Gauri Singh | Pixr8 News

17Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

CHINA

Bank of China to Expand Lending Services to Small Businesses

Bank of China has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce to further expand financing channels for private companies, especially small businesses, to expand their footprints globally. "As part of BOC's efforts to support private companies, the strategic cooperation will help the bank to improve its channels of communication with private small businesses, better understand the demand of its clients, and improve its financial services accordingly," said Zhu Jun, general manager of the inclusive finance department at Bank of China. Each of the bank's branches will strengthen communication with local federations of industry and commerce, set aside an overall credit quota for small and microenterprises at the local level, deepen its...

Handset Maker Micromax to Foray into the South African Market

17Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

Tech

Handset Maker Micromax to Foray into the South African Market

Indian smartphone maker Micromax is reportedly foraying into the South African market as the company is looking to further bolster its international operations. It is expecting to contribute as much as 20% to its overall revenues by next fiscal. Along with this, the handset maker is also looking at expanding its range of consumer durable products like television sets and smart accessories to Russia and Middle East. Micromax, which is facing heavy competition from Samsung and Chinese players like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, among others, in the Indian smartphone market, operates in Russia, Middle East, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "We will soon enter the South Africa market and have partnered Vodafone there. There is a big opportunity there, about 8 million devices a mont...

17Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

INDIA

Indian Government is Reportedly Ensuring Aadhaar linkage

The Indian government is actively taking into consideration the amendments to the Telegraph Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to provide legal backing for mobile numbers and bank accounts to be linked to Aadhaar on a voluntary basis. The ministry of electronics & information technology has moved a proposal to this effect, which has gone through detailed legal scrutiny and is currently being examined by other stakeholder ministries, especially finance and telecom. Also, the proposal includes an amendment to the Aadhaar Act to recognise the virtual token that is used to prevent sharing of the actual Aadhaar number. The UIDAI has provided for this token through its rules, but stronger legal backing is now being sought. After several rounds of internal deliber...

17Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

Drivezy to Raise $60 Million in Series C Funding Round

Sharing economy-focused startup Drivezy is close to finalising a $60 million funding round (about Rs 432 crore), as it looks to double down on its vehicle sharing platform, particularly its two-wheeler segment. The Bengaluru-based on-demand startup, which announced i.ts $20 million Series B round last month, expects to close the latest round by end-January, and which is likely to value the three-year-old company about $400 million, a four-fold jump from its November valuation. Drivezy currently counts Das Capital, the investment firm founded by Japanese serial entrepreneur and investor Shinji Kimura, Bain Capital, the multi-asset alternative investment firm co-founded by former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney, European investment firm Accent Equit...