Business and technology quick bites: 05.05.2021

Updated version at 7.45 am

The highlighted words in red are links to the news article.

May 5, 2021,

Business News

1. Asian stocks were set for a volatile open after a selloff in technology shares, amid comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on interest rates that rattled markets.
2. Equinox, the luxury gym operator in talks to go public by merging with a blank-check company backed by investor Chamath Palihapitiya.
3. The world’s most powerful economies back plans for vaccine passports in a bid to pull the travel and tourism industry out of a pandemic-fuelled slump.
4. Singapore-based Acronis more than doubled its valuation to over US$2.5 billion in a new US$250 million funding round led by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners VII.
5. Online-only banks in Hong Kong backed by ZhongAn and Standard Chartered take lead in digital bank race as they garnered 70% of deposits last year.
6. Dogecoin was started as a joke in 2013 amid a boom in early cryptocurrencies,  surged 30% on Tuesday to set a new record high at more than 50 cents per coin.

Technology News

1. Twitter acquired news technology company Scroll, which it will use as part of an upcoming subscription offering.
2. Facebook announced that its Workplace enterprise communications software has now reached 7 million paid subscribers, up 40% from last May’s figure of 5 million.
3. Match Group Inc expects second-quarter revenue in the range of $680 million to $690 million, banking on its online dating apps including Tinder and Hinge, as easing pandemic curbs encourage people to socialise.
4. SCI Ecommerce, a cross-border e-commerce enabler based in Singapore, has completed a fundraising of more than SGD50 million (US$38 million) in a round led by Asia Partners, plans an IPO in the US at the end of the year with a target market valuation of US$1 billion.