Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

Mar/20 = 1.169 billions

Jun/20 = 1.186 billions

Sep/20 = 1.209 billions

Dec/20 = 1.237 billions

Mar/21 = 1.262 billions

Jun/21 = 1.285 billions (+8,3% YoY)

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2021
View Materials
Earnings release, presentation material and supplement (21Q2PPT_E.pdf)  

Total revenues of Rakuten Viber increased 56.5% YoY from Q2/20 to Q2/21.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2021
View Materials
Earnings release, presentation material and supplement (21Q2PPT_E.pdf)
 

Rakuten Symphony can accelerate ecosystem adoption of Open RAN and Open 5G technology

For this vignette of a recent episode of the Futurum Tech Webcast, Part of the 5G Factor series, analysts Shelly Kramer and Ron Westfall examine Why the formation of the Rakuten Symphony unit, combining Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP), Open RAN software, and Rakuten’s international telco solutions, can accelerate ecosystem adoption of Open RAN and Open 5G technology. The discussion highlighted:

• Why the formation of the Rakuten Symphony unit strengthens Rakuten Mobile’s overall competitive prospects.
• How the RCP offering is already deployed by major operators in Saudi Arabia (stc), UAE (Etisalat), USA (Ligado Networks), as well as
Telefonica (Europe, Latin America). Rakuten also inherits Altiostar’s CSP customers including Airtel (India), DISH (United States), and further strengthens business and channel relations with Telefonica.

Rakuten is proving that CSPs can sell digital cloud platforms, such as RCP, to other CSPs and that the traditional barriers to do so have diminished. Rakuten is providing the template for how CSPs can develop their own digital platforms that can be sold to third party CSPs as well as large organizations.

https://futurumresearch.com/video-research-notes/...tion-of-open-ran/

Watch the clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3shJ51yqQ4  

Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) and Rakuten Symphony very disruptive

“The Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) and Rakuten Symphony has the potential to be very disruptive in the telco supply chain and here we see 1&1 Drillisch added to the list of around 20 CSPs worldwide opting to engage with Rakuten as their main contractor for a 5G network build,” according to Dean Ramsay, principal analyst, TM Forum.

The RCP platform could make business sense for smaller communications service providers, such as 1&1 that are looking to launch swiftly, Ramsay explains.

“RCP customers can access an online marketplace where they can choose and deploy components to their own cloud-native, virtualized 5G mobile network utilizing Open RAN, so it’s a really attractive prospect for smaller MNOs that have some spectrum and want to get up and running quickly.”

https://inform.tmforum.org/...n-for-german-5g-open-ran-network-build/  

The future of Rakuten Symphony is very bright if you look at this big number of occasions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...operators_of_the_Asia_Pacific_region  

“ACKNOWLEDGING MISTAKES IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVING SUCCESS.”

MICKEY MIKITANI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, RAKUTEN GROUP

https://rakuten.today/blog/...istakes-is-key-to-business-success.html
 

Rakuten Insurance startet den Verkauf der Demenzversicherung von Rakuten Life

Rakuten Insurance Planning Co., Ltd. (Hauptsitz: Shinjuku-ku, Tokio, Präsident: Shohei Sakai) freut sich, mitteilen zu können, dass rakuten life insurance ab dem 28. August 2021 mit dem Verkauf von Rakuten Life Insurance ("Demenzversicherung") bei Rakuten Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Hauptsitz: Shinjuku-ku, Tokio, Präsident: Yasuhiko Shinkashi, im Folgenden "Rakuten Life") beginnen wird.

Rakuten Life hat eine Demenzversicherung entwickelt, um solche sozialen Probleme, die Angst von Menschen mit Demenz und ihren Familien zu beseitigen und die Vorbereitungen für die Zukunft zu verbessern.

Demenzversicherung ist eine Versicherung, die sich nicht nur auf die Diagnose von Demenz vorbereitet, sondern auch auf die Pflege und den Krankenhausaufenthalt nach Bestätigung der Diagnose sowie auf die Prävention von Demenz.

https://www.rakuten-insurance.co.jp/news/article/2021/20210824/
 

Das neue Netz wird vollständig von Rakuten aufgebaut und geplant. Es soll bis Ende 2030 in 390 Städten direkt verfügbar sein, der Rest Deutschlands wird durch O2 im National Roaming abgedeckt. 1&1 plant mit 12.000 Antennenstandorten, an denen dann in der Regel mehrere Antennen hängen. So kommt man zu diesem Zeitpunkt voraussichtlich auf etwa 36.000 Antennenelemente und kann 50 Prozent der Haushalte versorgen.

