Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

- und daher habe ich mir nach dem Einstieg bei Alibaba, die inzwischem mehr als 20% gut gemacht haben, auch einige Rakutens gekauft.

Look Out Amazon, Here Comes...Rakuten?
Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced on Tuesday it is acquiring Ebates for $1 billion.

The acquisition, which Rakuten hinted at last week, is part of the Japanese company’s push to grow its base beyond its domestic market and hopefully, become a global player. Having made some $1.2 billion acquisitions to date along these lines, this is Rakuten’s most ambitious move to date.

However, investors are dubious that the company can absorb yet another foreign acquisition, much less one the size of Ebates, despite Rakuten’s strong cash position.
Then there is the ever-present Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market in the U.S. Few believe it will falter in the face of Chinese giant Alibaba, much less a Rakuten-Ebates combo.

Rakuten Goes Forth

Not surprisingly, Rakuten says it is undaunted. For starters, it has assembled a very interesting mix of acquisitions. There is messaging app Viber, which it purchased for $900 million in February, the Canadian ebook offering Kobo, Spanish video service Wuaki.tv, Viki, a digital content platform and Buy.com.
Now it has picked up Ebates.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/09/...ere-comes-rakuten/  

Powerful contribution of Mobile to the ecosystem

The contribution of mobile services to other services is also steadily growing. For example, in Rakuten Ichiba, customers who subscribe to Rakuten Mobile increase their purchase amounts by nearly 50%. In Rakuten Travel, usage increases by about 15%, and in Rakuten Card, spending increases by nearly 30%. Rakuten Mobile is making a significant contribution.

Additionally, Rakuten Mobile subscribers are increasingly using other Rakuten Group services. Comparing those who subscribe to Rakuten Mobile with those who do not, Rakuten Mobile subscribers use an average of 3.17 new services, which is 2.43 additional services compared with non-subscribers. This demonstrates the powerful contribution of Rakuten Mobile to the ecosystem.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/...072747/#google_vignette
 

Rakuten Viki Content Acquisition 2025  Unraveling the Streaming Giant’s Strategy Vitrina AI

January 5, 2025

https://vitrina.ai/blog/...-the-streaming-giants-strategy-vitrina-ai/
 

The loyalty market in the United States is expected to grow by 15.7% on annual basis to reach US$27.26 billion in 2025.

In value terms, the U.S. loyalty market has recorded a CAGR of 17.5% during 2020-2024. The loyalty market in the United States will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 13.2% during 2025-2029. The U.S. loyalty market is expected to increase from US$23.57 billion in 2024 to reach US$44.73 billion by 2029.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/...based-Loyalty.html


 

Rakuten Kobo plans to implement some paid services for its  e-readers that are subscription-based.

Published on 01 February 2025

Rakuten Kobo is planning to implement some paid services for its e-readers. These services will be subscription-based and offer people a Send to Kindle alternative and access to Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud service providers. Storygraph, Goodreads, and other social book discovery platforms will also be available on the e-reader.

One of the most popular features of Kobo e-readers is borrowing e-books from Overdrive. To do so, you need a digital library card and a four-digit PIN, which you enter in the settings menu. The local branch will then appear, and users can browse, borrow, and read right on the e-reader. However, users can only browse one library, but Kobo might be planning to allow users to use multiple libraries simultaneously.

https://goodereader.com/blog/kobo-ereader-news/...for-their-e-readers
 

Published by Statista Research Department, Feb 5, 2025
In the fiscal year 2024, the operating revenue of Rakuten Securities, Inc. amounted to 130.1 billion Japanese yen, up 17.3 percent from the previous fiscal year. Rakuten Securities is a Japanese online securities company that operates under the umbrella of Rakuten Securities Holdings.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1368742/...ies-operating-revenue/
 

Rakuten Symphony, a Service Based Technology Company

November 14, 2024

Telcos will enable network & closed loop automation and AI will play a big role as a catalyst for customers, and end-customers. Watch Sandeep Aurora, SVP (APAC & MEA) of Rakuten Symphony talk about the role of cloud-native, Open RAN & Security in delivering a service-rich experience for customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igxcdEaIvz8
 

