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There are 2.8 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, a steady increase from two million in 2013

Image Credit: Maxim Tupikov / Shutterstock

Slightly more than one out of every 10 people in North Korea has a mobile phone, says a Korea Times report citing data from Statistics Korea.

That is to say that there are 2.8 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, a steady increase from two million in 2013. According to Statistics Korea, which has been releasing annual data and numbers for the last 20 years, North Korea has a population of 24.7 million as of 2014.

Also Read: Fast and Furious: KT to organise aerial drone race in Seoul

It can be believed that many of these mobile phone users are using the devices for more than just making voice calls and text messages. According to the Associated Press, which recently wrote about a game app called Boy General, North Koreans are now increasingly using their handsets to play mobile games. This app, shared over Bluetooth, is said to be a spinoff of an animation series.

A Young Pioneer stepping up his Instagram game at the Kimilsungia Flower Exhibition ||| Shot by: @drewkelly

A photo posted by Everyday DPRK (@everydaydprk) on Apr 24, 2015 at 7:54am PDT

In 2011, DailyNK reported that “a single-piece handset” cost about US$250. The source quoted in the story told the newspaper that a US$10 calling card would let users talk for 600 minutes.

In 2008, the country also launched Koryolink, a state-run mobile operator that allows citizens to use basic telecom services. As per a report by The Guardian, about 2.5 million people have signed up with the firm as of 2014.

Also Read: How K-Pop is influencing Korea’s startup scene

Additionally, Simon Cockerell, General Manager, Koryo Tours, explained the differences between a North Korean and foreign cell phone on an Instagram post:

“… North Koreans don’t have Instagram, they don’t have access to the Internet on their phones. North Korean smartphones can access the internal intranet, but not the World Wide Web. The members of this group (such as myself) post from North Korea using 3G sim cards which are available to foreigners there. On the Koryolink network. in this pic the [young] lad is using a local phone, made in China (like everything) but [it’s] a North Korean phone and only works internally there. The [SIM] cards used by foreigners there for internet are different.”

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As the world tries to stay below that two degree Celsius target, what are the specifics for technology’s role in the process?

The weekend’s UN climate agreement in Paris (called The Paris Agreement) has been hailed as a major step forward for a world grappling with the impact of global warming.

The most important outcome of the summit is an international arrangement to keep 2030 global temperatures below two degree Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) increase from pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

Furthermore, it made a pledge to attempt to keep global temperatures at around a 1.5 degree Celsius rise (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Two degrees Celsius is the number tabbed by scientists as the point at which the planet will find itself on a potentially irreversible track towards severe global environmental impacts.

Is there a way for startups to help? Of course!

A major hope for international leadership is somehow a silver bullet technology is discovered — a problem entrepreneurs very much can help solve.

Because major media outlets have wide audiences, their front-page headlines are broad. Considering our audience, let’s get into the weeds.

The following are highlights of specific tech-related paragraphs from The Paris Agreement and how it may help startups leverage governments and finance to solve one of the biggest problems facing the international community.

Paragraph 25 — A government plan

The paragraph says governments must submit proposals to the secretariat between nine months and a year ahead of Conference of Parties (the governing body of an international convention).

Basically it is the logistical backbone for Article Four.

Article Four expresses that parties lay out a global peak for greenhouse gas emissions. A good example is the agreement last year made between the United States and China in which the Asian giant targetted 2030 as the year its CO2 output would decline.

Paragraph 25 expressly states that countries must make similar targets ahead of each Conference of Parties.

For companies, it may be difficult in a country like India, China or Japan to influence the national proposals. But if a startup’s technology in a small country becomes a game-changer, the company could become a piece of evidence used to support an administration’s peak greenhouse gas proposal.

That would be a huge boon for both stability and financing.

Paragraph 39 through 41 — Advice for Science and Technology

The three paragraphs introduces the Advice for Science and Technology committee and lay out the agency’s guidelines.

In general, the body will set up rules that, through following the directions laid out in the document, support sustainable development while keeping the climate propositions intact.

