I recently interviewed Nafez Dakkak. Nafez is originally from Jordan and currently lives in the UK, where he is the CEO of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development. Nafez is also pursuing a part-time Master’s Degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Nafez spent most of his career working in the Middle East, where he founded the Ed Tech platform Edraak. Nafez took Edraak from concept to full execution, reaching over 250,000 learners across the Arab world in under 12 months and with the company now reaching millions of learners across the Arab world. He has been at the forefront of Ed Tech in the Middle East, and has written a seminal piece on the topic titled, “MENA: Ed Tech’s Sleeping Giant.” Nafez went to university in the US and currently lives in London.

What did we talk about?

* His work with the Queen Rania Foundation and founding Edraak

* Growing up across MENA

* The evolution of the Ed Tech industry in the Middle East

* Analysing companies targeting cultural niches, particularly in the Arab world

* The global implications of remote work, Covid, and education

* Fleabag, The Queen’s Gambit, The Art of Persia, and The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, Invest Like The Best, Arabic podcasts

Find Nafez on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ndakkak

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

I recently interviewed Yang Liu. Yang is originally from China and currently lives in the UK, where she is the Co-Founder and CEO of JustWears, a direct-to-consumer underwear brand.

Yang is originally from Kunming, China and started her career working in startups in Shenzhen in 2011. Throughout her experiences, she has seen first hand the cultural differences between technology business leaders in China vs. the West and the evolution of China’s technology industry. She was also featured on Dragon’s Den!

Yang’s career has given her unique first hand perspective in the development of Chinese Tech. She talked about her experience meeting Zhang Yiming, the founder and CEO of Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok. She talked about her admiration for Jack Ma—I never realised how of an emphasis he put on female representation in his company. It’s fascinating to hear Yang describe the differences between what character traits are admired in China vs. the West. Listen to this episode for some stellar cultural insight!

What did we talk about?

* Yang’s experience working in the earlier days of Chinese tech back in 2011

* The evolution of China from ‘copycat’ to leading innovator

* Differences between the consumer market in China vs. Europe

* Her approach to building a brand over time

* The Chinese CEOs she admires and why - Jack Ma, Zhang Yiming

* The differences between Western and Eastern business culture

Yang’s Recommendations:

* General Magic

* Donald Trump’s Speech on Election Fraud

* Venture Deals Audiobook

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

Welcome to East West Hurricane! 🌪

We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.

Please share this newsletter with a friend! ⚡️

Chinese Vaccines as Soft Power?

In my recent interview with Peony Li, we talked about the idea of Chinese soft power. As Covid vaccines (hopefully) start to move the world out of the current crisis, China can play a huge role in this movement. There are several vaccines around the world, and a handful are being developed in China. While big name vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna are being scooped up by the major Western countries, emerging markets are turning to vaccines produced in China. Countries across South East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are all in the middle of negotiations to receive the Chinese Covid vaccine.

With unfavourable views of China at all-time highs in several countries, China needs to do whatever it can to improve its international reputation. If these vaccines don’t work as well as expected, there will be backlash. If the vaccines work well, this helps build a closer relationship between China and emerging markets. It’s a big gamble—with huge upside and huge downside. So far, initial results from Brazil and Turkey have been positive.

Sequoia and KKR lead $2B round for Bytedance, valuing it at $180BN

Sequoia Capital and KKR are two of the biggest US investors leading the latest round of funding for Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok. This round values Bytedance at $180 Billion, and TikTok is expected to go public sometime next year. It’s a good reminder that there are many Western stakeholders with a lot of money invested in Bytedance who have a huge incentive to see it succeed.

One of the realities of globalisation is the globalisation of capital. If the world’s biggest companies have a mixture of investors from literally all parts of East and West, the idea of national interests defined by corporations becomes trickier to understand. So whenever the next ‘Chinese app’ is under threat of being banned in the West, there are plenty of Western investors who don’t want to see this happen.

Disney Hotstar, The International Growth Engine

Disney+ has been one of the most impressive media stories of 2020. The Disney Plus streaming service launched in November 2019 and around a year later, the platform now has 86 Million subscribers. That’s incredible growth.

For reference, when Disney first launched they forecasted that they would reach 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024. Now they have revised their forecast to reach 260 million subscribers by the end of 2024. What drives this growth?

