Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

In episode 330, Gareth Nicholson, deputy technology editor on the technology desk from South China Morning Post (SCMP), joined us to discuss the China Internet Report 2020 and its impact to the rest of the world. We discuss the key major trends: the impact of COVID-19 on China tech and how it transform food delivery, the accelerated self-reliance of Chinese companies due to the US and China tensions, the year of 5G for mass adoption in the Chinese domestic market, live streaming and ecommerce, and finally, why the Chinese companies are now moving their US listings back to China. Last but not least, Gareth shared the key trends that he will watch out for in 2021. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Gareth Nicholson, deputy Technology Editor on the Technology desk, South China Morning Post. Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? China Internet Report 2020 by South China Morning Post Now let’s talk about the report. It’s SCMP’s 3rd annual report, what are some of the key sections and themes that the China Internet report has always focused on? As we understand that SCMP has been delivering the China Internet Report every year since 2016, what are the key themes which the report have discussed every year till now? I love how the report starts off with ‘China in a glance’ which provides readers with a general background of the Chinese internet space. The graphic comparisons for the China vs US internet landscapes are helpful. For example, I didn’t know that China has about 3 times the number of internet users at 904M in comparison to US’s almost 300 million (298M). Can you provide us a snapshot on how the Chinese Internet is now compared with respect to the US? Who are now the key players within the Chinese tech ecosystem, as we notice that Baidu has dropped down to number 11?  Trend #1: Impact of COVID-19 to China Tech Sector What is the impact of COVID-19 on China’s tech sector?  How did the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology in China respond to COVID-19 pandemic? with plans along the 5 themes: building a strong infrastructure network, applying digital technology in all sectors, enhancing data security, strengthening tech innovation and optimizing broader industry development? Trend #2: China Accelerated Self-Reliance on Tech With the ongoing tension escalating between the US and China, how is China doing on the path of becoming technologically self-reliant? What are some of China’s major challenges? What is the impact of this move to self-reliance for Huawei and other Chinese companies? Where are the competencies that Chinese tech firms will need to develop to bridge the gap between them and the US? Trend #3: The year of mass adoption for 5G Is this the year for mass adoption for 5G? What will be the impact of 5G for Chinese tech in the next two to three years? Trend #4: Live Streaming's 3rd Phase in China What are the 3 phases of livestream in China and what’s after the 3rd phase? Trend #5: China companies listing back at home (Hong Kong and Shanghai) We are seeing a lot of Chinese companies looking to list in HK or Shanghai. Do you see this a part of the great trend due to the tensions between the US and China?  At the same time, we see accounting scandals for example, Luckin Coffee and TAL education and this leads to more scrutiny to Chinese companies, do you think that more and more chinese companies will delist from the US and move back to China? What topics are covered in the pro-report as compared from the free report? Closing How do our audience find you? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · China Internet Report 2020 with Gareth Nicholson

In episode 329, Jon Russell, editor of The Ken Southeast Asia, joined us in a conversation to discuss the continuing epic rivalry between Gojek and Grab in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Starting from the perspective of Gojek, we discuss the impact and changes made after the founder's departure and how they are re-organizing to tackle Grab's onslaught in Indonesia and expanding out to other parts of Southeast Asia from Indonesia. With new investments from US tech giants, Facebook and Paypal, we discuss how Gojek is shaping itself to be a worthy rival against Grab backed by SoftBank and Alibaba in Southeast Asia. Last but not least, Jon discuss why the media streaming giants of Southeast Asia, HOOQ & iFlix failed to take on Netflix and the key takeaways for unicorn start-ups in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Jon Russell (@jonrussell, LinkedIn, Newsletter, Personal Site, The Ken Profile) Since we have last spoken, you have moved out of TechCrunch and now joined The Ken. Can you talk about The Ken and what is your new role there? Grab vs Gojek in 2020 Let’s start from Gojek, a lot of things have happened. Their founder and former CEO, Nadiem Makarim has left the company and become a Minister of Education & Culture under President Jokowi’s cabinet in Indonesia. What’s the impact on Gojek after his departure? (Ref: Up for Grab? Gojek after Nadiem Makarim) They have started the expansion to Southeast Asia last year but it has not grown very well. (Ref: Gojek’s stunted SE Asia expansion story), can you talk about their challenges in expanding out of Indonesia while dealing with Grab who is competing in their backyard? That being said, they have been doing well on the fundraising front: Gojek has been invested by Facebook and Paypal (Source: CNBC).  