Der 1&1-Partner Rakuten hat im April 2020 als Neueinsteiger in Japan das weltweit erste kommerzielle vollständig virtualisierte OpenRAN-Mobilfunknetz gestartet. Von dieser Erfahrung und Expertise wird 1&1 nun profitieren. Rakuten ist auch für die Gesamt-Performance des 1&1 Mobilfunknetzes verantwortlich. 1&1 wird Zugriff auf die Steuerungsplattform haben. Nach Medienberichten überweist 1&1 den Japanern in den nächsten zehn Jahren für die Arbeit als Generalunternehmer zwischen 1,9 und 2,3 Milliarden Euro.

https://www.inside-digital.de/ratgeber/...1-lte-5g-mobilfunk-zeitplan
 

Not just K-pop: Korean TV shows gaining US popularity

K-pop isn't the only entertainment export from South Korea that's earned fans across the globe

By AP
Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 9:10

Viki has both original and licensed content from Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan and subscribers around the globe. Its largest audience is from the U.S., 75% of which is non-Asian. It offers a tiered subscription, or limited content is available for free with ads.

https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/...hows-gaining-us-popularity/  

Strong growth of Rakuten’s Joint Venture Rakuten Trade

Rakuten Trade, the Group's joint venture ("JV") and Malaysia's first full-fledged online equity broker, continued to record solid average monthly account opening at 6,800 accounts for 2Q21. At the end of June 2021, Rakuten had a total of 217,400 accounts, 51,600 more than it had a year ago. That, coupled with the scalability of the business have also contributed to the increase in the Group's bottom-line.

https://www.media-outreach.com/news/2021-08-26/...d-to-rm64-7-million
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wsICt0_s9w

 

Tokyo, August 23, 2021 - Rakuten Mobile, Inc. announced today that as of August 23, 2021, the combined number of subscribers for its mobile carrier service and MVNO service*1 has surpassed 5 million.
Since full-scale launch of its mobile carrier service in April 2020, Rakuten Mobile has continued to improve service quality by upgrading service plans, expanding its own network areas, opening new Rakuten Mobile stores and expanding its device lineup, including original devices. On April 8, 2021, one year after the launch of full-scale commercial service, Rakuten Mobile also launched a campaign*2 offering new Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI subscribers the first three months of service free of monthly fees, as it continues to offer initiatives to promote new signups and customer retention. On April 30, 2021, Rakuten Mobile began offering the iPhone 12 lineup, AirTag, AirPods Pro and other Apple-designed accessories, and support for all iPhone models running iOS 14.4 and later*3,*4.
The Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI service plan features a simple fee structure that flexibly adjusts in line with customer data use. The service plan caters to the diverse needs of customers, from light users who consume very little data, to heavy users who don’t want to have to worry about their monthly data use. As with the previous plan, subscribers can use both 4G and 5G services*5, in addition to free domestic calls when using the Rakuten Link communication app*6. With Rakuten UN-LIMIT VI, when total monthly data usage is 1GB or less, the fee will be zero yen for a customer’s first mobile line. If the total monthly data usage is between 1GB and 3GB, the fee will be 980 yen (1,078 yen inc. tax), and for total monthly data usage between 3GB and 20GB, the fee will be 1,980 yen (2,178 yen inc. tax) for a customer’s first line, and the monthly rate will be determined by the amount of data used each month. Customers whose data usage exceeds 20GB can use unlimited data*7 for 2,980 yen (3,278 yen inc. tax) per month. For customers with a second line, total monthly data usage of 3GB or less will be charged at 980 yen (1,078 yen inc. tax). Customers can apply for a contract both online on the Rakuten Mobile website and at Rakuten Mobile stores nationwide.
Rakuten Mobile has built the world’s first fully virtualized cloud native mobile network*8. This network architecture allows for substantial reductions in capital investment and operation costs, enabling the operator to pass on savings to subscribers through a simple and affordable service plan. Powered by cutting-edge technology, Rakuten Mobile will continue to expand coverage for its network nationwide, offer a wide variety of products and provide new services leveraging the Rakuten Ecosystem and Rakuten Points loyalty program to deliver greater levels of convenience and usability to customers.
*1 New applications for the Rakuten Mobile MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) service (Docomo lines, au lines) are closed.
*2 One line per customer. One application per customer only. The first three months of service free of monthly fees will be applied to the first line the customer applies for. Separate charges apply for product purchases, option fees, calls and other items. Customers who have previously made use of the one year free campaign are not eligible for the three months free campaign.
*3 Rakuten Mobile recommends that customers update to the latest version of iOS when using an iPhone with Rakuten Mobile's service. Please visit this page for more information: https://network.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/product/byod/ (Japanese only)
*4 Information about each iPhone model and the functions they support is available on the product page on the Rakuten Mobile website.
*5 4G service can be used in the Rakuten network area, the domestic roaming partner network areas and the overseas roaming partner network areas. 5G service is available in certain areas only. 5G services can be used in the Rakuten network areas offering 5G coverage when using a 5G-compatible device.
*6 Excludes certain numbers. When not using the Rakuten Link app, domestic calls will be charged at 22 yen/30 seconds (inc. tax).
*7 Unlimited high-speed data when connected to Rakuten base stations. To provide a fair service, restrictions on transmission speed may be implemented. Please check the coverage areas. In domestic roaming areas, after using the allocated 5GB, unlimited data is available at a maximum speed of 1Mbps. Transmission speed is best effort (the maximum speed of the standard). Actual transmission speeds may vary depending on the network environment.
*8 For a large scale commercial mobile network (as of October 1, 2019).

