Hong Kong Startup News Roundup - 13 December 2020

Announcing: Launch of Ooosh Tech Lab!

We’re thrilled to unveil the birth of Ooosh Tech Lab, a whole new brand that umbrellas and unites all our current business units.

At Ooosh Tech Lab, we resolve challenges and obstacles in Digital Transformation for technology startups, investors and enterprises, by connecting our 4 existing business units as 1.

The consolidation shows the evolution of our company since its founding in 2015.While this is a significant change, our core beliefs haven’t changed.

Over the last few months, we have poured our hearts and souls into creating a new brand that would accurately depict who we are and what we do, at our core as a team.

Together as individuals, a team and with our clients, we have made it our purpose to grow under the hyper-evolutionary era of Digital Transformation.

Access Ventures secures US$30M for Fund II, aims to hit final close by Q3 2021

Hong Kong-based early-stage VC firm, Access Ventures, has raised over US$30 million for its second fund, DealStreetAsia has reported. Initially aimed at closing the fund by 2020 with a target amount of US$50 million, the firm is now looking to hit the final close by Q3 2021.

The Limited Partners (LPs) who invested in Fund II include Korea Venture Investment Corp (KVIC), the VC arm of Korean conglomerate F&F, and a number of Singapore-based family offices such as Octava.

LPs from the VC firm’s first fund, such as Line Ventures and Mahanusa Capital, have also come on board to support the new fund.

So far, fund II has made over 10 new investments in countries across Southeast Asia. Its portfolio firms include Indonesian P2P lending platform Akseleran and Vietnamese shuttle bus booking app Godee.

Manulife, Brinc launch program seeking startups to improve customer health and financial wellbeing

Manulife and global venture accelerator firm Brinc launched today a program to search for startups to fast-track digitisation and build digital solutions to improve the health and financial wellbeing of customers across Asia. Startups can apply for a spot until 15 February 2021 at: https://www.brinc.io/manulifeboost 

The Manulife BOOST program gives startups from around the world the chance to pilot their technology with leading international insurer Manulife, fine-tune their product offerings and potentially scale up their solutions to reach millions of customers in Asia. The program is looking for startups that ultimately help people better manage their finances, develop healthier habits and ensure a more secure future, particularly in a post Covid-19 environment.

Selected startups will get to work closely with business and tech leaders at Manulife on proofs of concept to validate and potentially scale their solutions. In addition, the startups will gain access to tools, resources and expertise via Manulife's network of innovation labs globally where teams of business strategists, experienced designers and engineers work with startups to explore innovative technologies that could shape the future of the insurance industry.

JD Health Makes Strong Debut in Hong Kong

The city’s stock market closes out its best year for listing activity in a decade, thanks in big part to Chinese technology companies. 

Shares in one of China’s top telemedicine providers surged on their Hong Kong debut Tuesday, reflecting how Chinese technology companies have reinvigorated the city’s stock market.

The $3.5 billion initial public offering by JD Health International Inc. is Hong Kong’s largest this year. It has come as the city closes out its best year for listing activity in a decade - thanks both to IPOs and to secondary listings of companies whose stock already trades on other exchanges, such as JD Health’s parent, the e-commerce group JD.com Inc. 

JD Health stock closed 56% higher at 110 Hong Kong dollars a share, the equivalent of $14.19, giving the company a market value of about $44 billion, after earlier rising as much as 76%. Rival Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd., which is controlled by internet giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., has a market value of about $41 billion.