What are the implications to Gojek as Google, Paypal and Facebook are lining up against Grab? (Ref: Facebook, PayPal’s payments play a super app-ortunity for Gojek) The US tech giants are in Indonesia just as the Chinese tech giants, for example, Meituan-Dianping which is a super app entering the market. What can Gojek and Grab learn from Meituan-Dianping? (Ref: The Gojek-Grab SE Asia super app battle with a Meituan twist) What is the impact of COVID-19 on Grab and Gojek? Both Gojek and Grab have done layoffs in the past month. How do you look at the approaches from both companies? (Grab CEO’s memo, Gojek’s layoffs) SoftBank has been taking a hit from Wework and Oyo. What is the downstream impact to Grab based on the current troubles in the Vision Fund? Is the race to dominate Southeast Asia going down to whether Grab or Gojek wins Indonesia and not the other countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia, Singapore)?  What will the key battleground for Grab and Gojek in the coming 2021?  Impact of COVID-19 to Southeast Asia  You have written a lot of media streaming companies similar to Netflix, for example HOOQ from Singapore and iFlix from Malaysia. The COVID-19 pandemic have led to HOOQ being shut down and iFlix being acquired from Tencent. What are the key learnings from HOOQ’s downfall and iFlix’s acquisition?  What are the key takeaways from the COVID pandemic for Southeast Asia? (Ref: 7 takeaways from Covid-time digital winners and losers in Southeast Asia) Closing Can you recommend a book or movie or podcast or anything which recently made an impact to your work and personal life? Jon's recommendation: Sarah Frier, "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram" How do my audience find you?  Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Gojek vs Grab in Southeast Asia 2020 Edition with Jon Russell

In episode 328, Lim Xinyi, senior director for corporate development from Pinduoduo, joined us to discuss the social ecommerce company and its impact on agriculture. Starting from the conversation, Xinyi shared her background and how she came to discover and eventually join Pinduoduo. She discuss Pinduoduo's current mission and vision and how the company pioneered social ecommerce in China. Last but not least she shared Pinduoduo's contributions to the agriculture sector in China and how they are helping farmers to get their agricultural produce to the consumers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Lim Xinyi (LinkedIn), Senior Director, Corporate Development at Pinduoduo (@PinduoduoInc, LinkedIn, Medium) How did you start your career? In your career journey, what are the interesting career lessons you can share with our audience. Pinduoduo’s Social E-Commerce Model and its impact in agriculture  Can you briefly introduce us to your company Pinduoduo in China and its mission and vision?  How do you explain Pinduoduo as a social e-commerce company to the audience out there?  Before Pinduoduo came into the scene in 2015, the ecommerce industry led by Alibaba and Jingdong (JD) generated a combined revenue of $433B gross merchandise value (GMV), and within 5 years, it skyrocketed from a startup to 57B company with buying base of 585M generating $144B of GMV (reference from Pinduoduo & the rise of Social E-Commerce by YCombinator) and by 2020, it’s the 2nd largest ecommerce platform in China behind Alibaba. Can you talk about how Pinduoduo pioneered the concept of social shopping in China? What are the features of social shopping that have been introduced by Pinduoduo? (For example, 1/ creating community via team purchase, 2/ Daily Check ins, 3/ Price Chop, 4/ Card program, 5/ mini games and 6/ personalized recommendations referenced in the YC article) What are the misconceptions from the Western world which Pinduoduo has been mis-understood as a company? How does Pinduoduo contribute to the agriculture sector in China? (See reference by Parmesh Shah from World Bank) Why is Pinduoduo well-suited to help farmers and digitize agriculture? What are the benefits for the farmers in China?  How does Duo Duo Farms help to alleviate poverty and create a sustainable future via the team purchase feature in Pinduoduo? Can you elaborate about the Duo Duo Farm project in Yunnan and what are the key learnings there? Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, what have been Pinduoduo’s response to the situation and what you have done to help the farmers to tide over this tough period? What are the key trends you see in the future of social commerce and does this extend beyond agriculture for Pinduoduo? Closing Can you recommend anything (a book, movie or article) which has inspired you recently? Xinyi's recommendations: understanding the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. How do our audience find you? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Pinduoduo on Social Ecommerce & Agriculture with Xinyi Lim