One major factor is international markets. Disney Hotstar is part of Disney Plus streaming platform that focuses on Asian countries like India and Indonesia. Right now, Hotstar accounts for 30% of Disney Plus’s total subscriber base and has more room for subscriber growth than in Western markets. Rebecca Campbell, Disney Plus’s head of streaming recently said, “We are uniquely positioned for India because of the rapidly growing middle class and their purchasing power.”

Indian Ridesharing With Global Ambitions

Ola is India’s largest ride-hailing service, valued at several billion dollars and funded by investors that include SoftBank. Ola’s business was hit hard by the pandemic but they have recently announced the creation of a new factory in Tamil Nadu, which aims to be the world’s largest scooter manufacturing facility.

At the beginning of this year, Ola launched its taxi-hailing service in the UK after previously launching in Australia and New Zealand. Ola has expanded into Europe and acquired Dutch electric scooter company Etergo several months ago. Now the UK is their big hope. Let’s see if Ola ‘the Uber of India’ can break into Europe. If they can, then we’ll have yet another example of tech innovation flowing from East to West.

Stripe expanding into Asia

The major US Fintech company Stripe plans to expand their Asian presence and has had a 40% increase in staff across the region this year. Digital Payments/Fintech is already huge in Asia - with plenty of challenges, lots of complexity, and an abundance of local competitors.

One strategy that might be best for Stripe to follow is acquiring or investing in fintech companies rather than directly trying to compete with them. Earlier this year, Stripe led the funding round of Filipino fintech startup PayMongo. Stripe could follow a model similar to Chinese tech giant Tencent. Over the last two decades, a large part of Tencent’s growth has come from investing in companies and acquiring companies rather than creating their own competitors. That might be the best option for Stripe in a super competitive Asian fintech market.

Indonesia’s New Sovereign Wealth Fund

Indonesia is launching a new sovereign wealth fund worth around $15 Billion to help finance infrastructure projects across the country. Japan’s Bank for International Cooperation plans to invest $4 Billion and the US Development Finance Corporation signed a letter of intent pledging $2 Billion. The Indonesian government is hoping to attract foreign investors to provide much needed capital, especially as they cope with Covid.

One of the biggest and most interesting infrastructure projects is the creation of a brand new Indonesian capital city. The Indonesian government plans to move the capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan by 2024. This would reduce the burden on an overloaded Jakarta and place the capital in a more strategic location closer to the center of the country. I lived in Jakarta back in 2006 and remember how the city infrastructure struggled to keep up with growth.

This reminds me of when I visited Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad. Islamabad was created in the 1960s as a new capital to replace Karachi, and you’ll notice that Islamabad feels a lot cleaner and more modern than Karachi. The Brazilian government did something similar by creating a new capital city of Brasilia in 1960.

If you enjoyed this, please share East West Hurricane with a friend! 😁

You can reach out to me and find more of my work here on Linktree…!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

I recently interviewed Peony Li. Peony is originally from Hong Kong and now lives in London where she has her own stealth startup in the elderly healthcare space.

Peony moved from Hong Kong to UK in her teenage years, driven by a desire to study, work, and live in the UK. After graduating from Cambridge, she started her career within investment banking, followed by an incredible role as Head of Investments at Founders Factory, and then Head of Operations at Daye. Afterwards, Peony was driven to entrepreneurship and inspired to build a great business of her own.

Peony’s professional experience has brought her to the forefront of the most exciting businesses in Europe and her own life experience makes her attuned to China’s relationship with the rest of the world.

When you hear Peony’s perspective, you’ll learn a lot about the Chinese experience and the evolution of Asia over the last two decades. We talked a lot about soft power, which describes economic and cultural influence within international relations. There’s a major difference between being Chinese and being from Mainland China, a nuance that’s often misunderstood in the West. Different generations of Chinese immigrants to the West have pursued different things. The role of China (and more broadly, Asia) within Western society will continue to grow and become one of the most important topics of the next decade.

What did we talk about?

* Peony’s story through investment banking, technology, and startups

* The evolution of China’s economy and Chinese culture on the world stage

* The role of soft power when talking about international relations

* Misunderstandings and cultural stereotypes of the Chinese in the West

* The future of business relationships between the East and West

* As the world enters economic turmoil, the bright opportunity ahead

Peony’s Recommendations:

* Jordan Peterson

* Sara Blakely’s Masterclass on Self-Made Entrepreneurship

* The Wise Pen Pal campaign

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

I recently interviewed Bea Trinidad. Bea is from the Philippines and we met through the On Deck Writer fellowship.

