Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

at Deutsche Bank, whose analysts said the stock may be bottoming.

The shares of the San Francisco ride-hailing company were trading up 2.6% at $47.58. The $70 target indicates 51% upside from Wednesday's close at $46.35.

Lyft's second-quarter results were "robust," but investors have soured on the shares for a number of reasons, an analyst team led by Lloyd Walmsley said in a Sept. 5 report.

The Deutsche team said the lockup issue has been priced into the shares, and the California-legislation impact has been "overblown" since in the worst case, Lyft would raise prices, they said.

The duopoly in ride-hailing -- with Uber (UBER) -- makes Lyft "a good business today, and improving efficiency should drive healthy long-term margins," the analysts said.

www.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/...en=YAHOO&yptr=yahoo

Second Quarter Earnings Results Conference Q&A Summary (published from Rakuten at 09/03/2019 = two days ago)

Credit Suisse – Mr. Yoneshima
Q. What are the challenges that Rakuten faces in terms of installing base stations and
other technological issues as you prepare to launch an MNO service? It was also
mentioned that you will have a small launch, but can you comment on the scale of the
launch?

A. (Tareq)
One of the pleasant surprises when we looked at network performance is latency, which
was equivalent to what I’ve seen from other global MNOs. From April of 2018, we
completed construction of our two large data centers and private telco cloud covering
edge and data centers. When you have a Software Defined Network (SDN), agility to fix
problems is much faster than any traditional telecom operation. Having our own telco
cloud is very exciting because it gives us a platform of connectivity that we can go global
with. I hope that everyone recognizes the efficiency that comes from cloud. Today,
Rakuten takes only 8.5 minutes to bring one site on air. Traditional telecom companies
took 72 hours. Network has been in production since July of 2019, where all systems
have been hooked and migrated to production. IP transport, backhaul, packet core, IMS,
vRAN, BSS, OSS, has all been completed. Since July 1st we have given our own
employees the responsibility to test the network, and I am personally very confident
about the quality of the network. But I also have an obligation to assure, that October 1st
when we Small Launch, there are no mistakes. Quality is absolutely a focus area for us.

A. (Yamada)
We will be announcing the future plans and details in early September, however there is
no change to the fact that it will be an official launch. While the launch may be limited
scale, it will not be targeted to a certain demographic and will be fair for all users.

global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2019
Download
Q&A summary and supplement

An das Störfeuer der japanischen Zeitung, die in der nachstehenden Quelle zitiert wird, bin ich eigentlich schon gewöhnt seit vor ca. zwei Jahren Rakuten den Aufbau eines eigenen Netzes bekannt gab.

finance.yahoo.com/news/...elay-launch-wireless-133807944.html

Dass das Netz schon funktioniert zeigt die Aussage aus dem Conference Call in #3952: "Since July 1st we have given our own employees the responsibility to test the network, and I am personally very confident
about the quality of the network."

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Rakuten Pasha is a service that adopts a pay-for-success model whereby points are rewarded to users for buying target products from companies at offline stores. The idea for the service originated from Rakuten's internal startup program R-Pitch, and it was launched on February 4, 2019.

Now, Rakuten Pasha is making waves as a brand new kind of platform to revolutionize product promotion offline.
- How does Rakuten Pasha work?
- What was the background behind its creation, according to its founders?
- How is it set to change the nature of offline marketing?
- Hear what a company using Rakuten Pasha thinks of the service.

global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/rnn/2019/0819/

06.09.2019, 08:06 | 81 | 0 | 0

Airspan stellt seine umfassenden 4G- und 5G-Lösungen für das weltweit erste vollständig virtualisierte Cloud-native Mobilfunknetz bereit – Die bewährten 4G-Lösungen von Airspan werden die Kapazität und Abdeckung sowohl in städtischen als auch in ländlichen Gebieten erhöhen

Die offenen RAN-Plattformen von Airspan werden Rakuten Mobile die Flexibilität bieten, die Wirtschaftlichkeit traditioneller Netzbetreiber zu revolutionieren und den Grundstein für transformative 5G-Architekturen zu legen. Mit über einer halben Million weltweit installierter Systeme bringt Airspan seine bewährte, bahnbrechende Wirtschaftlichkeit in das vollständig virtualisierte Rakuten Mobile Network ein. „Wir freuen uns sehr über die Partnerschaft mit Airspan beim Aufbau des neuesten japanischen Mobilfunknetzes", so Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer von Rakuten Mobile. „Ihre innovativen 4G- und 5G-Lösungen und der Formfaktor werden es Rakuten Mobile ermöglichen, unsere Bereitstellung schnell zu skalieren. Wir sind sehr stolz auf die Innovationen, die wir in den letzten Jahren auf den Markt gebracht haben. Unsere 5G-Partnerschaft mit Rakuten Mobile ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein für die Branche, da wir die Ökonomie der Netzausbreitung weiterhin revolutionieren. Die Skalierbarkeit unserer OpenRange28-Plattform wird es Rakuten Mobile ermöglichen, ihr 5G-Netzwerk zu einem Bruchteil der Kosten herkömmlicher Netzwerkimplementierungen und zu einem beschleunigten Time-to-Market zu monetarisieren", so Henrik Smith-Petersen, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer von Airspan.