In episode 327, Geoffrey Cain, author of "Samsung Rising" joins us in a two parts conversation on his journey across Asia as a journalist and author and discuss the backstory of his new book behind the Samsung Group and how it rise to be the most powerful Chaebol (large family-owned business conglomerate) in Korea. In the second part of the conversation, Geoffrey discuss Samsung's complicated relationship with Apple as both a supplier and competitor and how their arrogance and hierarchical culture led to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. He reveals why he did not include the story of Lee Boo-jin, the daughter of Lee Kun Hee who is often tapped as a potential successor to the Samsung Group and why it is unlikely that there will be a female leader to helm the Samsung Group. Last but not least, Geoffrey offered his perspectives on how Samsung is responsible for exporting culture out of Korea to the rest of the world, particularly the movie Parasite and his thoughts on whether there is a future for another Samsung-like Group emerging in another market out there.  Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Geoffrey Cain, author of “Samsung Rising”, and also regular commentator on The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Time & The New Republic and former correspondent in The Economist (Website, @geoffrey_cain, LinkedIn) Samsung Rising (Random House, Amazon, Apple Books) [0:30] What are your perspectives on Samsung’s dual relationship with Apple, as a supplier of solid state drives and OLED screens for the iPhone while competing with their flagship phones, the Galaxy series phones? [0:34] Samsung Galaxy note 7 fiasco is well covered in the press. In your view in covering that story, what lessons have Samsung learned from that disaster that almost ended their smartphone dominance? [3:56] What are the fundamental flaws that are in Samsung that are not functioning in today's world? [8:06] The battles within the Lee family for the succession to Samsung's empire. [11:28] Comments on Lee Boo-jin, the sister of Jay Lee as a potential successor to the Samsung Group, and why it is not included in the book "Samsung Rising" Samsung's family connection with the Oscar best movie in 2020 "Parasite" [22:24] Do you think that the success that Samsung has attained after 80 years of work can be replicated in other countries today?  [27:40] Closing Do you have any recommendation of a book, movie, podcast or anything which have inspired you recently? [32:25] Geoffrey's recommendations: Joe Studwell "How Asia Works", James Fallows "China Airborne". Where do our audience find you? [33:45] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Samsung Rising Part Two with Geoffrey Cain

In episode 326, Geoffrey Cain, author of "Samsung Rising" joins us in a two parts conversation on his journey across Asia as a journalist and author and discuss the backstory of his new book behind the Samsung Group and how it rise to be the most powerful Chaebol (large family-owned business conglomerate) in Korea. In the first part of the conversation, Geoffrey discuss the inspiration and the main themes behind "Samsung Rising", and shares the origin story of Samsung and how they went from an agriculture business to a global technology giant today along with Apple and Huawei by a family owned enterprise spanning three generations. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Geoffrey Cain, author of “Samsung Rising”, and also regular commentator on The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Time & The New Republic and former correspondent in The Economist (Website, @geoffrey_cain, LinkedIn) [0:26] How did you start your career? [0:55] What have you learned from covering North & South Korea, China and Cambodia in your career journey? [8:35] In your career journey, what are the key lessons you can share with the younger audience? [10:55] Comments on how the history of Samsung aligns with the story of South Korea's rise as one of the top economies in Asia. Samsung Rising (Random House, Amazon, Apple Books) [15:45] What is the inspiration behind writing the book “Samsung Rising”? [16:20] Who are the intended audience of the book? [20:32] If you will to summarize the key takeaways of the book, what would they be so that you can spark their interest to learn more? [22:22] Can you talk about the origins of Samsung and what type of businesses that the family behind the company have grown from a small trading company  to modern technology giant today? [25:05] What does Chaebol means in South Korea? [33:05] The family behind Samsung have gone through three generations: the founder Lee Byung-chul (or B.C Lee in short), Lee Kun-hee and recently to Jay Lee. Can you talk about how each leader has been different and what their contributions to Samsung have been? [36:50] Can Jay Lee step up for Samsung as his father and grandfather have in the past? [49:04] Jay Lee's investments in Silicon Valley and how he is thinking about Samsung's future given that the environment is currently becoming more complex with US protectionism. [52:00] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Samsung Rising Part One with Geoffrey Cain

