Newsletter: Xiaomi Set to IPO in Hong Kong – World’s Largest IPO Since 2014

Welcome to this week’s newsletter. In the past week, we have witnessed Xiaomi‘s IPO, several new releases and some exciting collaborations among giants.

IPOs

Xiaomi has officially submitted their IPO documents to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. It is expected to be the world’s largest IPO since 2014. In the meantime, Didi plans to launch its IPO in no later than 2018 with the ambition to seek a valuation of at least $70 billion to $80 billion.

New Gadgets

Xiaomi released its third new phone of the year – the Xiaomi Mi 6X starting at $253, while Xiaomi Mi Band 3 will be equipped with new touchscreen functions and NFC support.

OnePlus will be working with Marvel and their “Avengers: Infinity War” team to create a OnePlus 6 x Marvel Avengers limited edition phone.

New Smartisan product is rumored to come out, claiming to have better operating system than the iOS or Windows.

Partnerships

Domestic companies are forming partnerships with industrial leaders both home and abroad.

On April 25, Meizu announced that it is working with Google on its first Android Go smartphone. While on April 26, Ant Financial Services Group and the leading mobile financial services provider of Bangladesh, bKash Limited announced a strategic partnership to promote financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked communities in Bangladesh. On April 30, Didi Chuxing confirmed that they are seeking partnerships with Volkswagen and others in the automobile industry as part of the DiDi Auto Alliance.

Trending in China

Almost overnight, a coffee brand called Luckin Coffee made waves across China’s first and second tier cities, with the potential to beat the traditional giant Starbucks and with a lower price.

Peppa Pig, a character in a British children animation, has now become the No.1 internet celebrity in China. Videos of people getting Peppa Pig tattoos and Peppa Pig watches are going viral on short video platforms.

Events

On April 25, 2018, Ant Financial launched the 2018 ATEC AI Competition in Hangzhou, China, inviting teams from around the world.

Ant Financial also has a SCR project under it called Ant Forest. This April, Pandaily went to Ordos, China with Ant Forest and its users, to participate in a green movement involving 300 million people.

On April 27, Ke Jie, the world’s second-ranked Go player competed against another AI Go program after having defeated by AlphaGo at 0-3 last year.

Changes of Leadership

After the previously reported acquisition, Hu Weiwei will become the new Mobike CEO and Liu Yu, a former special adviser to Mobike, will serve as the president, reporting to the CEO.

On the other hand, just before the anticipated IPO of Xiaomi, two co-founders Zhou Guangping and Huang Jiangji, have resigned from their positions. According to the internal letter, they “chose a new way of life” for personal reasons.

Podcast

We are happy to announce that the TechBuzz China by Pandaily podcast is now a part of the Supchina network, and this week’s episode will air as part of the Sinica podcast. Click here to listen to Rui & Ying-Ying talk about China’s reaction to the seven year ZTE ban, and the report released by Human Rights Watch about sexist hiring practices in China’s tech sector.