www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/...erschaft-rakuten-mobile

Rakuten Mobile to Launch New Mobile Operator Service
“Free Supporter Program” applications open for users from October 1

Tokyo, September 6, 2019 – Rakuten Mobile, Inc. today announced the launch of its new mobile operator service with the opening of applications on October 1 for a “Free Supporter Program” that will offer voice and data services free of charge. The initial wave of the Free Supporter Program will be open to 5,000 subscribers and will be expanded in waves to welcome tens of thousands of users to the new network.

global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2019/...mp;category=mobile

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
Rakuten Mobile to Offer New MVNO Service Plans

Rakuten Mobile is committed to offering new simple and transparent pricing plans that prioritize response to diverse customer needs, to continuing to work to give customers greater choice in their mobile communications options and to providing a wide range of appealing services.

The new “Super Hodai” plan is an unrestricted plan with no compulsory minimum contract length or contract cancellation fees. Subscribers can choose from one of four plan types (S, M, L, LL). The monthly basic fee for Plan S is 2,980 yen per month, however Rakuten members can receive a discount of 1,500 yen per month after becoming a subscriber, reducing the fee to 1,480 yen per month for the first year.  Furthermore, diamond rank Rakuten Members can receive an additional 500 yen discount, bringing the basic monthly fee for the first year down to 980 yen.

global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2019/...mp;category=mobile

was von einigen Zeitungsschreibern als "Full Launch" bezeichnet wird. Denn meines Erachtens haben wir in technischer Hinsicht den "Full Launch" schon jetzt.

Rakuten Mobile’s CTO Tareq Amin said much of the initial network is complete, including “construction of all our edge data centers and large data centers.” He said the company has completed its own IP backbone and the major buildout has been done for all its core network functions. “We talk about 200 far edge data centers in only one year, thousands of servers deployed and tested,” said Amin.

But, he said he’s most proud of the company’s virtualized RAN. “This is something you cannot buy off the shelf from a traditional OEM. We minimized the complexity of building the traditional base station. That is the extent of the electronics that exist in Japan today.” The product has an antenna and an integrated remote radio head.

Amin also said Rakuten Mobile is already operating 182 virtual network functions (VNFs).

www.fiercewireless.com/operators/...builds-its-own-smartphone

NEW YORK & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and audio leader DTS®, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi Corporation (Nasdaq: XPER), today announced a significant expansion of the IMAX® Enhanced ecosystem spanning new streaming platforms, blockbuster movies, and device partners throughout the United States, Europe, and China. Launched a year ago today, IMAX Enhanced is a premier, immersive at-home entertainment experience — combining exclusive, digitally remastered 4K HDR content with high-end consumer electronics to offer a new level of sight, sound, and scale.

Today’s announcements include:
New Streaming Platforms: As IMAX Enhanced continues to expand across platforms, FandangoNOW is expected to begin streaming IMAX Enhanced content in the U.S. in September 2019, while Rakuten TV will follow with increased content ready for streaming to European markets over the coming months. FandangoNOW and Rakuten TV meet the high standard for 4K HDR streaming for IMAX Enhanced to certified devices across the ecosystem.

www.businesswire.com/news/home/...bal-Expansion-New-Streaming

www.lyftimpact.com/stats/national

Es gibt aber auch positive Stimmen unter Analysten, Anlegern und Beobachtern. So erklärte JMP-Securities-Analyst Ronald Josey zuletzt, dass der Konkurrenzkampf zwischen Lyft und Uber sich kaum mehr auf die Preise auswirke. Einer Studie zufolge achten die Kunden bei der Wahl für den einen oder anderen Dienst kaum mehr darauf, welcher der beiden billiger ist. Daher könnten Uber und Lyft ihre Preise wohl stabil halten und möglicherweise in naher Zukunft doch noch schwarze Zahlen schreiben.

t3n.de/news/lyft-investoren-verlieren-aktien-1194335/

However, perhaps more noteworthy — within the context of a plethora of loss-making fintechs — is that the personnel changes coincide with the company announcing that it reached profitability during Q2 this year.

Azimo has raised $50 million of investment to date. Along with Rakuten, investors include eVentures, Greycroft and Frog Capital.

