With the spotlight suddenly turned on messaging apps after Facebook acquired WhatsApp, Chinese app WeChat released a major upgrade for the iOS and Android versions with new features such as real-time location sharing and chat history search.
China
Apple Inc gets hundreds of new engineers from rival firms on board to hasten product development in Asia
In its quest to develop products faster and introduce more devices to the market faster, Apple Inc has hired new engineers from rival firms like HTC to beef up its team in Asia, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Chinese pet e-commerce site Boqii lands $25M in Series B funding
Shanghai, China-based pet e-commerce site Boqii landed $25 million in a Series B funding led by undisclosed US investors to fuel its brand building and expansion efforts.
China launches new government-run search site again
The launching of ChinaSo, reportedly being run by Xinhua's vice president, represents another attempt by the Chinese government to have its own state-run search engine, TechCrunch reported.
Gap Inc plans to strengthen online campaigns to build brand in China
As they open their first Old Navy store in China, Gap Inc will be increasing its efforts to promote their brand online so it can capitalize on the country's fast-growing e-commerce sector, Reuters reported.
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Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were hired by Chinese Internet firm Sina to take care of the debut of its microblogging platform Weibo in New York, according to sources interviewed by the Financial Times.
Chinese gadget maker Huawei unveiled five new devices during the Mobile World Congress tradeshow held in Barcelona, including two tablets, one smartphone, one smartband, and a fast mobile Wi-Fi device.
China-based Social media marketing firm KMSocial has raised tens of millions of dollars in a Series B funding round led by Fosun Venture Capital Investment. Existing investor Fidelity Growth Partners Asia also participated in the said round, according to VentureBeat.
Tencent Holdings Ltd and JD.com Inc are in talks to join forces and consolidate their e-commerce operations, according to two people familiar with the matter interviewed by Bloomberg.
Canonical, the parent firm of UK-based operating system Ubuntu, partnered with Chinese electronics firm Meizu and Spanish mobile gadget firm Bq to build the first Ubuntu Mobile phones this year.
China-based Fosun International Ltd is the most likely acquirer of Forbes Media Llc but will be paying less than $250 million for the money management magazine, according to sources interviewed by The Deal Pipeline.
Tencent Holdings Ltd, the biggest Internet company in Asia, purchased a 20% stake in online review platform Dianping.com, as it steps up its location-based services, Bloomberg reported.
US-based non-profit technology transfer center for bakers and food processors American Institute of Baking (AIB) added Beijing, China-based certification body Beijing Sino-Swiss ADC Service Co Ltd (SSADC) for an undisclosed amount.
Asian chat services KakaoTalk, LINE and WeChat threaten to overturn the mobile order of things, usurping the role of Google Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and telecoms carriers as gatekeeper to the consumer.