Europe Cross-Border E-commerce Market Size & Growth, 2033

https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/...-commerce-market
 

13 February, 2025, 18:23

On February 13, Rakuten Viber opens pre-registration for Ukrainians for Viber Dating, a dating service that is supposed to build on the Viber app. The company told the news to AIN.
In January, the waiting list for the new service was opened in the Philippines, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

https://en.ain.ua/2025/02/13/...er-launches-in-app-dating-in-ukraine/

 

 

AST SpaceMobile stock surges on new government contract

Published 02/26/2025

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) shares jumped 14% today following the announcement of a new contract with the United States Space Development Agency (SDA) valued at $43 million. The contract, which is in support of the SDA through a prime contractor, highlights the company's continued collaboration with the U.S. Space Force and reinforces its role in developing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

The rise in stock price can be attributed to the market's positive response to the new contract, which comes on the heels of successful testing with the company's BlueWalker-3 satellite. AST SpaceMobile's next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites are set to feature the largest commercial phased array antennas in low Earth orbit, covering an impressive 2,400 square feet. This technological advancement is expected to provide advanced connectivity and performance for specialized government applications.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/...ract-93CH-3893485
 

AI Utilization is Key! Rakuten New Year Conference 2025

February 26, 2025

The annual Rakuten New Year Conference event was held again in 2025, gathering merchants from Rakuten Ichiba. Mickey and other executives shared strategies and visions shaping the future of Rakuten Ichiba, including examples of AI utilization, renewing regular (subscription) purchases, and enhancements in logistics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9xRwDZQsCw&t=5s

 

Starting from February 20, messages from the EHCS will be sent via Viber, while SMS will remain as a backup channel

Starting from February 20, 2025, messages from the Electronic Healthcare System (EHCS) with a confirmation code, e-prescription number, or e-referral will be received on Viber. SMS will remain a guaranteed delivery channel for such messages, reported the National Health Service of Ukraine.

If a patient has Viber, messages from the EHCS will be sent primarily through this communication channel. If the patient does not have Viber, an SMS will be delivered to them.

https://antikor.ua/en/articles/...er_sms_ostanutsja_rezervnym_kanalom
 

Top 5 brand-consumer communication trends to watch in 2025 and beyond

https://www.forbusiness.viber.com/ua/blog/post/...mmunication-trends/

 

Skip the scams, not the sparks: Rakuten Viber launches Viber Dating in the Philippines First

New Viber feature debuts globally with a safe dating experience for real people to make real connections

By Team Orange
February 16, 2025

https://orangemagazine.ph/2025/...nches-viber-dating-in-the-ph-first/
 

Rakuten Viki Celebrates K-Drama Fandom Across the Globe

January 30, 2025

Starting with Korean dramas (K-dramas), Rakuten Viki has solidified its position as the world's top streaming service for Asian content with over 95 million registered users globally, and the excitement levels peaked in late 2024 with the launch of its second annual International K-Drama Day. This video looks at Viki’s approach to content, while highlighting the key events and insights from K-Drama Day 2024, showcasing Rakuten Viki's commitment to bringing exclusive and diverse Asian entertainment to fans worldwide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cNHpT4LDTY
 

With over a billion users worldwide, Viber ranks among the top five messaging apps, mainly concentrated in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

To get a better look at Viber’s popularity, let’s take a look at Monthly Active Users (MAUs). As of 2021, Viber reported 820 million active users, a huge growth over the 260 million it reported two years earlier.
During the pandemic, user numbers grew rapidly as people turned to online groups to socialize and share information. Viber pushed this growth with initiatives like Covid-19 chatbots and e-commerce support. App usage remains strong in its key markets.

https://respond.io/de/blog/viber-for-business

 

Insights from Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Symphony

Feburary 20, 2025

In Episode 8 of Inside Track, Udai Kanukolanu, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Symphony talks us through how he is bringing his decades of experience to in telecome to delivery mutually beneficial outcomes for Rakuten Symphony and it’s customers. Join Udai as he sits down with James Dartnell, Director, Corporate Communications, EMEA, to discuss what exactly goes into winning deals from start to finish, and how Rakuten Symphony are expanding the organization’s global reach by enhancing it’s own value proposition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnJz3IGZ1YY
 

Carousell well-capitalised, with healthy narrowing of losses

Sharanya Pillai

UPDATED Nov 14, 2024, 04:41 PM

SINGAPORE – Online classifieds operator Carousell remains well-funded by its investors, and an initial public offering (IPO) is not the only option to raise capital, said chief executive Quek Siu Rui on Friday.
“We’re so well-capitalised now that it gives us the ability to stay focused on execution,” he said when asked about the company’s plans for an IPO.