In episode 325, Tim Culpan from Bloomberg joined us to dissect the most important deal that rocked the Asian business and technology landscape with Facebook investing 5.7B into Reliance Jio. We began the conversation with Tim to set the context behind the deal and what both Facebook & Reliance Jio Platforms stand to gain from this partnership and their ambitions to win the market with a super app concept that is now popular in China & Southeast Asia. Tim also examined the implications to what it means for the Chinese technology giants from Alibaba to Xiaomi in India and the US technology giants such as Google and Amazon. Last but not least, Tim discuss the recent debacles which SoftBank faced with their investments and whether there is a silver lining for the Vision Fund. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Tim Culpan (@tculpan, Linkedin, Bloomberg), Columnist at Bloomberg [0:29] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [1:23] Facebook investment in Reliance Jio and its impact on India [2:39] Ref: Facebook and Ambani Can Be Happy Together by Tim Culpan and Why Facebook is betting big in India by Ravi Agrawal (Source: Foreign Policy) To start, Facebook has invested $5.7 billion for a 9.99% stake in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, a three-and-a-half-year-old subsidiary of the nation’s most valued firm, Reliance Industries, and the biggest telecom operator in the country with more than 370 million subscribers and valued Jio at a pre-money valuation of $65.95 billion, makes Facebook the largest minority shareholder in the Indian telecom network. To help our audience to start the conversation, what does the telco Reliance Jio do and why they are influential in the India telco market? (Note: Mukesh Ambani is the richest tycoon in India - see AA episode 264 with James Crabtree who profiled him and his family in the book “The Billionaire Raj”) What is Jio Platforms and Mukesh Ambani, the person behind Jio Platforms and his ownership of Reliance Industries, the largest Indian conglomerate. [4:38] Why did Facebook invest in Jio? [6:58] How will Facebook extend its influence of its platform (and we include Whatsapp and Instagram) across India through this investment in Reliance Jio? [8:33] How would this partnership between Facebook and Reliance Jio Platforms help the small and medium businesses and jumpstart their Jio Mart initiative? [10:51] Does Jio Mart will built or be built into the super app under Whatsapp based on this alliance? [13:25] What does this alliance between Facebook and Reliance mean for the China tech giants (Bytedance, Alibaba via Paytm, Xiaomi and Tencent) in Indian market? [15:00] Will Google and Amazon consider the same path now that Facebook did the investment? [18:10] What does Reliance Jio gain from the alliance with Facebook in India? [19:51] How will ecommerce or the mobile landscape change in India with this alliance? [21:25] What does this mean for China and US tech giants entering into India which is becoming more protectionist in the past two years? [22:44] Will SoftBank’s Vision Fund fail in the end? [25:31] Ref: Masayoshi Son's Impatience Just Cost $17 Billion, Bankers Keep Vision Fund Going With Rubber Bands and Being a Sore Loser Doesn't Make WeWork’s Neumann Wrong Why did the Vision Fund experience a set of continued problems from its investees such as Wework and Oyo? [25:54] What can we learn from SoftBank’s other failed investments for example, Zume, the pizza startup in the Bay Area? (QOTD: “A visionary founder with a fire hose of money can’t solve every problem.” by Sarah McBride in the article)  [28:42] What has happened to companies which have gone public such as Slack and Uber? [31:06] Are there any silver linings for the Vision Fund, for example, Grab, Didi or Bytedance? [32:43] Does the Vision Fund have a future? [35:50] Closing  [37:01] Any book or stuff to recommend? [37:19] Tim's recommendations: dance music in the 1980s, 1990s & 2000s and Youtube Where can our audience find you? [38:01] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

In episode 324, Rui Ma, co-host of Tech Buzz China podcast and a trusted voice on China Tech joined us on a conversation to dive deeper on the anonymous report that unveiled Luckin Coffee's recent debacle. We start with a quick history of Luckin Coffee with Rui Ma breaking down the backstory on how Luckin Coffee's alleged fraud came to light and the impact after the fallout. Rui Ma dived deeper beyond the original story with an analysis of the anonymous report entitled "Luckin Coffee: Fraud + Fundamentally Broken Business". Last but not least, she discussed the implications of Luckin Coffee's debacle and how investigative reporting and corporate activism will impact the public listings of Chinese companies in the US. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Rui Ma, Creator & Host of Tech Buzz China podcast by Pandaily produced by SupChina (LinkedIn, @ruima) [0:26] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:30] Luckin Coffee Debacle [1:36] Disclaimer: The information provided here by our host and guest are not here to encourage buying or selling any equities mentioned here and investing is strictly our audience’s own responsibility. So, please do your homework.  