Investors Bet Billions As BrokerDealers Get Smart With Xiaomi

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Brokerdealer.com blog update courtesy of The Wall Street Journal

xiaomi-9Chinese smartphone maker has raised more than $1 billion in its latest round of funding, making it one the fastest growing tech start-up of the year. In the latest round of funding BrokerDealers
are have been an essential part in the company raising so much funds as The Wall Street Journal’s Juro Osawa explains below.

Xiaomi Corp. is raising more than $1 billion in its latest round of funding, valuing the fast-growing Chinese smartphone maker at more than $45 billion and making the company one of the most valuable technology startups in the world, a person familiar with the matter said.

The round, which could close as early as Monday, is led by All-Stars Investment, a tech investment fund run by former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji, the person said. Other participants in the round include Russian investment firm DST Global and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC, which are both already shareholders of Xiaomi.

Yunfeng Capital, a private-equity firm affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Executive Chairman Jack Ma , is also participating in the round, the source said. The person declined to say how many shares will be sold in the latest round.

A Xiaomi spokesman declined to comment.

The $45 billion-plus valuation puts Xiaomi above most other Silicon Valley and Asian technology startups. Earlier this month, U.S. ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc. said a new round of funding valued it at $41 billion.

The surge in Xiaomi’s valuation over the past year indicates just how high expectations are as the company expands its business outside China, mainly in emerging markets where there is robust demand for inexpensive smartphones.

In its previous round of funding in August 2013, Xiaomi was valued at $10 billion.

Xiaomi, founded by Lei Jun in 2010, has grown rapidly to become the top-selling smartphone vendor in China by offering affordable phones with features rivaling high-end models. Xiaomi phones come with a customized version of Google Inc. ’s Android operating system, and the company often updates the software based on requests from users.

For the entire Wall Street Journal article, click here

Broker-Dealers Slated To Flock To Saudi Stock Exchange

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BrokerDealer.com blog update courtesy of extract from July 22 coverage from Bloomberg LP

bloomberg saudi exchange storySaudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of oil and de facto leader of OPEC, is removing barriers to one of the world’s most-restricted major stock exchanges as the government pursues a $130 billion spending plan to boost non-energy industries. King Abdullah, the 90-year-old monarch, has kept the economy expanding at an average rate of 6.4 percent in the past four years even as Middle Eastern neighbors from Egypt to Iraq grappled with political turmoil.

The Tadawul surged 2.8 percent to 10,025.14 at the close, the strongest level since May 2008.

“The big sleeping giant in the region is Saudi Arabia, a well-capitalized and large market that foreigners couldn’t get access to,” Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer at National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC, said by phone from Abu Dhabi. “It’s exciting. It gives greater credibility to the region.”

A listing of broker-dealers in the middle-east can be found via http://brokerdealer.com/databases/broker-dealer

“If you assume a neutral allocation to the market, and assuming the 4 percent that MSCI is guiding for, we will be talking about $40 billion” of foreign inflows in Saudi Arabia’s exchange, Dubai-based Rami Sidani, who oversees the $343 million Schroders International Selection Fund, said by telephone today.

“The move by Saudi Arabia helps accelerate efforts by the Gulf into becoming a more mainstream destination for international investors,” Ryan Huang, Singapore-based market strategist at IG Ltd., said by e-mail today. “Opening up the market will be a liquidity boost for Saudi corporations.”

At least three banks, including HSBC Holdings Plc and Deutsche Bank AG, have executed test trades, three people said, asking not to be identified as the plans are private. Access for money managers outside the GCC has so far been limited to indirect routes, including equity swaps and exchange-traded funds.

The full story from Bloomberg LP can be found via this link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-22/saudi-to-open-up-531-billion-stock-market-to-foreigners.html