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2021/0823_01/
 

1 hour ago

Rakuten Mobile’s smallest smartphone has received big praise from both users and industry experts since launching in October 2019. Now, the Rakuten Mini can add Red Dot Design Award-winner to its list of accomplishments.

What is the Red Dot Award?

The Red Dot Award is an international design award presented by Germany’s Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG. Among many categories, the Product Division established in 1955 has the longest history, and is one of the most prestigious design awards in the world. Each year, more than 18,000 manufacturers and designers submit entries across around 50 categories, and only products that pass a rigorous screening process by design experts receive the award. In the 2021 Product category, Rakuten Mini was chosen for its compact design, which fits comfortably into any lifestyle, its original launcher*1 design, which supports comfortable one-handed use, and its allround functionality — which includes a high-quality camera and FeliCa (contactless RFID support) — impressive for such a compact device.

In addition to the Rakuten Mini, Rakuten Mobile’s original smartphone lineup also includes Rakuten BIG, Rakuten Hand and Rakuten BIG s, which have all been designed with the same kind of care and attention to detail as the Rakuten Mini.

https://rakuten.today/blog/...mini-receives-red-dot-design-award.html  

Rakuten Mobile winning more than 10,000 new subcribers every day

President of Rakuten Mobile Yoshihisa Yamada said that total mobile “applications” hit 4.42 million by the end of June 2021, up from 3.51 million at the end of March.
While a subscriber figure was not disclosed, President of Rakuten Mobile Yoshihisa Yamada said that total mobile “applications” hit 4.42 million by the end of June 2021, up from 3.51 million at the end of March.
Rakuten Group CEO Hiroshi ‘Mickey’ Mikitani further explained that the cellco must control how many subscribers it activates until roaming fees begin to drop. He said these rates would drop in October 2021 and then again in March 2022.

https://blog.telegeography.com/...luating-much-hyped-mobile-newcomers

Rakuten Mobile Subscribers Surpass 5 Million
Tokyo, August 23, 2021 - Rakuten Mobile, Inc. announced today that as of August 23, 2021, the combined number of subscribers for its mobile carrier service and MVNO service*1 has surpassed 5 million.

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2021/0823_01/  

Carousell may command USD 1.5 billion valuation with SPAC merger in the United States
Written by Khamila Mulia, Brady Ng Published on 29 Jun 2021

Online classifieds marketplace operator Carousell is exploring a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, to go public in the United States, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the preliminary discussions.

Carousell operates in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The company recorded 124% revenue growth for its financial year ended 2020. In all, 70% of Carousell’s visitors are millennials, and one-third of its revenue is now drawn from its used car marketplace. This dips into a business sector where specialized platforms like Carsome and Carro have gained traction. Singapore-based Carro, in particular, joined the unicorn club in mid-June, while Malaysia’s Carsome is reportedly in talks for a USD 200 million investment that will do the same for the company.