Origins of Luckin Coffee has been covered by Matthew Brennan in Episode 279 and it was starting to challenge Starbucks Cafe in China two years back. Highly recommended: Rui Ma and Ying Ying Lu in Techbuzz China Episode 65 (Extra Buzz Special): Luckin’s luck ran out To help our audience, Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡) started off with the on demand delivery model and did not have physical stores similar to Starbucks. Then it started scaling up by burning investment cash and building physical stores. The investors came from a variety of sources (according to CB Insights): venture capital (JOY Capital), asset management fund (BlackRock), private equity (Centurium Capital), China International Capital Corporation or CICC (investment bank) and GIC (the sovereign wealth fund in Singapore).   Let’s start from today and work backwards to what happened that led to alleged fraud of Luckin Coffee being announced by the company. How was alleged fraud for Luckin Coffee come to public attention? (Source: Luckin Coffee’s filing of 6K) [3:04] What was the alleged fraud about and how much has been uncovered? [4:23] Who are the people behind the alleged fraud? [5:27] What is the impact given the announcement of the alleged fraud by Luckin Coffee, from stock crashing to customers rushing to claim their coffee? (Source: SCMP) [7:08] Luckin Coffee has been a strange story in China. What is the business model that led to them going public? [9:11] The Anonymous Report titled “Luckin Coffee: Fraud + Fundamentally Broken Business” [11:40] Citing the Extra Buzz Newsletter #7: “The report was very extensive 89 pages, utilized 92 full time, 1418 part time staff on the ground who recorded 11,000 hours of video, which is almost 3 years worth of store days covering 620 stores in 38 different cities.” Basically, it is this report that fanned the flames for Luckin Coffee in their present state. However, there’s a lot of confusion of who did the report, for example, 燃财经 Rancaijing and Muddy Waters leeched off from the report (and somehow Western Media mistakenly attributed to them). So, the first question, what are the key facts behind the report? [12:24] The report have two interesting parts titled “The Fraud” and “The Fundamentally Broken Business Model”. Let start from the first part “The Fraud”, what are the key smoking gun evidence and red flags cited that led to the alleged fraud claim in the report?  What are the business model flaws cited in the report that claims that Luckin Coffee has the fundamentally business model? [15:16] Let’s zero in to one key red flag from the “Fraud” section: “Number of items per store per day inflated by 69% in 2019 3Q and 88% in 2019 4Q, supported by 11,260 hours of store traffic video”, can you explain how the report presents its investigation and use the numbers to get to the conclusion? [18:44] The anonymous report took a very strong look at the unit economics of Luckin Coffee (Business Flaw #3) at page 78: what are the key arguments from the report that establish that Luckin Coffee is not able to be profitable? [20:40] With such a construction of an elaborate report and this entire episode can be turned into a “Billions” TV series episode (by Showtime), the $1m dollar question: who is behind the report and what is their motivation behind it? [24:06] Aftermath  Who benefits from the entire Luckin Coffee’s debacle? [25:44] The hedge funds Starbucks in China, given that 30% of their revenues came from China before Luckin’s entrance to challenge them.  One interesting consequence of this Luckin Coffee episode, is the quality of investigative reporting for corporate fraud in China. The anonymous report took a lot of effort in constructing the actual picture by people going undercover to find out the actual numbers. We notice that this is getting better whenever each scandal pops up in the market. Does that mean that we will see more of these exposes? [27:16] What are your first thoughts when the report was first released into the public? [30:00] Do you think that how Chinese companies should do to dispel myths or being challenged about their businesses? [31:48] What do you think that the US investor learn from this episode? [33:30] Do you think that the English and US media have reported the Luckin Coffee narrative properly? [35:47] Closing [37:52] Rui Ma's recommendation: Dan Grover "How Chinese Apps Handled COVID-19" Carol's video on how millennials cope with COVID-19 with the apps on their smart phone. Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · The Anonymous Report that brought down Luckin Coffee with Rui Ma

