut half its workforce earlier this month, TikTok’s in-house recruiters approached some of the laid-off software engineers about joining the viral video app’s Silicon Valley office. Then last week, the same recruiters contacted some of the engineers cut by Meta Platforms. The outreach highlighted a... When Elon Musk bought Twitter and cut half its workforce earlier this month, TikTok’s...

Sea executives when the stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Getty.

Southeast Asia’s Biggest Internet Firm Has Laid Off 7,000 Workers

By Juro Osawa · Nov. 14, 2022 8:55 AM PST

Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company by revenue and market value, has laid off more than 7,000 employees, or around 10% of its workforce, over the past six months, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Sea, a Nasdaq-listed company whose shareholders include Tencent, BlackRock and T. Rowe Price, had been seen... Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company by revenue and market value, has laid...

Kuaishou ads in Beijing, 2021. Photo by Bloomberg

Beijing Increases Control Over ByteDance Rival Kuaishou Through Equity Stake

By Juro Osawa · Nov. 6, 2022 12:51 AM PDT · 3 comments

A Chinese state-owned broadcaster recently took an equity stake in the domestic business of Kuaishou, one of the country’s most popular video apps, and also appeared to gain a seat on the board of that business, according to corporate records. Beijing’s actions involving Kuaishou, which haven’t been previously reported,... A Chinese state-owned broadcaster recently took an equity stake in the domestic business of...

Kenny Man. Photo via 01Fintech. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Former Ant Group Executive Raising $300 Million for Asia Fintech Fund

By Juro Osawa · Oct. 28, 2022 10:34 AM PDT · 2 comments

Kenny Man. Photo via 01Fintech. Art by Mike Sullivan.

asia venture capital

Former Ant Group Executive Raising $300 Million for Asia Fintech Fund

By Juro Osawa · Oct. 28, 2022 10:34 AM PDT · 2 comments

The former head of international investing at Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group has launched a new private equity firm, 01Fintech, and is raising $300 million to invest mainly in fintech startups in Southeast Asia, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The debut of the previously unreported fund, whose backers... The former head of international investing at Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group has...

An iPhone 14 Plus at an Apple Store in Shanghai last week. Photo by Getty Images

Apple Cuts iPhone 14 Plus Production Less Than Two Weeks After Debut

By Wayne Ma · Oct. 18, 2022 11:36 AM PDT

Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its debut, according to two people involved in the company’s supply chain. Apple has told at least one manufacturer in China to immediately halt production of iPhone 14 Plus components while its procurement team reevaluates demand for the product, which Apple has... Apple is cutting production of the iPhone 14 Plus less than two weeks after its debut, according...

Jacqueline Poh, managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board. Photo by Erin Beach.

Partner Content

Cashless Society: Digital Payments and Fintech

By The Information Partnerships · Oct. 13, 2022 4:12 PM PDT

Is cash still king—or in the case of this female-led WTF Summit masterclass, queen? Or is that title going to digital payments now? Will we ever reach a point where we’re truly a cashless society? That was the topic at hand in a panel hosted by Erin Woo, reporter for the Information, featuring three global experts in Fintech: ... Is cash still king—or in the case of this female-led WTF Summit masterclass, queen? Or is...

Photo by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

Billionaire ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming Now Living Far From Home

By Juro Osawa · Sept. 29, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

As the future of the world’s most valuable startup—TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance—remains uncertain, its founder Zhang Yiming, one of the richest people in the world, is staying out of the limelight. Zhang, 39, has been spending much of this year overseas, using Singapore as a primary base, according to people with... As the future of the world’s most valuable startup—TikTok’s Chinese owner,...

Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

ByteDance’s VR Unit Stumbles in Early Effort to Challenge Meta

By Juro Osawa · Sept. 22, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

Photos by Bloomberg. Art by Mike Sullivan

ByteDance’s VR Unit Stumbles in Early Effort to Challenge Meta

By Juro Osawa · Sept. 22, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has long had an ambition to follow in the footsteps of Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and grab a piece of the nascent market for augmented and virtual reality. In 2020, the year Meta launched its Quest 2 VR headset, ByteDance engineers worked on a confidential internal project to... Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has long had an ambition to follow in...