In a paragraph above it (number 38), the UN Climate Council essentially empowers the Conference of Parties to adapt policies according to the environmental situation at the time of the summit.

Advice for Science and Technology is focussed entirely on its namesake and will be in charge of proposing adaptations in accordance to Paragraph 38.

In paragraph 40, the body is tasked to “undertake a work programme under the framework for non-market approaches to sustainable development” and to figure out how these non-market approaches can be used to protect the environment.

Paragraph 41 is very similar to paragraph 25 (submitting proposals for climate change) except directed specifically at tech.

If the Subsidiary Body for Science and Technology Advice proposes new rules and mechanisms applicable to startups, it would be wise to understand how they impact the your company.

Paragraph 58 — Financing for Tech

The most important paragraph because it covers money.

At this point, it is a logistical statement, but in the years to come, it will be the guideline for the process of delegating finance.

The paragraph stipulates the Subsidiary Body for Science and Technology Advice must build a plan to distribute funds for technological advancement.

It says the financial resources must be “provided and mobilised through public interventions” in accordance with a later Article stipulating the need for transparency.

How the UN Climate Changes will finance its agenda is the most important question for the deal’s success or failure, and Paragraph 58 puts the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice in charge of the money for the tech industry.

Paragraphs 66 through 71 — Technology Development and Transfer

The value of these five paragraphs is that they hold such a prominent place in the agreement.

World leaders are sending a message that they consider technology as the key to a sustainable future and have cordoned off a large chunk of the agreement to achieve those ends.

Notable highlights include emphasis on research and development and how tech gets implemented into the organic world.

It also brings into the picture two other agencies — Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network — which will have a role to play as climate change moves forward.

Expected governmental policies include regular check-ups, needs assessments and finding barriers to development.

Paragraph 95 – Section D — Transparency and reporting in tech

The Paris Agreement establishes a system for transparency that includes regular reporting with high standards.

What is interesting about this section is the phrase:

“enhancing the reporting by developing countries on support received, including the use, impact and estimated results thereof;”

If the phrase is successfully implemented, it could go a long way to understanding the tech development and financial situations in the opaque parts of the world.

Article 10 — Highlighting the importance of technology

Six paragraphs long, the Article is the motivations and justifications behind the logistical paragraphs. It speaks in broad strokes and emphasises cooperation.

Plus, it places authority on the guidelines, development and deployment of techniques agreed upon.

One quote nicely encapsulates the reasoning why tech-related content held such prominence in the agreement:

“Parties share a long-term vision on the importance of fully realising technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Overall takeaway

The agreement is focussed on future development and financing. It does not delve into how specific technologies, like solar or nuclear, can, or should, be implemented in the future.

As the agreement has a very long-term focus, this is both practical and smart, but its forward-looking approach puts a lot of pressure on the technology sector to produce a solution.

On a micro-level, it presents an immense opportunity. For companies or government agencies to have United Nations support to put time and money into solving climate change is a big deal.

In places like Silicon Valley, startups are already reaping benefits from society’s shift towards finding alternative energy and The Paris Agreement will only strengthen the reality.

However, it also places a burden on technology to find the magic potion to cure environmental woes — something, as of the present, it has not achieved.

The Paris Agreement will officially be open for signature starting April 22, 2015 in New York City. The UN will allow a year for other countries to sign the agreement.

To read the full agreement. Click here.

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Arising mainly out of the tech- and web-based industries, digital nomadism is a philosophy of adventure and self-autonomy, says Georgi Georgiev

Ask yourself a question: what if you didn’t have to go to work today, get dressed in that uncomfortable office attire, fight the traffic or go through a hectic day-to-day commute to sit at your desk while you complete that stressful project. If that wasn’t a key requirement of making a living and putting food on the table, would you still do it?

Many startup entrepreneurs escape that environment by starting a new business. But apart from losing the suit for a t-shirt and swapping the cubicle for the bedroom or parent’s garage, the rest is pretty much the same old.

