Fintech

Rivals can fly around Google’s game cloud

20 Mar 2019

The U.S. web giant is stepping into gaming with a browser-based service. Console makers Nintendo and Sony lost a combined $3 bln of value on the news. Google's scale intimidates, but victory depends on exclusive titles that can out-drive Super Mario, not just lots of servers.

Financial firms’ dealmakers feast at fees trough

19 Mar 2019

Banks and payments firms account for four of this year’s 10 largest M&A transactions, after the FIS-Worldpay merger. It puts their advisers on track for the busiest and most lucrative year since the financial crisis. But there’s enough froth to suggest the good times won’t last.

Payments hype reaches new peak with $43 bln deal

18 Mar 2019

U.S. fintech group FIS is buying processor Worldpay for 20 times forward EBITDA. While there’s logic to rolling up companies with fixed costs and sticky clients, the price is punchy even for the fast-growing payments sector. The buyer’s own numbers imply disappointing returns.

Ping An offers up a glimpse of China’s bank reboot

18 Mar 2019

The insurance giant is preparing a $1 bln IPO for OneConnect, a startup offering tech support for mainland lenders, including fancy credit checks. Beijing wants banks to lend more to smaller, private firms, but few can handle the risk. It’s a dilemma that leaves a lucrative gap.

Breakdown: Shanghai stock venue shows promise

18 Mar 2019

After multiple Chinese trading-experiment flops, a new board for fast-growing tech and biotech startups looks more auspicious. Its rules strike a balance between liberalisation and discipline. The approach could improve mainland markets at the expense of New York and Hong Kong.

China’s housing unicorns are financial engineers

8 Mar 2019

A fundraising values flat-leasing startup Danke at $2 bln. Like rivals, it raises cash for expansion by taking out loans in tenants' names, rather than charge monthly rents. Owners, renters and banks are exposed if Danke flops. The practice is likely to overstay its welcome.

Payments IPO can shrug off sluggish Italy

26 Feb 2019

Domestic market leader Nexi is seeking a listing that may value it at some 7 billion euros including debt. Cash-loving Italians have traditionally shunned bank cards and digital transactions, but that’s changing. Closing the gap promises decent growth, even in a slowing economy.

Nintendo plays winning Japanese buyback game

26 Feb 2019

The Super Mario maker is repurchasing $300 mln of stock and cancelling hoarded shares as owners like Bank of Kyoto adapt to new cross-holding rules. Buybacks can be a poor use of cash, but with Japan Inc holding $4 trln in reserve Nintendo is joining a worthwhile movement.

China’s big urban-zone idea lacks finer points

19 Feb 2019

Beijing unveiled a blueprint to link Hong Kong, Macau and mainland cities into a $1.5 trln economic powerhouse. The Greater Bay Area plan is packed with industrial-planning jargon. What’s missing is nitty-gritty on taxes, consumer banking and commuting, which will matter most.

Wirecard lands dubious credit from German watchdog

18 Feb 2019

The regulator slapped a short-selling ban on the payments group’s shares. The thesis that Wirecard’s volatility could cause “general market uncertainty” is odd since wild price swings had abated. And the prohibition does nothing to fix the company’s problem: lack of transparency.

SoftBank adds to contradictions with Mubadala punt

18 Feb 2019

Masayoshi Son’s group is bankrolling half the Abu Dhabi state investor’s $400 mln start-up vehicle. That’s peanuts next to the $100 bln Vision Fund, and gives SoftBank access to early-stage bets. But outsourcing those decisions is an odd look for a supposed tech visionary.

Didi offers India’s hotel startup a lift in China

15 Feb 2019

No-frills chain Oyo is growing fast in a country where few foreign tech firms have thrived. An investment from local ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will help smooth the way for the $5 bln group. In return, the buyer gets a valuable ally in its duel with rival superapp Meituan.

Foreign IPO tide flows back into Hong Kong

14 Feb 2019

Global Switch and Home Credit are eyeing $1 bln floats in a city which has struggled to attract interest offshore. AB InBev might list its Asia operations too. Rule changes letting the benchmark index include overseas-based firms are one incentive. A thin China pipeline is another.

Chinese banks resist maxing out credit cards

13 Feb 2019

Lenders have issued more than 650 mln of them to local consumers, facilitating debt-fueled shopping sprees. It’s a lucrative but risky supplement to other types of loans, and some banks are pulling back. That’s negative for economic stimulus, but financially prudent.

Atos payments spinoff flags parent’s bugs

30 Jan 2019

CEO Thierry Breton is handing shareholders a 2 bln euro chunk of the IT group’s stake in listed payments unit Worldline. Ideally, he’d give them the lot. Investors are left holding a subscale computing business with dicey U.S. prospects. Its lowly valuation is warranted.

Chasing $13 bln Nexon throws Tencent off its game

25 Jan 2019

The Chinese titan behind “League of Legends” is eying control of its rival, which makes “Counter-Strike.” Tencent probably could help Nexon move faster from PCs to mobile. But slower industry growth and a Beijing crackdown suggest boss Pony Ma would be wiser to focus elsewhere.

KKR scrapes second-rate return out of First Data

18 Jan 2019

After a long 12-year investment in the payment processor, a sale to Fiserv sets the stage for a profitable exit. It’s a wonder the $29 bln buyout survived the financial crisis, considering the debt and multiple CEOs. Anything better than breaking even amounts to a win.

Last deal for First Data carries late-cycle risk

16 Jan 2019

Fiserv’s $22 bln all-stock acquisition of the transaction processor at a 30 pct premium comes with plenty of cost savings. Revenue synergies would be icing on the cake. But as with KKR’s toppy leveraged buyout of First Data in 2007, market turns can undermine M&A logic.

Blockchain will finally make itself useful

31 Dec 2018

The distributed-ledger technology associated with bitcoin is due a breakthrough in 2019. Banks and companies are gradually applying versions of it to tasks like settlement. Demonstrating blockchain’s utility, though, will say little about the value of cryptocurrencies themselves.

Korean unicorns gallop into the limelight

14 Dec 2018

Payments app Toss is the latest of a handful of local startups to secure a $1 bln-plus valuation, after fundraising led by U.S. investors. A wealthy, tech-savvy market is nurturing a new breed of tech firms that can stand out abroad too. SoftBank and others are taking notice.