Illustration by Josh Brill

asia venture capital

Why China’s Startup Investors Depend on U.S. IPOs

By Ming Liao · Sept. 21, 2022 9:00 AM PDT

China’s tech startups have received billions in private financing over the past two decades, with some of those companies going on to make warmly received public market debuts. In 2014, Alibaba had the largest initial public offering in history, raising $25 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. Bilibili, a youth-driven streaming giant,... China’s tech startups have received billions in private financing over the past two...

ByteDance's Zhang Yiming, Ant's Jack Ma, and Didi Global's Cheng Wei. Photos by Bloomberg.

Why Ant Group and Didi Investors Have to Wait Another Six Months for IPO Clarity

By Shai Oster · Sept. 16, 2022 11:38 AM PDT

Despite recent signs that Beijing is easing its crackdown on domestic tech companies, the government won’t grant approval of hotly anticipated initial public offerings by domestic giants such as Ant Group, Didi Global and ByteDance for at least another six months, according to investors and senior Chinese technology executives. The... Despite recent signs that Beijing is easing its crackdown on domestic tech companies, the...

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in New Delhi, India in 2015. Photo by Bloomberg.

Google Plots Pixel Phone Assembly in India Amid China Lockdowns

By Wayne Ma · Sept. 12, 2022 6:00 AM PDT

Google wants to move some of its most important consumer electronics production outside China amid the country’s Covid-19 lockdowns, which have disrupted the manufacturing and supply chains of many foreign brands, and as geopolitical tensions with the U.S. rise. To that end, Google has solicited bids from manufacturers in India to make... Google wants to move some of its most important consumer electronics production outside China...

Neil Shen, founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Employed Daughter of Politburo Member

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Sept. 9, 2022 5:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Neil Shen, founding and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China. Photo by Getty

Sequoia Capital’s China Arm Employed Daughter of Politburo Member

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Sept. 9, 2022 5:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

No U.S. venture capital firm has produced more investment gains from China or navigated Beijing’s difficult political landscape better than Sequoia Capital. But as tensions rise between the two countries and the U.S. increasingly restricts cross-border investments, Sequoia Capital’s close ties to the Chinese government may become a... No U.S. venture capital firm has produced more investment gains from China or navigated...

Art by Shane Burke

How U.S. Tech Companies Fueled China’s Surveillance State

By Liza Lin and Josh Chin · Sept. 8, 2022 9:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

As the U.S. government intensifies its efforts to decouple American technology from China’s sprawling surveillance state, a new report by the U.N.’s human rights agency demonstrates the urgency of that task. The U.N. found that China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims in the remote region of Xinjiang “may constitute... As the U.S. government intensifies its efforts to decouple American technology from China’s...

Employees walking outside the Shenzen headquarters of Tencent. Photo by Getty

markets startups

From Apps to Dumplings: China’s Tech Workers Switch Careers, Countries As Layoffs Mount

By Juro Osawa · Sept. 1, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

Early this year, Mars Zhao was full of optimism about the future. He had just landed a new job in Shanghai at Chinese internet giant Tencent, putting together advertising campaigns for brands, a position that paid 30% more than his previous job. Despite a government crackdown on tech companies, Zhao was confident enough about the sector’s... Early this year, Mars Zhao was full of optimism about the future. He had just landed a new job in...

Photo by Bloomberg.

markets e-commerce

The U.S.-China Headline That’s Not All Bad News

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug. 25, 2022 5:00 PM PDT

We listened to Mark Zuckerberg’s three-hour interview with Joe Rogan so you don’t have to. In short: New virtual reality products are coming in October. It might be a tall task for Meta Platforms’ VR headsets to recreate all the running, fencing, surfing, wrestling, jujitsuing and hydrofoiling the Meta co-founder and CEO tells Rogan he... We listened to Mark Zuckerberg’s three-hour interview with Joe Rogan so you don’t have to. In...

Singapore's business district. Photo by Bloomberg

Chinese Venture Firms Expand in Singapore as Risks Rise at Home

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Aug. 18, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

Singapore's business district. Photo by Bloomberg

Chinese Venture Firms Expand in Singapore as Risks Rise at Home

By Juro Osawa and Shai Oster · Aug. 18, 2022 6:00 AM PDT · 2 comments

China’s venture capitalists made fortunes gambling on the country’s blockbuster tech successes such as Alibaba and Meituan. But as a slowing economy, new regulations and pandemic restrictions cast a pall over China’s tech sector, some of those investors have begun looking to make their next big bets from new outposts in another... China’s venture capitalists made fortunes gambling on the country’s blockbuster tech...

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