Having grown up in Manila, Bea decided to go to university in Australia, where she set up her own restaurant and worked across the advertising and media industry. She is now back in Manila working on her family business in the culinary industry.

Bea’s experiences make her a cross-cultural diplomat who has dealt with the true cultural complexities of working both in the East and West.

When you hear Bea’s story, you’ll learn a lot about the differences in culture between a place like the Philippines and Australia. The Philippines, like many emerging markets, works differently compared to countries in the West and requires a sophisticated level of cultural understanding in order to get business done. It’s also important to consider that Philippines is heavily influenced by Latin culture, which is unique compared to other Asian countries. A large part of our conversation revolved around this topic!

What did we talk about?

* The biggest business opportunities and coolest companies in the Philippines

* Comparing business and life in the Philippines vs. Australia

* How Latin culture influences the Philippines in terms of emotion and language

* Typical misunderstandings in board rooms, kitchens, and more

* Crafting brand strategy and messaging in the middle of the coronavirus

* What makes the Philippines a major emerging market opportunity

Bea’s Recommendations:

* TV/ Film: The Godfather series, Rocky, The Queen’s Gambit, The Last Dance

* Books: Barbarian Days, On Writing Well, Charles Bukowski, Atomic Habits

* Audio: The Art of Happiness, Hollywood’s Bleeding from Post Malone

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

Welcome to East West Hurricane! 🌪

We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! ⚡️

I’ve recently joined the OnDeck Writer Fellowship. I’ve met some great people and received some amazing advice regarding the frequency of posting newsletters.

As per some feedback, I’m going to experiment with sending a news update on a weekly basis, rather than daily. It has taken A LOT of work to write 86 weekday updates over the last few months, and I think a weekly update should provide the same level of value.

Of course, I will still be having interviews and longer-form analysis on topics in Asian tech, media, and business.

Always feel free to reach out and give me any feedback!

Everything is Bigger in China

A few months ago, I read an article in the Financial Times called The Asian century is set to begin. It sounds pretty obvious, but the FT put together the most cohesive, data-driven argument I had ever seen on the rise of China.

Last week, billionaire hedge fund investor and macro-thought leader Ray Dalio wrote an article in the FT called “Don’t be blind to China’s rise in a changing world.” It’s another amazing article that succinctly summarizes why you should care about China.

In the US, there’s a saying that “everything is bigger in Texas.” My takeaway about the modern world today is that “everything is bigger in China.’

In 2020 so far, 23 Chinese companies have gone public on American stock exchanges, 180 companies have gone public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 115 in Shenzhen and 99 in Hong Kong.

Ant Group, a financial services company spun out of Alibaba, is in the process of going public on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchange. This will be the biggest IPO of all time, with the company aiming to raise $34.5 Billion on a $313 Billion valuation.

The last biggest IPO in the world was Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, which raised $29 Billion last year.

Many investors are betting on Ant Group as a bellwether for the Chinese economy, as Ant Group is essentially the biggest fintech company in China, a country of 1.4 Billion people who likely all need financial services.

At the same time, Bytedance is making plans to take their short video app Douyin public, either in Hong Kong or Shanghai. Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, so does this mean a TikTok IPO comes next? Probably.

I don’t think it’s hard to see that TikTok is following the path of Douyin, which is probably 18 months ahead of TikTok in terms of product development. As an example, TikTok just announced a partnership with Shopify to have a more integrated social commerce experience on the app.

Douyin has had much deeper social commerce features for a while. As described in an article from SupChina last year, people on Douyin can directly buy products on the app after watching a video. You can also book hotel stays on Douyin, or coupons for restaurants.

If you believe that TikTok follows Douyin’s lead, it’s kind of obvious to think what comes next in TikTok’s product road map…

Western Investments

People working at Snapchat are probably in a good mood right now, as the company reported positive results at their most recent earnings call last week, which sent their stock price to all time highs of $44 a share.

A big part of Snap’s focus is India, where their user numbers have grown 150% year-on-year. India is Snap’s biggest market outside of the US. Snap has created augmented reality training programs in Indian schools, Indian content on the app, and support for nine Indian languages.

In Vietnam, Apple is building new factories and employing Vietnamese workers as part of their new supply chain. This has caused an increase in wealth within several rural Vietnamese towns who have experienced a local boom thanks to investment from Apple.

Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino billionaire, is considering selling $8 Billion worth of his casino empire to focus exclusively on his properties in Macau and Singapore. For Adelson’s company Las Vegas Sands Corp, 63% of their revenue comes from Macau and 22% comes from Singapore. In the case of Adelson, the US might be too small a market for him to have as his focus.

In line with this trend, China’s Box Office has suddenly become the world’s biggest for the very first time. In major part due to a quick Covid recovery, the Chinese film industry is functioning right now and has brought in more revenue this year than the US film industry. While still not at its full strength, Chinese cinema currently has a more predictable recovery plan vs. its US counterpart.

We should also remain mindful of the fact that international perception of China is at an all-time low. Pew Research has released a report saying that many countries around the world like Australia, the UK, and Japan now have historically unfavourable views of China, partly due to the country’s response to Covid.

The Rising Global Internet

I’ll close with this. Benedict Evans, one of the world’s leading tech analysts, has written an article called The End of the American internet. Here are the opening two paragraphs.

“When Netscape launched in 1994 and kicked off the consumer internet, there were maybe 100m PCs on earth, and over half of them were in the USA. The web was invented in Switzerland, and computers were invented in the UK, but the internet was American. American companies set the agenda and created most of the important products and services, and American attitudes, cultures and laws around regulation and speech dominated.

This is not quite so true anymore. 80-90% of internet users are now outside the USA, there are more smartphone users in China than in the USA and western Europe combined, and the creation of venture-based startups has gone global.”

You can find more of my work here on Linktree…

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Christine Ng, Talent Acquisition at the Financial Times.

Christine is originally from Hong Kong but came to study in the UK for university, which led to her getting a masters in Business Psychology & Organisational Behaviour. After working in finance, launching her own chatbot startup and recruiting both at agencies and in-house across startups, SMEs, and corporates, Christine moved to the Financial Times.

At the FT, one of the world's leading business news and information organisations, Christine leads talent acquisition for all Product and Technology teams.

Christine is actively involved in advising, mentoring, and training startups on their talent acquisition strategy, both in London and in Hong Kong.

This interview is an experiment in audio and video. You will have the opportunity to listen to the audio interview above or the video interview below.

Here are some links to the content Christine mentioned in our interview:

* BBC’s The Homecoming - “Historian David Olusoga concludes his series with the three African kings who stood up to empire, an irresistible crooner, race riots in Liverpool and the shaping of black British identity in the 20th century.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

Welcome to East West Hurricane! 🌪

We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! ⚡️

Analysing Pakistan’s Ban on TikTok 🇵🇰

* The government of Pakistan banned TikTok earlier this month, based on complaints around the app’s “immoral” and “indecent” content. Kalsoom Lakhani, a friend of this newsletter, has written an amazing article in the Atlantic Council outlining the consequences of this ban. The claim of “immoral” and “indecent” content has been used by the Pakistani government to ban other apps, including livestreaming app Bigo, and dating apps Tinder and Grindr.

* Kalsoom talks about the potential impact this has on Pakistan’s startup ecosystem. There has been significant positive momentum within Pakistan’s tech landscape over the last five years. A critical aspect of this is the increased interest of foreign investors towards Pakistani startups. Whenever a top-down ban by the government occurs, this affects how foreign investors assess the risks within a country like Pakistan. Compared to India’s ban of TikTok due to political tensions with China, Pakistan banned TikTok for reasons around morality. This sets a dangerous precedent that can challenge the livelihood of content creators on platforms like TikTok and shake the confidence of startups who now need to consider the potential situation of getting banned. Check out the full article here!

The Shifting Attitude of Chinese Students in the West

* In a recent survey released by Chinese education startup Babazhenbang, we see that Chinese parents and their children are feeling increasingly hesitant to go to the West for university. 81% of affluent Chinese families are postponing their plans to send their kids abroad for higher education. The survey included stories from many parents who are now considering sending their children to universities in Asia rather than the typical destinations of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

* The top two reasons why parents have shifted their mindset include health concerns around the coronavirus and increased discrimination due to political tensions. With recent events like the US revoking the visas of 1000 Chinese students deemed ‘security risks,’ it’s understandable that people in China feel new levels of hesitation. The main revenue stream for Western universities is foreign students, who get charged higher rates than local students. Chinese students abroad spend about $55.7 Billion a year. It’s an open question as to how big of a financial hole this situation will create for Western universities.