Southeast Asia has hit an inflection point in e-commerce and digital payments, which are both strong drivers for Carousell, according to Herston Powers, managing partner at 1982 Ventures. “Carousell will be able to command a USD 1.5 billion valuation and we expect it will grow larger in the long run,” he said.

https://kr-asia.com/...aluation-with-spac-merger-in-the-united-states  

Singapore startups may soon conduct IPOs

ByGlobalNews

August 26, 2021

Shop back

It is said that the cash back reward platform is working to raise funds in its E round of financing From new and existing investor. It was founded in 2014 by Henry Chan, Joel Leong and Shanru Lai.

The Singaporean startup has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia, serving more than 19 million users.

In December last year, it raised US$75 million in an expansion round led by Temasek, with the participation of existing investors such as Rakuten and EDBI. Since its establishment, the total amount of public funds has been 113 US dollars.

The company said last year that the expanded funds will be used to enhance its technological infrastructure, expand data capabilities and promote the growth of existing markets.

In 2019, ShopBack’s sales and orders increased by 250% year-on-year, with more than 16 million monthly orders, and more than 2,500 merchant partners with sales worth more than 2 billion U.S. dollars.

In an interview with Yahoo in 2020, the company had Do not rule out the idea of IPO In the short term, but CEO Henry once said that during this period, it is still focused on creating value for users and businesses.

In response to the pandemic, ShopBack has focused more on optimizing its business and rationalizing its cost structure to operate more efficiently with limited resources. The goal is to reduce costs as much as possible without significantly slowing down business growth, while at the same time innovating new features.

https://injuredly.com/...ab-singapore-startups-may-soon-conduct-ipos/  

warum Rakuten by ShopBack und Carousell nicht massiv eine Erhöhung der Beteiligungen anstrebt. Denn ich erachte beide als hervorragende Vehikel im Wachstumsmarkt Südostasien zu punkten - mit Unterstützung von Rakuten Viber, das dort in vielen Märkten über eine starke Position verfügt.  

There are 190 million mobile phone subscribers in the market Rakuten is targeting. Rakuten has grown from 1 million subscribers on June 20 to 4 million on May 21. 300% growth in less than 12 months, with monetization to follow.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/...of-gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow

And now 5 million on August 23. 400% growth in about 14 month.

https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2021/0823_01/
 

Cash Flow Breakdown: Jananuar –June 2021
Non-Financial Businesses Financial
Operating Cash Flow was negative with 168.4 billion JPY
Tax Cash Flow was positive with 21.4 billion JPY
Investing Cash Flow was negative with 191.0 billion JPY
Financing Cash Flow was positive with 554.9 billion JPY
Increase in cash and cash equivalents wass positive with 216.7 billion JPY

Source:
Latest IR Materials
Second Quarter 2021
View Materials
Earnings release, presentation material and supplement (21Q2PPT_E.pdf)

The negative 191.0 billion JPY from investing cash flow and the negative 168.4 billion from operating flow = negative 359.4 billion JPY - reduced through positive tax cash flow of 21.4 billion JPY = 338 billion JPY or about $ 3.04 billion.

But with $ 2.1 billion about 69% of this amount was covered through the offering of new shares to excellent companies like Japan Post, Tencent, Walmart and Mikitani's.

And therefore, the reduce from BBB- to BB+ through Standard & Poors was a joke. I believe, the right result were an increase from BBB- to BBB. Japanes Rating-companies had not followed the decision of S&P.  

erfolgte, wurde die Liquidität und die Eigenkapitalquote erhöht - insofern ist die Entscheidung von S&P merkwürdig und fragwürdig, um das einmal milde zu formulieren.  

dass Telefongesellschaften mit hohen Investitionen, die zu hohen Teilen fremdfinanziert sind, arbeiten. Und der Wert dieser überwiegend fremd finanzierten Investitionen wird durch disruptive neue Technik entwertet.

Auf welche Gedanken man da kommen kann, will ich hier nicht anführen, da ich es nicht beweisen kann bzw. das sich auch schlecht beweisen lässt. Daher begnüge ich mich mit der Aussage: "Ein Schelm, der Böses dabei denkt."  

