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Lulu Yilun Chen
For Lulu Yilun Chen's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
The Central business district of Hong Kong. Hong Kong IPOs have dried up as stock prices slump and economic prospects wane.
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2024
Once high-flying bankers in Hong Kong become a lost generation
The damage is underscored by the barrage of layoffs, the retreat of global capital, and the city’s diminishing role as an international financial center.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2023
Sequoia splits into three firms amid China-U.S. geopolitical tension
The firm, known for its early backing of Google, Instagram and some of China’s biggest internet companies, will separate into independent partnerships and separate firms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2021
Top Chinese dealmaker bets on new startups after crackdown
While China Renaissance is known for its portfolio of consumer-facing internet platforms, the company has been backing startups in sectors now deemed less susceptible to government scrutiny.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2021
Jack Ma emerges for first time since crackdown on Ant and Alibaba
While his location is unknown, Ma's emergence in a public forum may help quell persistent rumors about his fate while Beijing pursues investigations into online businesses.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Nov 5, 2020
Derailing of Jack Ma’s Ant IPO shows Xi Jinping is in charge
For global investors, the episode is likely to reinforce the notion that the Communist Party calls all the shots when it comes to major business decisions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 27, 2020
Jack Ma’s Ant set to raise $35 billion in biggest-ever IPO
The move will mean the fintech giant will have a market value of about $315 billion, about the same as JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2020
Ant’s huge IPO sets up Jack Ma to escalate war with Tencent
Ant Group’s late-summer IPO filing drove home why the business — backed by 711 million active users that spent $17 trillion through its platform — is headed for potentially the world’s largest stock debut. Yet investors may do well to focus on the long-term threat to its core businesses from arch rival Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2020
SoftBank-backed DCM eyes China startups with $880 million fund
David Chao, a venture capitalist who has been on the ground floor of Asian companies worth a combined $206 billion, has raised money for a new fund with a China focus, a sign that rising U.S.-China tensions aren’t turning off foreign investors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2019
U.S. blacklisting threatens to derail $1 billion Chinese tech IPO
U.S. President Donald Trump's latest salvo against China threatens to derail a $1 billion coming-out party for a prominent startup backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., while curtailing the country's broader ambitions of leading artificial intelligence in the coming decade.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2019
In ideological battle with U.S., China wins over allies with its censored vision of the internet
A swath of the world is adopting China's vision for a tightly controlled internet over the unfettered American approach, a stunning ideological coup for Beijing that would have been unthinkable less than a decade ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2019
What #MeToo? Dealmaking in escort bars thrives in corporate East Asia, including Japan
In Tokyo's Ginza, Seoul's Gangnam and Beijing's Chaoyang financial district, a familiar scene plays out almost every night of the work week. As dusk falls, businessmen flock to karaoke and hostess clubs to close deals and build relationships in the liquor-lubricated intimacy of young women.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2017
China's bitcoin barons seek new life in Japan and Hong Kong
China's largest cryptocurrency operators are proving hard to keep down.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 25, 2017
Uber in the crosshairs as Japan's SoftBank helps rivals raise $9 billion
Uber Technologies Inc. is at risk of losing out on another big chunk of the global market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2016
Tencent taps ninja Naruto to chase China's $31 billion anime market
A blue-eyed ninja with spiky blond hair and whisker marks is leading Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s campaign to capture the eyes and wallets of China's anime fans.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2015
A veil of secrecy masks stepped-up cyberattacks in Asia, experts say
Once a month, cybersecurity lawyer Paul Haswell gets a call from an Asian company with the same question: We've been hacked. Who do we need to tell?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 5, 2014
Hong Kong student protest movement struggles to communicate with the government — and its own followers
To catch a glimpse of the ragtag group of students going eyeball to eyeball with the Chinese government, peek inside a room on the ninth floor of the Legislative Council building in downtown Hong Kong.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2014
Line built its empire with surprising speed
How do you create a ¥1.5 trillion company in an industry that gives its primary product away?

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?