Hong Kong Startup News Roundup - 28 June 2020

Hong Kong fintech startup Qupital will offer services to eBay cross-border sellers

Qupital, a trade financing platform, announced today that it has made an agreement with eBay to be one of its officially recommended Hong Kong financing service providers. In today’s announcement, Qupital  said it will provide offshore financing services, including working capital, to eBay sellers in China and Hong Kong through QiaoYiDai, its main product.

According to Qupital, it will be able to “obtain real-time data authorized by eBay  sellers through API channels to maximize the value of the sellers’ operational data for credit control purposes. It adds that “this enables the company to facilitate a fully online application experience, a credit assessment process completed on average within three working days and all drawdown requests to be settled within 24 hours.”

In QiaoYiDai’s case, this means looking at “e-commerce statistics and big data, including the credibility of [applicants’] online shops, historical transaction data, rating data, refund and exchange rates of goods, among a plethora of other data points,” Qupital said in its announcement.

On average, QiaoYiDai provides an average credit limit of $150,000, with a maximum credit line of up to $1.5 million for qualifying sellers.

HSBC Hong Kong launches remote account opening solution

HSBC Hong Kong launched a remote business account opening solution targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Business owners can now open an account without having to schedule face-to-face or video meetings with the bank. The accounts can be opened anytime and anywhere and there is no requirement for the submission of physical documents and signatures. The application process is completely digitised and paperless.

Applications for the business integrated account can be done through HSBC’s online Account Application Centre and Business Express mobile app. Customers can even obtain the account number immediately. They will also be directed to register for Business Internet Banking and activate their Mobile Security Key.

A team has been formed to process remote business account applications. They will reach out to customers through telephonic conversations, to understand more about the businesses. An SMS will be sent to applicants to confirm the account activation, following the assessment. Customers can seek real-time help from a customer service officer through HSBC Live Chat, an online messaging service on the bank’s digital platform.

The new solution is initially offered to Hong Kong customers whose establishment is of less than 3 years and that of a simple company structure. HSBC will extend the solution to businesses with more complex structures and overseas operations in the future.

EventXtra, Forbes 30 Under 30 HK Startup Company Turns Pandemic Crisis Into Miracle Opportunity With a 300% Growth In Revenue

The coronavirus epidemic has spread across the globe, which has meant the cancellation of many large-scale offline events in India and the world. EventXtra, an all-in-one event management platform, supposed to be the most affected industry in the pandemic, has turned this into an opportunity by launching a new solution－“Virtual Exhibition”, moving large-scale offline events to online. 

Apart from providing one-stop digital support for the virtual exhibition, EventXtra fully facilitates the organizers with the integration of preliminary work, in-event interactive experiences, and data analysis reports, which effectively solved the business distress. EventXtra has achieved 300% growth in revenue in just half a year after the new solution launched, implying that virtual exhibition will become a major trend in the future. With this launch, the company forays in the Indian market to provide a solution that will create a seamless experience to event organizers.

CUHK Business School Research Finds Individuals with Diverse Skills More Likely to Form Startups and Succeed as Entrepreneurs

But there is good news! Recent research into individuals with diverse skill sets found that jacks-on-all-trades are more likely to start a business and succeed as entrepreneurs than those who have only a specialised skill. The reason? They can see more opportunities and are more resourceful when solving problems in an uncertain situation like setting up a new business. It doesn’t stop there. Jacks-of-all-trades who are particularly passionate about developing and nurturing startups are more likely to form highly competent and motivated teams.

The study was conducted by Kevin Au, Associate Professor at the Department of Management, as well as directors for both the Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Centre for Family Business at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School. His collaborators included Anna Hsu, his PhD student; Prof. Yingzhao Xiao at Tianjin University; and Prof. Marta Dowejko, Research Assistant Professor of Department of Management at Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Business.

The researchers were curious about what lay beyond the past findings of human capital research. Such research showed that, as employees, jacks-of-all-trades did not do as good in on-the-job performance as those who had specialized skills. Past research also showed that individuals who gained a variety of skills through training were more likely to start their own business. Yet if a jack-of-all-trades is likely to become an entrepreneur, he or she should also be good at launching startups.

Mainland, HK IPOs see continued growth in H1

Initial public offerings in the mainland and Hong Kong continued to grow in the first six months this year, while global IPOs slowed due to the COVID-19 impact, according to a report released by EY on Tuesday.

During the same period, globally, a total of 412 companies were listed, down by 20 percent compared with the same period last year. Funds raised via these IPOs amounted to $66.7 billion, which dropped 12 percent year-on-year, the report said.

But IPOs in the mainland and Hong Kong continued to grow, accounting for 43 percent of the world's total deals and 46 percent of the fund volume. Chinese companies - Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, JD.com Inc and NetEase.com Inc - ranked in the top three among the world's largest IPOs by funds raised via IPOs.