Oppo’s Smartphone Play in Europe

* Huawei has faced challenges globally, getting variations of bans in the US and the UK. Amidst this challenge, Huawei’s biggest smartphone rivals like Oppo, Xiaomi and Vivo are doing pretty well. Oppo is currently the fifth largest smartphone maker globally but is now making big moves into Europe. Overall, Oppo forecasts 38% growth over the coming year and Xiaomi, another major Chinese smartphone maker, has grown market share 6 to 13% this year. In Europe, Samsung has 35% market share and Apple has 17% market share.

* Oppo has just struck a deal with Deutsche Telekom, the biggest mobile carrier in the European Union, to allows Oppo to sell 5G devices in Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands. The company has set a goal of achieving 5% market share in Europe by next year. This is only the second year that Oppo has been operating in Europe and sales have tripled in 2020. The shifting tides of global technology players show us how the momentum of large Chinese companies cannot be stopped. While compliance and regulation might still pose an issue for Oppo in the future, for now the company has found success where their rivals Huawei have not.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

Welcome to East West Hurricane! 🌪

We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! ⚡️

Vietnam and UK Agree to Free Trade Agreement 🤝

* On September 29-30, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab visited the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. After the meeting, the UK and Vietnam announced their intention to finalise a free trade agreement between the two countries. Bilateral trade between the UK and Vietnam totalled $6.7 Billion last year, and Vietnam is the second largest Southeast Asian exporter to the UK after Thailand. This agreement is one part of a complicated chess game the UK is playing. Earlier this year, the UK also finalised terms for a free trade agreement with Japan.

* The UK is wallowing in the messy hangover of Brexit and struggling to cope with the coronavirus, all the while trying to recalibrate its economic future. Brexit will at the very least decrease the strength of the UK’s trade with the EU. And the UK’s harder line stance against China means that the UK will need to build stronger bonds with their other Asian allies. The UK has been increasing its investment in Asia, outside of China, both in terms of political ties and economic trade. It’s probably the right strategic move.

Chinese Livestreaming Through the Lens of Viya 🤳

* How big is Livestreaming in China? One way to answer that question is by looking through the lens of Viya, China’s largest livestreaming star. Viya sells products online through hours-long livestreams she usually hosts on Taobao Live, the e-commerce shopping platform owned by Alibaba. Last year, Viya sold $6 Billion worth of products through her livestreams, which is about the same as the annual China revenue of supermarket chain Carrefour.

* Brands partner with Viya to reach her audience of millions and provide consumers with new perspectives on their products. Viya’s livestreams help customers learn more and develop a sense of trust before buying certain products, which range from food to cosmetics to rocket-launching services and more. Not every livestreamer has the talent and audience of Viya, but the scale and growth of livestreaming has inspired most of the the country. One third of China’s internet population has participated in livestreaming in 2020.

The Growth and Popularity of Shein 👗

* Shein is a Chinese fast fashion retailer that has been getting really popular in the West. A recent survey of Gen-Z Americans found that Shein was the second most popular online retail brand, behind Amazon but ahead of Nike, Lululemon, Pacsun, and Urban Outfitters. The company was founded in Nanjing in 2008 and generated $2.8 Billion in revenue last year, with customers all over the world.

* Shein is a fast fashion e-commerce site like Fashion Nova or Boohoo, operating entirely online without any physical retail stores. The company sells primarily fashion items at low prices, usually lower than $20. Shein actually doesn’t target Chinese customers at all. Right now, Shein was one of the hundreds of Chinese apps banned in India. Their popularity seems to be increasing in America and given the political climate towards Chinese companies, they would probably benefit from keeping a low profile.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Ali Samir Oosman, who is currently leading Strategic Partnerships and Deal Flow at Microsoft for Startups, based in Dubai.

Ali is originally from Karachi, Pakistan and has spent many years working within the startup ecosystem both in Pakistan and across the wider region. He has worked in both developed and emerging markets as an investor, advisor, and executive in areas like social development, digital mapping, insurance, venture capital and media.

Having lived and worked in both the East and West, Ali has great perspective that you’ll see in this interview!

This interview is an experiment in audio and video. You will have the opportunity to listen to the audio interview above or the video interview below.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eastwesthurricane.substack.com