Eastly: Asia Tech News Direct From The Source

Welcome to Eastly, your weekly infusion of all the top tech stories from the world’s innovation powerhouse: East Asia!

Every Sunday we’ll bring you a short, sharp roundup of the biggest stories our team in China have spotted – the kind of stuff that takes a few weeks for the Western media to notice.

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There can be no doubt that COVID has impacted the world in ways that many thought unthinkable 12 months ago. While many sectors are struggling for survival, others seem to be flourishing. And looking more closely at those who are thriving, it’s clear that a tech solution is often key to their success.

SaaS Provider Riding Homestay Popularity Wave

woman in black shirt sitting on red and white boat

Better stay at home?

Date: 30 September, 2020

Homestay management and marketing platform, Yuan Zhanggui continues to profit from a continued upturn in China's domestic travel market.

According to the newly released "China Tourism Homestay Development Report (2019)", the operating income of China's homestay market in 2019 was 20.94 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.92%. As of September 30 2019, the number of homestays had increased 217.06% from 2016 numbers.

Yuan Zhanggui provides room status management systems for homestays providers. It also helps integrate Internet multi-channel marketing resources to improve homestay operation capabilities and income opportunities.

The platform has reached over 150,000 paid users – predominantly inns, guest houses, apartments and youth hostels – and the transaction volume of users exceeded 10 billion yuan in 2019.

Source: https://36kr.com/p/903082345476870

Digital Dentist Celebrates Additional Series B Success

Big smiles for Langcheng

Date: 30 September, 2020

Langcheng Medical, a digital dentistry specialist has secured an additional round of Series B funding, just nine months after a first round.

Said to be worth tens of millions of yuan, lead investor Shenzhen Investment joined forces with Investment Control Donghai to provide the round. Instant Capital acted as the financial advisor for the transactions. In January this year, Langcheng Medical secured a similar investment in a round led by China Venture Capital.

Longcheng is committed to innovation, industrialisation, and the promotion of digital dental equipment and materials. It aims to offer a "one-stop-shop" for dental diagnosis, treatment services, and digital solutions – offering everything from intraoral scanning to denture production.

The new funding will largely be spent on research and development.

Source: https://36kr.com/p/903989425321224

China’s Smallest Airline Fetches US$119 Million In Private Airline Auction

China’s Smallest Carrier Is Snapped Up for USD119 Million at Country’s First Private Airline Auction

Flying high!

Date: 30 September, 2020

Longjiang Airlines, China's smallest airline with a fleet of just five aircraft, has been bought by a Beijing-based investment consulting firm for 806 million yuan (US$119 million) at the country's first private airline auction.

Beijing Shengda Gold Industry Investment Consulting, bought a 98% stake in the airline, which like many firms in the travel sector, has suffered a huge blow to its revenues due to the lack of travel during the COVID-19 lockdown.

According to experts, the price covers the value of the firm's business license – which have become scarce given the Chinese government’s strict control on access to the industry in recent years.

Source: https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/china-smallest-carrier-is-snapped-up-for-usd119-million-at-country-first-private-airline-auction

Shanghai Launches First ‘Shared’ Test Road for Driverless Vehicles

Shanghai Launches First Smart Open Test Road for Driverless Vehicles

Autonomous Shanghai of the Future

Date: 30 September, 2020

Following successfully closed road trials over the past few months, Shanghai opened its first smart road for autonomous vehicles in Lingang New Area – an 8.5 kilometre stretch of road which will be shared with regular traffic.

The self-driving vehicles include buses, passenger vehicles, and unmanned sweepers. It’s thought that passenger services could be offered to the public as early as next year – once they’ve clocked at least 3,000 miles.

Smart roads are lined with video cameras, lidar, and millimetre-wave radar devices. They can provide passing smart vehicles with roadside traffic information, enabling the communication and interaction between passing vehicles and the surrounding environment.

Source: https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/shanghai-launches-first-smart-open-test-road-for-driverless-vehicles

WeWork China Scales Down Operations

low angle photography of white concrete building

WeWork is shrinking

Date: 01 October, 2020

Four years after establishing a local presence in China, the shared-workspace provider WeWork has decided to scale down its business operations – consequently selling a majority share to Trust Bridge Partners, one of WeWork China's existing shareholders.

For a sum equivalent to US$200 million, Trust Bridge Partners will take control of WeWork’s 12 premises across China but will continue to use the brand name service.

While COVID-19 can in part be seen as responsible for WeWork’s struggle for survival – as more people are working from home; the company’s continuing issues pre-date the pandemic.

Source: https://en.pingwest.com/a/7885

Notes:

Longjiang Airlines: Founded in 2014, but commencing operations in 2017, China’s smallest air carrier with just five aircraft (aka LJ Air) is based out of Harbin Taiping International Airport. It currently offers flights to Chongqing, Hefei, Yinchuan, and Zhuhai.