“We’ve bucked the trend in fintech by focusing on profitability and long-term sustainability,” says Ambrose, who, prior to joining Azimo two years ago, was an executive at PayPal. “The next big challenge is growing Azimo from a European to a global fintech business.

techcrunch.com/2019/08/28/azimo-ceo/

„We may market gradually, it is also possible to get market share rapidly.“

Mikitani: „As for the mobile business, we are considering various strategies, and our earnings will vary depending on our marketing strategy. While we may market gradually, it is also possible to get market share rapidly. On the other hand, since we will be relying heavily on roaming at the time of launch, we would like to accelerate the construction of our radio stations to establish our own network as soon as possible. We believe the customer needs of a high quality low cost service is very high, and we expect a large inflow of customers.“

global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2019
Download
Q&A summary and supplement

mimt, dass man beim Mobile-Einstieg nicht gleich "In die Vollen" gegangen ist, muss sich m.E den Vorwurf der Heuchelei gefallen lassen.

the past couple of years. When the company announced its most recent round of funding, its service was live in 124 cities across 21 countries. Most of them are currently in EMEA, Latin America and some Sub-Saharian countries. Some of the most important markets include Spain, Argentina, Peru and Italy.
While restaurants still represent the majority of orders on Glovo, the company isn’t giving up on other verticals. For instance, it has signed a deal with supermarket chain Carrefour to deliver thousands of products in less than 30 minutes.

The company currently has more than 1,000 employees and works with tens of thousands of independent partners for deliveries. It’s a classic structure for on-demand companies, but it’s going to be interesting to hear Oscar Pierre’s take on the relationship between Glovo and its partners.
Glovo doesn’t want to limit itself to delivering products from A to B. The company has been building darkstores, the equivalent of dark kitchens for groceries. These micro-fulfillment centers open up a ton of possibilities, such as deliveries in less than 20 minutes and the ability to operate 24/7.

techcrunch.com/2019/08/28/...-pierre-comes-to-disrupt-berlin/

August 13, 2019
Asian digital payment technology company QFPay has raised $20 million in its latest funding round from existing investors Sequoia Capital China and Matrix Partners, according to an announcement. This round was also joined by new investors including Indonesia’s MDI Ventures, Japan’s Rakuten Capital and VentureSouq, a venture capital firm based in Dubai with a global portfolio of technology start-ups. Established in 2012, QFPay is a mobile payment technology, solution and service provider with a presence across 13 markets in Asia and the Middle East. Since 2012, the firm is empowering merchants with end-to-end online and offline QR-code mobile payment solutions and value-added services including food ordering services and customer loyalty programs. The company claims that its solutions have served over 1.2 million merchants and it has executed over 1 billion transactions to date. QFPay will use the fresh funding to expand its presence in its core markets and to develop new digital payment products and solutions

Read more at: www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/...equoia-china-others-149259/

Singapore-based online advertising platform Carousell has marked its seventh anniversary with the launch of a new visual identity, together with milestones including having reached its 250 millionth listing and fourfold revenue growth last year.
Carousell began in Singapore and now has a presence across Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and HongKong. It has been backed by Japan’s Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia India, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, DBS, EDBI, and Naspers.

“In Southeast Asia, there’s a population of over 640 million people, where two-thirds are still just coming online and experiencing the magic of the Internet. The refreshed visual identity showcases Carousell’s uniqueness where transactions go way beyond dollars and cents; where friendships are forged, stories are shared and interests get discovered.”

www.retailnews.asia/...nth-anniversary-with-a-brand-new-logo/

closes Series B and becomes Microsoft's exclusive push partner for integration in the App Center.

SAN MATEO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2019 / OneSignal, the
YCombinator-backed market leader in customer engagement, closes $25 million
Series B funding, led by SignalFire and existing investors Rakuten Ventures
and an early angel investor. Since its launch in 2015, OneSignal has raised a
total of $34.5 million.

OneSignal is the most popular mobile engagement platform, with more SDK
integrations than all other push platforms combined (source: Apptopia).
OneSignal is used by 71% of all websites on the internet with web push
notifications (source: Builtwith).

Every month, OneSignal reaches 40% of all smartphone users in the world.

www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/...-partnership-with-microso

Q. Domestic EC GMS growth rate of 14.5% YoY seems extremely high. What
businesses are contributing to this high growth rate? Also, what are some exceptions for
the 3,980 yen threshold for free shipping?

