Hong Kong Startup News Round Up - December 8

Boxful raises US$18M in Series B

Hong Kong-based startup Boxful secured US$18 million in a Series B round from investors including real estate developers Nan Fung Group, Shimao Property Holdings and Shui On Land.

The fresh capital will be used for service expansion in Mainland China and other Asian markets.

Founded in January 2015, Boxful offers storage solutions with door-to-door pickup service. Prior to the recent Series B round, the startup raised US$6.6 million in Series A back in June 2015 and US$1.5 million in Seed funding.

P.s. Boxful is running a campaign for new users, offering service for free in the first month. Check it out here. 

FinTech Association of Hong Kong shares best practice on #ICOs

The FinTech Association of Hong Kong published a paper sharing best practices for running digital token sales in Hong Kong. The paper includes topics like legal and regulatory issues, tax and accounting considerations, cybersecurity management etc. It also includes a sample KYC procedure.

“The FinTech community in Hong Kong is keen to ensure that those who decide to conduct a token sale do so by implementing the latest global best practices in this space. Whilst there are no detailed regulatory guidelines around token sales, we believe it is important for the community to set some voluntary best practices that entrepreneurs can follow,” said Karen Contet Farzam, Board Member, FinTech Association of Hong Kong.

Also read: Hong Kong FinTech Ecosystem Toolbox 2017

Dragon Law rebrands as Zegal

Dragon Law, a cloud-based legal software company, rebranded as Zegal. The startup also launched in the United Kingdom with an office in Manchester.

Founded in 2013, Zegal is a Hong Kong-based Legal startup that connects businesses across the globe with knowledge, advisors and workflows that make them smarter and more profitable.

Zegal provides legal documents tailored for businesses in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. With a team of over 60, Zegal has worked with over 20,000 small business users.

Xiaomi to seek at least US$50B valuation in IPO (Very possibly in Hong Kong)

According to SCMP, the Chinese smartphone supplier Xiaomi is in talks with investment banks about a possible initial public offering (IPO), looking for at least US$50 billion. Banks have suggested Hong Kong as the most likely place to be listed

Founded in 2010, Xiaomi is facing rivals in the local market, including Huawei Technologies and Vivo. The company has invested in retail stores and aggressively in India. Xiaomi hit $1 billion in Indian revenue for 2016.

Alibaba looks to invest about US$227M in Hong Kong's AI startup SenseTime

Alibaba is looking to invest about US$227 million in AI startup SenseTime, which is valued at over US$2 billion and backed by Qualcomm Inc.

SenseTime raised US$410 million in Series B in July 2017 and valued at US$1.5 billion. The startup has multiple advanced technologies for facial recognition, machine learning and smart city systems. It works with clients and partners including Qualcomm, Huawei, Union Pay and Xiaomi.