Offen, aber nicht unkompliziert

Bei Open RAN kommen Anwendungen von verschiedenen Zulieferern und mehr Standard-Hardware zum Einsatz. Mehr Netzkomponenten werden in der Cloud virtualisiert, bei 1&1 sollen es sämtliche Netzfunktionen sein. "Durch die vollständige Virtualisierung und den Einsatz von Standard-Hardware können wir die besten Produkte flexibel kombinieren", sagt Dommermuth. Open RAN verringert die Abhängigkeit des Netzbetreibers von den klassischen Ausrüstern wie Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia oder ZTE und ihren geschlossenen Systemen und langfristigen Serviceverträgen.

Damit steigt aber auch der Aufwand für die Integration der verschiedenen Komponenten. Diese Rolle soll auch Rakuten übernehmen. Antennentechnik kauft 1&1 zunächst bei NEC, dazu kommt Software des US-Anbieter Mavenir. Rakuten steuert die eigene Communications Platform (RCP) mit ihren Zugangs-, Kern-, Cloud- und Betriebslösungen sowie eine selbstentwickelte Orchestrierungs-Software bei. Auch auf die Partnerunternehmen von Rakuten kann 1&1 zurückgreifen. Die Aufbaukosten seien etwa die gleichen wie bei den klassischen Ausrüstern, schätzt Dommermuth, erwartet aber deutliches Einsparpotenzial im laufenden Netzbetrieb.

https://www.heise.de/news/...nd-Open-RAN-6155499.html?xing_share=news
 

Irvine, California-based Acorns announced in May its intent to go public by merging with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Pioneer Merger Corp. The SPAC values the fintech company at $2.2 billion.

Since its 2012 inception, the company has evolved its offering to also include investment services, debt management and a product aimed at children, Acorns Early. It has more than 4 million subscribers that have invested nearly $10 billion through its app. The company touts nearly 99% monthly retention, and has the ambitious goal of reaching 10 million subscribers by 2025, according to Kerner. This year, he is projecting 60% to 70% CAGR growth.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/11/...ns-as-cfo-ahead-of-public-debut/
 

Acorns, a US-based investment and savings app developer backed by mass media group Comcast, payment services provider PayPal and e-commerce firm Rakuten, agreed a reverse takeover yesterday at a $2.2bn valuation. The transaction is set to close in the latter of half of this year and will entail Acorns getting the spot on the Nasdaq…

https://globalcorporateventuring.com/...-with-reverse-takeover-plans/
 

BlueVine On How Holistic Spend Management Can Keep SMBs' Cash Flow On The Move

https://www.pymnts.com/spend-management/2021/...ement-smbs-cash-flow/

The Top 100 Financial Technology Companies of 2021
July 27, 2021

The Financial Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 100 Financial Technology Companies of 2021. This year’s recipients comprise a broad range of companies from well-known names like Square, Stripe, and Robinhood to relatively newer but rapidly growing enterprises such as Dave, Petal, and Hippo.

13. BlueVine
Category: Business Lending
BlueVine is an online lending service that caters to small businesses with invoice factoring, term loans, and conditional lines of credit. Providing support for those with poor credit who need short-term funding, the company has been helping people stay afloat since before the pandemic.
The company’s policies have attracted over 450,000 small business owners. BlueVine has broken new ground with its completely free business checking account that advertise zero minimum balance requirements, monthly transaction limits, or monthly fees of any kind. Customers can also count on 1.0% interest on business checking balances up to $100,000.
Eyal Lifshitz, BlueVine’s Chief Executive Officer, co-founded the company in 2013. Though based out of Redwood City in California, BlueVine has offices in Los Angeles and Jersey City, New Jersey.

https://thefinancialtechnologyreport.com/...nology-companies-of-2021/

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlueVine, a leading online provider of working capital financing to small businesses, announced today it has closed $40 million in funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $64 million to date. This Series C funding was led by an investment from Menlo Ventures, with additional participation from new investor Rakuten FinTech Fund, follow-on investments from Lightspeed Venture Partners, 83NORTH, Correlation Ventures and private investors, as well as a new debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank.
“We are very impressed with BlueVine’s disruptive technology and how it financially empowers the small business community,” said Rakuten’s Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, managing partner of the Rakuten FinTech Fund.
Sosin will join BlueVine’s board of directors and Miel will join as a board observer and strategic advisor.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/...nding-Led-By-Menlo-Ventures