In episode 323, Charles Reed Anderson, our long time guest of the show and host of TechBurst Asia joins us to discuss his latest venture, SparkLabs Connex, a new accelerator program for smart city technologies under the SparkLabs Group. Before diving deep into the new venture, Charles discuss the challenges of smart city rankings and how they did not reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground. Then he began to discuss the rationale of SparkLabs Connex and why it is time to start an accelerator program specifically on smart city technologies. Last but not least, he break down how the global program works, offered his perspectives on what types of entrepreneurs he would seek to fund and address how SparkLabs Connex will operate in a COVID-19 world. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Charles Anderson (@CRASingapore, LinkedIn), founder of Charles Reed Anderson and Associates, host of TechBurst Asia (iTunes, Spotify, @techburstasia) and now general partner for SparkLabs Connex. [0:24] What have you been up to since we last spoke? [1:10] You have recently written an article about smart city rankings and why the rankings do not reflect reality. Can you talk about why this is the case? [1:40]  SparkLabs Connex [5:45] Can you briefly introduce your new venture SparkLabs Connex from the SparkLabs Group? (Source: TechCrunch) [6:00] There are already a lot of incubators and accelerators across different geographies, but very few have succeeded. Why do you think that this is the time to start another one? [7:57] What are the industry verticals or technologies that SparkLabs Connex is looking into? (5G, IoT, Smart Cities)? [9:15] How does the model work for SparkLabs Connex and how does it work with the ecosystem, for example, partners? [10:50] Why are the vendors willing to work with you as many accelerators have been building partnerships across industries? [13:44] How does SparkLabs Connex work for entrepreneurs? [15:05] What are the traits of startup founders that you will seek to invest in? [17:05] What are the types of technologies which you will specifically look into as you invest in the space? [22:00] Omate: elderly care watch from Shenzhen and expand in France [22:40] Can you share the stories of early applicants into the program? [24:40] Can you share the geographical profiles of startups in SparkLabs Connex and whether there are preferences over some geographies? [25:40] Are there any additional things which you want the applicants to know? [27:40] Given the recent coronavirus outbreak, do you think that it will slow down the growth of IoT and 5G in the market? [28:25] How about technologies in IoT and 5G which might have come up during the COVID-19 outbreak? [29:55] Press releases: SparkLabs Group launches Connex, an accelerator program for smart city technology (TechCrunch) SparkLabs Connex, a New IoT, Smart City & PropTech Accelerator, Unites the Supply & Demand sides of the Technology Ecosystem to Accelerate Access to Innovation (Business Insider) Closing [32:30] Charles recommendations: Parag Khanna's "The Future is Asian" Where can we find him? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

In episode 322, Rui Ma from Techbuzz China joined us to discuss Bilibili in China and discuss how the video site has grown from a niche community of anime lovers to its now proclaimed "Youtube of China". Starting from the origin story, Rui Ma traced the backstory in how Bilibili came to be and how the site has diversified their monetisation revenues from esports, ecommerce to advertising. Last but not least, she discuss how Bilibili balances its current growth strategy against the patience of the community behind after going public. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion (with time-stamps included): Rui Ma, Founder of Euzen Labs and Host of TechBuzz podcast by Pandaily produced by SupChina & Extra Buzz Newsletter (LinkedIn, @ruima) [0:28] Since our last conversation, what have you been up to? [0:31] Bilibili in China [1:19] Can you talk about the origin story of Bilibili and how it has become a platform for fans who are experts in certain niches such as anime in China? [1:40] Who are the founders of Bilibili? [5:08] What are the monetization models for Bilibili? [7:55] How much that Bilibili has ventured into e-sports after acquisition of an e-sports team? [10:24] What are the major similarities & differences between Bilibili and Youtube?[12:50] User experience on Bilibili - bullet comments [15:44] Most popular phrases that come from bullet comments in 2019 - AWSL [17:30] Can you describe how users actually register and get themselves memberships on the Bilibili? How is this different from public social networks out there such as Facebook, Wechat?  [18:45] What are the interesting partnerships that Bilibili has done so far for example, New Year Gala with Xinhua Agency and ecommerce with Taobao (Alibaba)? [21:02] Do you think that the Bilibili model can be exported to the US, India or Southeast Asia? Are there already examples of similar models out there? [22:55] The balance between growth and user community interests in Bilibili [26:30] Other references: Check out Techbuzz China's Episode 57: Bilibili - The YouTube of China? Closing [28:30] Anything if you want to recommend that inspire you recently? [28:35] David Epstein "Range" How do my audience find you? [29:01] Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin).  Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack.

Gareth Nicholson and Sarah Dai from South China Morning Post discuss the China AI Report 2020, including key themes, growth drivers, cultural differences, dominant verticals, AI talent pipeline, and hardware advantage in China. They also explore the future potential and challenges faced by AI companies, such as Baidu and Alibaba, and the impact of the US tech war and coronavirus epidemic. The hosts express gratitude to the guests and provide information on accessing the report.