“When the time comes for us to think about capital raises, we will look at all options, IPOs being one of them. But there are also many other capital-raising options,” he said, noting that the company has the support of long-term investors.

It was last valued at US$1.1 billion (S$1.5 billion), and it raised US$123.5 million between 2021 and August this year, according to data platform VentureCap Insights.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/...lthy-narrowing-of-losses-ceo
 

Mit Blick auf das Geschäftsjahr 2025 strebt die Rakuten Group an, "den konsolidierten Non-GAAP-Betriebsgewinn zu steigern" und "Rakuten Mobile wieder auf die EBITDA-Rentabilität des Gesamtjahres zurückzuführen". Wird das Mobile-Geschäft profitabel, wird sich die Profitabilität des gesamten Konzerns weiter verbessern.

https://en-54177.site-translation.com/posts/135121
 

Interview - January 16, 2025

Rakuten Securities is dedicated to building a better, more optimistic future by empowering individuals, businesses and societies to realize their dreams.

This has been a record-breaking year for the Japanese financial markets. In March 2024, the Nikkei breached the JPY 40,000 mark. We’ve had increased IPO activity, with 97 companies having gone public, raising over JPY 570 billion. We’ve also seen a surge in private equity deals, with values nearly tripling the annual average from 2018 to 2022. This backdrop has drawn an unprecedented flow of foreign capital into the Japanese financial markets, with foreign investments in Japanese equities reaching a ten-year high. What were the core reasons for the extraordinary performance of Japan’s financial markets, and what makes Japan attractive to foreign investors today?

One of the driving forces of this active market is that on the institutional and wholesale side, there has been corporate governance reform, but our core business is retail. For that, there was recently the introduction of the Nippon (Japan) Individual Savings Account (NISA), and the government expanded the tax exemption for the accumulation of wealth by three times the previous amount and two times more for other investment aspects. Overall, JPY's 3.6 million annual retail investment is now tax-exempt, and that has brought a lot of capital into the retail investment market.

https://www.theworldfolio.com/interviews/...s-defining-optimism/6631/
 

Programmatic Loyalty: AI-Powered Ad Solution Drives Performance and Guarantees ROAS for Retailers
Feb 05, 2025

New, industry-first solution helps retail marketers optimize Cash Back budgets for increased performance with minimal financial risk

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten, the leading Cash Back shopping platform, launched Programmatic Loyalty, an industry-first advertising solution that leverages AI and Rakuten's robust first-party data to deliver performance-driven outcomes—all with a guaranteed return on ad spend (ROAS). Retailers leveraging Programmatic Loyalty are already seeing impressive results. A leading home and garden brand experienced a 107% year-over-year increase in shoppers during the second half of 2024 during its ongoing campaign.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...-retailers-302368914.html
 

In 2014, you opened Rakuten Securities Bullion in Hong Kong, offering a unique platform with commission-free trading and high leverage catering to the region’s dynamic trading demands. In 2017, you entered a joint venture with Kenanga Investment Bank to establish Rakuten Trade, the country’s first fully online equities brokerage that enables Malaysian investors to access stock trading and investment management through a digital-first approach. Can you tell us about the challenges for your global operations and how you’re overcoming them, and do you have any plans for further expansion, with or without partners? If so, where and what does a partner of choice look like for Rakuten Securities?

The Rakuten group's strategy is to expand its sphere to the global arena, providing comprehensive services. Following that strategy, Rakuten Securities has expanded overseas. We have established an online brokerage business model in Japan, and we want to apply that to overseas markets, especially those centered on the Asian regions. We have started with Hong Kong and Malaysia.

For Malaysia, we established a joint venture with Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, the biggest brokerage firm company in Malaysia, as Malaysia’s first fully online securities company. Kenanga is a strong local player and has a nudge for the Malaysian people and culture. Our strategy is to develop roots in local communities, which takes time. We need to understand the local market and business culture to provide a brokerage service for local and global stocks successfully. We have dispatched a few members from Japan and have asked the locals to join the company, with them primarily driving the company since they understand the local community mindset.

