Friday, March 29

Author: reuters

Uber to Suspend its Ride-Hailing Service in Taiwan From Feb 10
News

Uber to Suspend its Ride-Hailing Service in Taiwan From Feb 10

Uber Technologies Inc said it will suspend its service in Taiwan from February 10, the latest salvo in the wrangle between the island's authorities and the global ride-hailing service company. Late last year, Taiwan's legislature finalised regulations raising fines against unlicensed ride-sharing services, targeted at Uber, which said at the time that was the highest level for such fines globally. "Today, we are announcing our intention to pause our Taiwan service starting Friday 10th February. We hope that pressing pause will reset the conversation and inspire President Tsai (Ing-wen) to take action," Uber said in a statement on its website. The statement did not specify what action Uber wanted the president to take.
SoftBank Considers Investment of Over $1Bn in WeWork: Report
FUNDING

SoftBank Considers Investment of Over $1Bn in WeWork: Report

SoftBank Group is considering an investment of more than $1 billion in office-space sharing start-up WeWork, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal could be among the first from SoftBank's $100 billion technology fund, the report said. SoftBank and WeWork declined to comment. WeWork is currently valued at nearly $17 billion and SoftBank's valuation of the company is expected to be at or above this figure, the publication said, citing sources. Citing sources, it also said SoftBank had earlier discussed an investment in WeWork before pulling out and added that talks may not result in a deal this time. Some SoftBank executives have reportedly raised questions whether the WeWork deal is overvalued, saying a company in the business of offi...
As its Boss Moves to Tata HQ, Investors Fret Over TCS Future
News

As its Boss Moves to Tata HQ, Investors Fret Over TCS Future

Moving the head of Tata Consultancy Services to the top job at Tata Sons' holding company fills a critical hole for the salt-to-software conglomerate, but it leaves another at its most valuable company ahead of a complex and unpredictable 2017. The promotion of Tata veteran Natarajan Chandrasekaran - the well-regarded, high-performing boss of TCS under whom shares have quadrupled - should be no surprise. But the departure of Chandrasekaran, known as Chandra, from the Tata group's most profitable arm still rattled investors. They sent TCS shares down more than 4 percent on Friday, a day after it also posted better-than-expected quarterly results. "The IT industry is facing headwinds, and shareholders would have preferred Chandra to stay as CEO for some more time," said Souvik Guha, an...
China’s ZTE to Slash About 3,000 Jobs: Sources
CHINA

China’s ZTE to Slash About 3,000 Jobs: Sources

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE, which is facing US trade sanctions that could severely disrupt its supply chain, is slashing about 3,000 jobs, including a fifth of positions in its struggling handset business in China, company sources said. The sources said the Shenzhen-based company, one of the world's biggest telecoms gear makers, is axing about 5 percent of its 60,000 global workforce. Its global handset operations will shed 600 jobs, or 10 percent of the total, with the cuts concentrated in China, where it has been losing market share. "Cuts in the handset business in China will be beyond 20 percent," said a senior executive who has been briefed on the lay-offs, which are scheduled to be completed within the first quarter. A local manager in one of the company's overse...
Amazon’s Flying Warehouse to Launch Drones For Fast Delivery
USA

Amazon’s Flying Warehouse to Launch Drones For Fast Delivery

American e-commerce giant Amazon will fly a warehouse at an altitude of around 45,000 feet that would act as a launchpad for drones, with an aim to deliver consignments in a jiffy, media reports said today. Amazon, after winning a patent for flying the warehouse in the US, announced plans for an "airborne fulfillment center" (AFC) such as an airship, CNBC reported. The airship will be stocked with lots of products and would float at an altitude of around 45,000 feet, it said. When a customer places an order, a drone or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will fly down and deliver the parcels. Amazon said the process would require little power as the drone would be gliding down rather than having to take off and land. "When the UAV departs the AFC, it may descend from the high altitude ...
China Tech Giant LeEco in Talks on $1.4 Billion Funding
CHINA, FUNDING

China Tech Giant LeEco in Talks on $1.4 Billion Funding

Cash-strapped Chinese technology conglomerate LeEco is in talks on securing a 10 billion yuan (USD1.4 billion) deal with an unnamed strategic investor, its listed unit said. Leshi Internet Information and Technology said in a filing to the stock exchange late Wednesday that its parent company had signed a framework agreement with the investor and the two sides were still discussing the final details. It did not disclose the identity of the investor, but the China Business News cited a source familiar with the situation as saying that it was an insurance company. LeEco has been expanding aggressively in a range of businesses including online entertainment, electric and driverless cars and smartphones, but the firm's billionaire chief executive Jia Yueting warned staff last month that ...
Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space: Air Cargo
News

Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space: Air Cargo

A cargo plane emblazoned with "Prime Air" descended from an empty sky at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Tuesday, ninety minutes from the bustle of New York City, loaded with crates of goods during the peak holiday shopping season. It's one of 40 jets leased by Amazon.com for a new cargo service to meet delivery demand from the retail giant's customers. Exclusive payload data reviewed by Reuters and interviews with airport officials around the country show that Prime Air planes are flying nearly full, but with lightweight loads, taking away valued business from FedEx and United Parcel Service. Expanding into transportation, from trucks to planes, is one of Amazon's most important endeavors as it strives to lure new customers with fast shipping while keeping costs under...
Regtech’ Startups See More Business in Trump Era
USA

Regtech’ Startups See More Business in Trump Era

President elect Donald Trump is pro-business and anti-red tape. But what if your business is red tape? Companies whose technology helps banks and investors cope with the welter of post financial crisis regulations and avoid increasingly hefty fines - a sector known as "regtech" - are sanguine about Trump's pledge to dismantle some of those reforms. Their equanimity is based on a belief that if regulations are replaced rather than scrapped and the overall system of rules becomes more fragmented, financial firms will need their systems to navigate the new landscape. "Change is itself a driver of regtech adoption," said David Buxton, the chief executive of compliance startup Arachnys. "Volatility creates opportunity for relatively nimble regtech firms." Founded in London in 2010, Ara...
Samsung Electronics to Supply Chips to Tesla Motors
News

Samsung Electronics to Supply Chips to Tesla Motors

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will supply semiconductors to US electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc, South Korea's Electronic Times reported on Friday citing unnamed sources. Samsung would contract manufacture chips for self-driving features in Tesla vehicles, the paper reported, without putting a value on the order. The South Korean firm has been trying to build auto-related sales for components such as semiconductors and displays in a push to develop a new growth engine. Samsung in November said it would acquire Harman International Industries (HAR.N) for USD 8 billion in a bid to grow quickly in the automotive market. Samsung did not immediately comment on the report, while Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.
China’s Ctrip.com Acquires Online Travel Company Skyscanner in $1.74 billion Deal
ACQUISITION

China’s Ctrip.com Acquires Online Travel Company Skyscanner in $1.74 billion Deal

Ctrip.com International Ltd , China's biggest online travel company, said on Wednesday it agreed to buy travel search website Skyscanner Holdings Ltd in a deal valuing the Scotland-based company at about 1.4 billion pounds (USD 1.74 billion). Ctrip's shares were up 9.2 percent at USD 44.75 in extended trading. Skyscanner, a result of CEO and co-founder Gareth Williams' frustration with finding cheap flights, enables users to compare prices from different travel sites when searching for flights, hotels, and rental cars. The website currently serves 60 million monthly active users and is available in over 30 languages. Skyscanner was reported to be exploring a sale or an initial public offering. The company was valued at USD 1.6 billion in a funding round in January, when it raised ...
NBCUniversal Invests $200 Million in BuzzFeed
FUNDING

NBCUniversal Invests $200 Million in BuzzFeed

Online media company BuzzFeed, best known for its list-based articles and quizzes, said Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal had invested an additional USD 200 million in the company. NBCUniversal last year invested roughly the same amount in BuzzFeed. NBCUniversal parent Comcast has pumped heavily into digital-native companies such as BuzzFeed and Vox Media, partly in an effort to better service existing advertisers. BuzzFeed, whose content generates 7 billion views each month, will collaborate with NBCUniversal on production and social distribution for NBCUniversal's Content Studio, the companies said on Monday. In August, BuzzFeed split itself into news and entertainment divisions amid media companies' struggle for balance between covering news and politics, and lighter fare like social...
Facebook’s Zuckerberg Discloses Steps to Fight Fake News
News

Facebook’s Zuckerberg Discloses Steps to Fight Fake News

Facebook Inc, facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, is taking a series of steps to weed out hoaxes and other types of false information, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Friday evening. Facebook has long insisted that it is a technology company and not a publisher, and rejects the idea that it should be held responsible for the content that its users circulate on the platform. Just after the election, Zuckerberg said the notion that fake or misleading news on Facebook had helped swing the election to Donald Trump was a "crazy idea." Zuckerberg then said last Saturday that more than 99 percent of what people see on Facebook is authentic, calling "only a very small amount" fa...