Garena picks Goldman for IPO

Garena, South-east Asia's most valuable start-up, picked Goldman Sachs Group to lead a planned initial public offering (IPO) that could fetch about US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The online gaming portal and e-commerce provider plans to select additional banks as soon as this month, the people said.

Garena is considering listing in the United States, the people said. If completed, the deal would be a boon for backers such as Tencent Holdings, and mark the largest technology IPO out of South-east Asia.

It may open the door for offerings from other local start-ups, including ride-hailing leader Grab and e-commerce operator Tokopedia.

BLOOMBERG

China probes bitcoin exchanges

SHANGHAI • China's central bank launched spot investigations on bitcoin exchanges in Beijing and Shanghai yesterday, it said in separate statements.

The investigation of bitcoin exchanges, including BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin, was to look into possible market manipulation, money laundering, unauthorised financing and other issues, according to the statements posted on the People's Bank of China's website.

The central bank added that the purpose of the investigation was to fend off market risks.

REUTERS