JD.com, China’s largest online direct sales company, has raised $1 billion, for its JD Finance subsidiary from investors including Sequoia Capital China, China Harvest Investments and China Taiping Insurance.
eCommerce
Former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is Investing in an Indian Premium Tea Online Retailer, Teabox
The businessman is considered as one of India’s most active investor. Ever since he retired as the Tata Group chairman, Ratan Tata has backed more than 20 startups until now. He is especially experienced in the tea markets, and Teabox is delighted to have him as an advisor as well as an investor.
Amazon is Planning to Spend Over $3 Billion on Audio and Video Content
Amazon will spend more than $3 billion for Amazon Prime music and video content. With a 54 million members in the U.S., Amazon Prime wants to increase customers spending to boost its revenue following a downtrend.
Many firms eventually pay Amazon tax as they rely on cloud computing unit
Many venture capitalists like Chamath Palihapitiya prefer to park their funds in Amazon as the online retailer is forecast to grow over a decade. The reason is that it's not because of e-Commerce operations, but its cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS). Many companies will eventually pay a fixed fee to Amazon as they increasingly rely on cloud computing services to run their services.
Major banks funding Bitcoin startup on recording blockchain deals
A bitcoin startup Digital Asset Holdings has received funding from major banks. It will work closely with investors on research and commercialization of bitcoin technology applications. Digital Asset said that it has raised over $50 million funding from 13 investors. The list of investors includes JPMorgan Chase & Com, Citigroup Inc, BNP Paribas SA, CME Group Inc and Accenture Plc.
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch Wealth Management analysts expects India to be the next e-commerce battleground in 2016 as big tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon are set to conquer the country this year.
Technology startups in Africa may get $10 million funding in early 2016 as Silvertree Capital sees the rosy picture. Silvertree Internet Holdings is keen on scaling technology and commerce companies and has already invested $5 million in business building operations and acquisitions. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are favored the most among African countries.
Amazon is planning to enter into ocean freight shipping industry as the company has been awarded with a clearance from the Federal Maritime Commission. The license will entitle Amazon to act as Ocean Transportation Intermediary.
Chinese leading fashion e-commerce startup, Mogujie is taking over control of its rival Meilishuo. Both companies is expected to merge in an agreement that will involve a stock swap between both companies.
The shopping volume during the US holiday season registered an overall growth of 2.4 percent during 31 October 2015 to 4 January 2016. However, physical sales at malls were not equally rosy as online sales rose 4.6 percent. It's estimated that restaurants and travel segments recorded good business this holiday season as US consumers prefer to spend more.
An Australian man is suing eBay for thousands of dollars after it delisted the 'weed hat' he wore in a TV program. According to Daily Rover, Zaky Mallah, an Australian man has taken action against eBay and dragged it to the courtroom.
If you haven't heard of it, Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce company that started as a e-marketplace and now has grown to offer other services like electronic payment and cloud computing. They've become one of the biggest companies in China and now, they have even more money to expand with possibly $38 billion available for deals next year.
Now the mobile e-commerce is a booming e-commerce business in India. India could have 657 million Internet users by 2019, up from 277 million to date. The growth of mobile e-commerce increased at a fast pace.
Global retail major Walmart has announced the commencement of Cyber Monday sales from Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend. Walmart's first round of deals under Cyber Monday will begin on 29 November. Walmart has taken up Cyber Week staring from 28 November until 4 December. Walmart started holiday sales earlier owing to rising consumer demand. Several products will be available at discounts as part of the holiday sales season.
