To get each week’s headlines, with our analysis, delivered to your inbox every Thursday subscribe to our weekly email Niko News.
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened Wednesday
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened Wednesday On behalf of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, President Xi Jinping delivered a report titled “Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.” This Congress will last 10 days in Beijing. Security is very high, all bars in Beijing have “chosen to close” for the 10 days, and people living there have been cautioned to be on their best behavior. Much policy and direction will result from the 19th National Congress.
Sea Limited (a.k.a. Garena) IPO this week
Sea Ltd., previously called Garena, aims to raise $800 million in its IPO this Friday 10-20-17 by listing on the NYSE with the ticker SE. The company will offer 49.69 million shares at a price ranging from $12 to $14. Sea Ltd’s key businesses include online games (still under the brand name Garena), e-commerce (Shopee) and digital financial services (AirPay). Niko Partners was retained to write the market report concerning the market opportunity for PC online games for the company’s F-1 report filed with the SEC.
Blizzard sues Chinese game dev over Overwatch clone
Blizzard China and NetEase are suing mobile game platform 4399 in China over the distribution of two mobile games which are accused of infringing on the rights of Blizzard’s Overwatch IP. Blizzard has also asked Apple to remove the games from the Apple App Store and is demanding an apology as well as compensation from the developer. Both Blizzard China and NetEase say the games violate China’s unfair competition law. Blizzard has successfully used China’s legal system in the past to take down other games that infringe upon its IP.
ESL One DOTA 2 returns to Malaysia
ESL has announced the first DOTA 2 event of 2018 will take place in Malaysia between the 23rd and 28th of January. The tournament will be classed as a minor on the new Dota 2 Pro Circuit and will see 16 of the world’s best teams battle it out for $400,000 and 400 qualifying points that go towards qualification for Valve’s flagship Dota 2 event, The International. Esports continues to grow In Southeast Asia and this event will mark the third DOTA 2 tournament in the region after ESL One Manilla 2016 and ESL One Genting 2017.
Qualcomm suit seeks to ban iPhone sales in China
Qualcomm filed a legal suit on Saturday the 14th of October in Beijing that aimed to ban the assembly and sale of iPhones in China. The suit claims that Apple is in violation of three patents. Apple dismissed the accusation in a statement that slammed Qualcomm’s claims as meritless. Qualcomm and Apple have been battling since January when Apple accused the chipmaker of overcharging for processors and of withholding $1bn in contractual rebate payments.
Arena of Valor Pre-Registration opens in North America
Tencent Games has opened up pre-registration for the North American launch of Arena of Valor (known as Honor of Kings in China). Arena of Valor is a 5v5 MOBA that has been a hit in China since its release in 2015 and also recently found success in Southeast Asia and Europe. The highly anticipated game is set to launch in North America on iOS and Android later this year alongside a global release on Nintendo Switch.
Leave A Comment