In Malaysia, since our business model is a stock brokerage, the local regulations require that we have a joint venture with a local company, but in Hong Kong, our business is a margin FX, focusing on a global product. That is the same business model everywhere in the world. Therefore, we have a 100% owned subsidiary, but we have local staff to do marketing and to help penetrate the market.

Are you currently in the early stages, or are you already looking for partners?

We are always looking for new opportunities and partners. We will have discussions and consider how to define our business model and how to find good partners.

https://www.theworldfolio.com/interviews/...s-defining-optimism/6631/
 

Rakuten hope that this new design will appeal to fans of the Dragon Ball series and encourage them to apply for a new Rakuten Card.

First airing in October 2024, Dragon Ball DAIMA is the most recent series in the Dragon Ball franchise.

Like the normal Rakuten Card, the Dragon Ball DAIMA card will offer the same benefits such as no annual fee, 1x Rakuten Points when used normally and 3x points when used on the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace.

This collaboration with Dragon Ball isn’t the first time Rakuten have featured an anime character on a credit card.

Rakuten’s own Shopping Panda mascot stars in the anime “Okaimono Panda!” which is currently airing on Wednesday evenings in Japan.

Other specially branded credit cards available from Rakuten include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, the Vissel Kobe soccer team and Japanese musician Yoshiki.

https://essential-japan.com/news/rakuten-dragon-ball-credit-card/

 

Rakuten Symphony Expands Open RAN Adoption with Cisco, Airspan & Tech Mahindra

2d ago
Ray Sharma

Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of global technology leader Rakuten Group, announced the signing of three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks, and Tech Mahindra. These agreements will bring Rakuten Symphony’s portfolio of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions to market as part of its Real Open RAN Licensing Program.

These partnerships aim to advance equipment vendor adoption and operator deployment of secure and high-performance cloud-native, virtualized 4G/5G mobile networks based on Open RAN standards. As part of the collaboration, Rakuten Symphony and Cisco intend to create a unified Private 5G mobile network offering, combining Cisco’s Mobility Services Platform-based Private 5G Solution with 5G Advanced capabilities and Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN software solutions. This initiative is designed to help global service providers transform their network architecture and build AI-ready infrastructure.

Airspan and Tech Mahindra will resell Rakuten Symphony Open RAN software licenses to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide, covering codebases for the Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), and Operations and Management (OAM) software. Tech Mahindra will also serve as the preferred systems integrator for Rakuten Symphony.

https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-solutions/...pan-tech-mahindra
 

Rakuten Symphony Announces Cisco, Airspan And Tech Mahindra As First Partners For Its Real Open RAN Licensing Program

Tokyo & Barcelona, February 28, 2025 - Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of global technology leader Rakuten Group, has today announced the signing of three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Cisco Systems, Airspan Networks and Tech Mahindra, that will see the three companies take Rakuten Symphony's portfolio of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) solutions to market as part of its revolutionary Real Open RAN Licensing Program.

"We are revolutionizing mobile networks by making them simpler and fully programmable end-to-end," said Masum Mir, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Provider Mobility, Cisco. "This collaboration is key to fostering greater adoption of 5G services among enterprises of all sizes, enabling them to harness the power of mission-critical applications and prepare for 5G Advanced. Together, we are paving the way for a seamless and transformative digital future."

Glenn Laxdal, CEO and President of Airspan, said "Airspan has been a key partner in Rakuten's Open RAN journey for more than five years, delivering thousands of 4G and 5G radios for their network in Japan. We're excited to expand this collaboration through Rakuten Symphony's Real Open RAN Licensing Program, helping operators and enterprises accelerate the adoption of cloud-native, virtualized networks with proven Open RAN solutions."

Harshvendra Soin, President - Asia Pacific and Japan Business, Tech Mahindra, said, "We are witnessing a shift towards open, programmable, cloud-native networks as operators seek greater efficiency and scalability. Our partnership with Rakuten Symphony reinforces our commitment to accelerate Open RAN adoption and reshaping the future of connectivity worldwide. By leveraging our global presence and Rakuten Symphony's advanced Open RAN solutions, we're enabling telecom operators to embrace next-generation, cost-efficient and scalable network solutions."

https://www.publicnow.com/view/...3CBB850DC149C62965D1594D433F7110932