A. (Takeda)
Considering the scale of the business, Rakuten Ichiba made significant contribution to
the Domestic EC growth. As for Rakuten Travel, while the overall industry did well due
to the 10-day Golden Week this year, our transaction growth was relatively strong
compared to the competitors. As for the free shipping threshold, there is no difference
in prices of delivery depending on the location or destination, including Okinawa and
Hokkaido. However, large products and chilled products are excluded.

global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2019
Download
Q&A summary and supplement

auch wenn es zunächst das Wachstum etwas beeinträchtigen dürfte. Denn auf längere Sicht kann es nicht so sein, dass große Teile der Beschäftigten in einer Art Schattenwirtschaft agieren.

The reclassifying of workers of Lyft in California will increase the cost, but I am sure, that Lyft can decrease the insensitives for drivers and increase the prices.

“In a report earlier this week, equity research analysts at Barclays estimated that reclassifying workers could cost Uber and Lyft an additional $3,625 per driver in California. That’s enough to boost Uber’s annual operating loss by more than $500 million and Lyft’s by $290 million. “Any wide-scale reclassification of drivers to employees would be a material negative for ride-hailing and further put into question the long term profitability of the industry,” the analysts wrote.

Let’s break it down. First, Barclays looked at the additional payroll taxes and training costs Uber and Lyft would have to pay if their drivers became employees. Barclays based its estimates on a part-time driver who averages $15,600 a year in ride-hail income ($20 an hour for 15 hours a week, 52 weeks a year).“

Reclassification cost Uber Lyft
FICA $967 $967
Medicare 226 226
FUTA (federal unemployment) 147 147
SUTA (state unemployment) 238 238
Training 7 7
Total per employee 1,585 1,585

Barclays estimates Uber has 140,000 drivers in California and Lyft 80,000. That implies that Uber would owe about $222 million in payroll taxes and training costs each year, and Lyft $127 million, if drivers were considered employees.

qz.com/1643263/...to-uber-and-lyft-if-drivers-were-employees/

This past month, BlueVine achieved a major milestone, having provided access to more than $2 billion in total working capital to businesses across the nation.

It’s an incredible achievement, given that six years ago we started with one product and a simple vision: to provide small businesses with fast and simple access to working capital.

Fast forward to 2019. We now have three products, including our newly launched Term Loan, and have generated nearly $8 billion in gross output to our local communities according to a report by the Electronic Transaction Association last year.

www.bluevine.com/...ine-reaches-2-billion-total-funded-volume

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and Currencycloud, an enterprise-class payments platform, today announced a partnership to drive further innovation in cross-border and travel payments. The overall agreement is aligned with Visa’s broader mission to help people make secure and seamless digital payments, both at home and while travelling.

Visa’s clients, banking, and FinTech partners will now have the option to use Currencycloud’s cloud-based payments platform to offer customers in-demand services like multi-currency wallets and real time notifications on foreign exchange transactions. Visa’s account holders will be able to better manage their travel abroad through improved visibility and control of their money.

The market for international payments continues to grow and by 2020, cross-border ecommerce is expected to reach USD $900 billion in value, accounting for over a fifth of the global ecommerce market.

www.currencycloud.com/company/news/item/...yment-experiences/

And yet, in that first year, we still made almost $100 million in revenue. So we clearly weren’t all wrong. What did we get right? A shift was coming in how people read and we could create experiences that would make life easier and better for people who loved reading. We were also right in focusing on a particular quality — a combination of resilience and sureness of purpose — and in being willing to challenge all that we knew about the book industry.

strategyonline.ca/2019/05/14/...-kobo-learned-after-ten-years/

Rakuten Payment and Seven-Eleven Japan Agree to Introduce “Rakuten Pay” Smartphone App Payment Service

Tokyo, September 9, 2019 – Rakuten Payment, Inc., a Rakuten Group company, and Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. today announced that the two companies have agreed to introduce the Rakuten Pay smartphone app payment service to 7-Eleven convenience stores around Japan. From October 1, customers will be able to make payments through the barcode displayed on the Rakuten Pay app at all 21,034 7-Eleven convenience stores nationwide.

By using the app, users can earn and use Rakuten Super Points, the Rakuten Group’s loyalty point program that is ranked number one for overall user satisfaction among point programs. By linking a Rakuten Card credit card to the app, users can also earn points from both Rakuten Pay and Rakuten Card (1 point for every 100 yen spent).

global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2019/...egory=ec%20fintech

Mobile carrier service will be available nationwide from October 2019

Rakuten Mobile’s mobile carrier service will be available nationwide from October 2019. The company’s own network service area will cover the 23 wards of Tokyo, Nagoya City and Osaka City and parts of Hyogo prefecture. Rakuten Mobile will offer nationwide LTE services to customers from the time of launch through services based on the roaming agreement with KDDI Corporation and Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company, to be provided outside of Tokyo’s 23 wards, Nagoya City and Osaka City and excluding high traffic areas.

rakuten.today/blog/rakuten-launch-mobile-operator-service.html