Meituan

Meituan expects to raise US$3 billion from a dual-currency bond offering, as the Chinese on-demand delivery giant looks to bolster its war chest to stave off the challenge from rivals led by Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com. The Beijing-based company will offer US$1.99 billion in greenback-denominated bonds and 7.08 billion yuan (US$1 billion) of notes in the local currency, according to its statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday. Meituan said it had signed an agreement with...

Meituan plans to raise around $3 billion in what would be its largest regular bond issuance ever, as the company faces intensifying competition in China’s food delivery market.

Alibaba Group Holding said the destination ranking feature in its Amap mapping service has racked up 400 million users since being launched last month, as the tech giant doubles down on efforts to challenge rival delivery platform Meituan in local services. Amap Street Stars, launched on September 10 to provide artificial intelligence-based rankings for restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions, has so far been used by 400 million users, nearly half of Amap’s monthly active users, Alibaba said...

Amap, Alibaba Group Holding’s answer to Google Maps, saw a record 360 million daily users on the first day of China’s “golden week” National Day holiday, as the company strengthens its local service offerings amid increasing competition with Meituan. On Wednesday, the first day of the extended eight-day break, Amap provided navigation for trips totalling over 9 billion km, also a record high, according to Alibaba, owner of the Post. Meanwhile, Amap’s new road safety alert system, Eagle Eye...

Alibaba Group Holding’s competition with Meituan is expanding from instant commerce into the bricks-and-mortar market, as the Hangzhou-based tech conglomerate prepares to offer discounted in-store dining vouchers to consumers on the mainland. That new initiative is expected to start on Saturday in selected districts in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Jiaxing, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, according to a report on Friday by local media outlet LatePost, which cited unnamed sources. Alibaba, owner of...

Since April, mainland Chinese consumers have been spoiled for choice, as instant commerce competition brought dazzling promotional subsidies and speedy deliveries right to their doorsteps. Instant commerce – a turbocharged combination of online shopping and swift dispatch – had already made a typical lunchbox order cost around US$1 or US$2, which covered the food and the delivery fee. On-demand delivery giant Meituan’s “Grouping for Good Meals” campaign, for example, offered a four-dish set meal...