H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 January 2019) – Software Stocks Can Work In Good or Bad Times + When Charlie Munger Calls, Listen and Learn

January 26, 2019 Leave a comment

H.E.R.O.’s Journey in Tech (26 January 2019) – Software Stocks Can Work In Good or Bad Times + When Charlie Munger Calls, Listen and Learn

Companies

  • Grainger eyes mid-size companies as it invests more in Zoro.com; “Our single-channel businesses, mainly MonotaRO and Zoro, continue to drive profitable growth” (DC)
  • Trend Micro launches regional AMEA HQ in Singapore; deepens region’s cyber capabilities (NWA)
  • Rakuten’s package delivery drones to take flight soon; Rural areas in Japan would be serviced, but cost is a concern (Nikkei)
  • Koh Young to Demo Hermes and CFX Lines at IPC APEX EXPO 2019 (iconnect)
  • Taiwan’s Delta Electronics eyes Krishnagiri for Rs 4,000 electronic plant (NIE)
  • Afterpay’s quest to be the global platform connecting retailers with Millennials (AFR)
  • How AfterPay and Pro Medicus show why you must buy founder-led companies (MF)
  • Mukesh Ambani wants to be India’s first internet tycoon; Thanks to his ambitions, Indians are getting online faster than ever (Economist)

BATTSS – Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, TSMC, Samsung, Softbank

  • Consumption remains engine and driving force for China’s growth, Alibaba CEO says (SCMP); ‘Distorted’ private tech market valuations to see correction in next six to nine months, says Alibaba’s Joe Tsai (SCMP)

FAANNMG – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Netflix, Microsoft, Google

  • Facebook Has Got the Wrong Kind of Friends; Facebook’s user base is growing, but it may be shrinking where it matters (WSJ)
  • Zuckerberg to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger: NYT (Reuters); Why Facebook Can’t Resist Integrating WhatsApp; The decision to unite its empire is both an inevitable end to independence for its disparate properties, and a barrier against calls for a breakup. (Bloomberg)
  • Facebook knowingly duped game-playing kids and their parents out of money (Reveal)
  • Where Amazon Returns Go to Be Resold by Hustlers; Welcome to the abyss of the “reverse supply chain,” where hope springs eternal. (Atlantic)
  • Brands Invent New Lines for Only Amazon to Sell; Amazon gets exclusive products, while brands receive faster customer feedback, marketing support and increased sales (WSJ)
  • Startups Find It Easy To Let Alexa Speak On Their Behalf (CB)
  • DeepMind’s AlphaStar Reminds Us That AI Is Still Dependent On Human Creativity (Forbes); DeepMind AI Beats Professional Human StarCraft II Players (Forbes)
  • Why Microsoft Is the ‘Best-Positioned Firm in Tech’ (Barron’s)
  • How NVIDIA Built A Record-Breaking AI Supercomputer In Under 3 Weeks (Forbes)
  • Netflix setting bad example for China’s video streamers; Losses widen amid content arms race but platforms will struggle to retain subscribers (FT)
  • Nvidia’s “Kitchen Manipulator” Robot Uses AI To Cook Meals (ZH)

Asia Tech & Innovation Trends

  • Bytedance’s WeChat rival Duoshan hits 1 million downloads (Technode)
  • Meet the little-known Chinese Wi-Fi startup that rubs shoulders with WeChat and Alipay; The app that gives people free Wi-Fi has 800 million monthly active users worldwide (TC)
  • Fundraising by China’s startups surges to $80bn (Nikkei)
  • Lessons from the fall of China’s bike-sharing pioneer; Ofo’s young founder is banned from pricey hotels and first-class flying (Economist)

Global Tech & Innovation Trends

  • Software Stocks Can Work In Good or Bad Times (Barron’s)
  • Slack faces growing challenge from Microsoft; Stewart Butterfield, the entrepreneur who founded Slack, faces renewed competition with Microsoft’s Teams (FT)
  • Automakers may have completely overestimated how many people want electric cars (qz)
  • IPO Hopes Trigger Scramble for Shares of Top Unicorns; But transactions are hard to track and some questionable practices have arisen (WSJ)
  • Tesla Should Pull an Apple: Leave ‘Production Hell’ to Other People; The real money isn’t in building beautiful things. It’s in creating them. (WSJ)
  • Dell May Be Unloved Right Now, but Its VMware Stake Is a Silver Lining (Barron’s)
  • Humans Question Their AI-Based Future; Smart machines are now being applied to activities requiring intelligence and cognitive capabilities (WSJ)
  • Over 70 nations agree to hammer out global rules for e-commerce; China joins effort led by the US, EU and Japan despite opposing free data flow (Nikkei)
  • When do AI-related inventions merit a patent? (SCMP)
  • The myth of uber for x (II)
  • 3D Vision Enhancing Robot Opportunities (EE Times)

Life

  • When Charlie Munger Calls, Listen and Learn (WSJ)
  • The Era of “Move Fast and Break Things” Is Over; What systemic, societal change do you aspire to create with your product? “Minimum viable products” must be replaced by “minimum virtuous products” (HBR)
  • Eugene Wei – Tech, Media, and Culture – [Invest Like the Best, EP.117] (IFG)
  • Howard Schultz Teaches You How To Be A Leader In A Crisis (Forbes)
  • Sam Altman: How To Be Successful (Sam Altman)
  • Why We Worry (and How to Stop) (Medium)
  • The 1800-year-old handbook for a “tranquil flow of life” (Medium)

Filed under Innovation

About bambooinnovator
Kee Koon Boon (“KB”) is the co-founder and director of HERO Investment Management which provides specialized fund management and investment advisory services to the ARCHEA Asia HERO Innovators Fund (www.heroinnovator.com), the only Asian SMID-cap tech-focused fund in the industry. KB is an internationally featured investor rooted in the principles of value investing for over a decade as a fund manager and analyst in the Asian capital markets who started his career at a boutique hedge fund in Singapore where he was with the firm since 2002 and was also part of the core investment committee in significantly outperforming the index in the 10-year-plus-old flagship Asian fund. He was also the portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equities at Korea’s largest mutual fund company. Prior to setting up the H.E.R.O. Innovators Fund, KB was the Chief Investment Officer & CEO of a Singapore Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) where he is responsible for listed Asian equity investments. KB had taught accounting at the Singapore Management University (SMU) as a faculty member and also pioneered the 15-week course on Accounting Fraud in Asia as an official module at SMU. KB remains grateful and honored to be invited by Singapore’s financial regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to present to their top management team about implementing a world’s first fact-based forward-looking fraud detection framework to bring about benefits for the capital markets in Singapore and for the public and investment community. KB also served the community in sharing his insights in writing articles about value investing and corporate governance in the media that include Business Times, Straits Times, Jakarta Post, Manual of Ideas, Investopedia, TedXWallStreet. He had also presented in top investment, banking and finance conferences in America, Italy, Sydney, Cape Town, HK, China. He has trained CEOs, entrepreneurs, CFOs, management executives in business strategy & business model innovation in Singapore, HK and China.

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