So how about adding location independence to the mix? Enter digital nomads — a growing cross-section of the working population who have leveraged the Internet and technology to allow themselves to work or startup almost anywhere in the world.

It’s the proverbial university gap year, but it never ends. It’s the “I’m going travelling” mentality, but instead of working in bars or doing odd jobs to fund the next plane ticket, they take their careers with them in their carry-on.

While some digital nomads themselves cringe at the term, it is used to reference a relatively new type of worker/entrepreneur who does their job on the go.

Arising mainly out of the tech and web-based industries, it is a philosophy of adventure and self-autonomy.

Digital nomads choose the environments they wish to work in, make their own schedules, and spend as much time as possible taking in new cultures and experiences. They pick lower-cost locations to bootstrap their business and then move or go back to the big tech hubs when investments and more specialised talent are needed. They leverage location independence to their advantage and the benefits are astonishing.

Also Read: What I learned when I gave up the ‘9 to 5′

Case study: Remotely working in London vs Bali

A new infographic from BargainFox & SavvyBeaver explores this lifestyle more closely, looking at some of the hubs where nomads operate, why Bali is particularly appealing for remote work right now, and some of the major companies that are promoting and embracing the concept.

In this comparison, a remote-based startup entrepreneur or worker will save around US$6000 just on basic expenses for three months if he/she chooses to temporarily relocate to Bali from London. On top of that, we are looking at five-ten minute travel commutes, US$6 massages, easy access to yoga, surfing and many other well-being improvements.

Freelancing and location independence as the new norm

The infographic reveals that in 1990 almost nobody was a freelancer or telecommuter. After all nobody had mobile phones, personal computers or the Internet, so it made little practical sense.

As computers became faster, laptops became more viable and the likes of AOL brought the Internet to peoples’ homes, the first true remote workers began to emerge.

By the early 2000’s, 15 per cent of the working US population were considered freelancers. Today it is closer to 30 per cent.

It’s no secret that during this time Internet connections have gotten cheaper and faster and mobile technology has become more versatile and powerful.

Prominent digital nomad Pieter Levels has recently compiled data that suggests there will be upwards of one billion digital nomads by 2035, nearly 14 per cent of the global population!

Also Read: I wouldn’t change my digital nomad life for anything: Jacob Laukaitis

The remote working revolution

Of course, for the nomadic lifestyle to work, companies and employers also have to embrace it.

In the future, people won’t be quitting their jobs to become a digital nomad; it will be their job from the start. Around 60 per cent of the Mozilla team (those behind the Firefox web browser) are remote. Popular social news website BuzzFeed is 50 per cent remote.

Also Read: Buffer ditches its offices to go 100% remote, startups should too

Some companies have even taken the plunge to become 100 per cent remote or ‘fully distributed’. For example, all 400-plus employees at Automattic (the group behind WordPress) choose their own work environment. Toptal, a website that connects freelancers with businesses and startups, leads by example by also having a fully distributed workforce.

It’s easy to see why people would strive for this kind of autonomy.

Although some really do like their jobs, let’s be honest, working is a necessary evil for most of us. If we can spend more time with our families and friends, have the freedom to travel anywhere in the world, and break free from the shackles of the nine to five system, we’d be stupid not to.

A survey of 2,000 people conducted earlier this year by FlexJobs suggests that remote work improves relationships, health and overall happiness. Every boss knows that a happy worker is a productive one.

There are other clear advantages for partial- and fully-distributed companies. If you don’t need everyone to work in an office, you don’t need to own or rent an office. You also don’t necessarily need to buy and maintain computer equipment or pay for electricity and utilities. These savings can be reinvested in the business, passed on through wages and on to the consumer.

Companies who don’t restrict themselves to geographic locations also have access to a much wider pool of talent. That person living across the country or in another country altogether no longer has to uproot their life and relocate just so they can sit at a desk at HQ.

What does a nomadic future look like?

The digital nomad lifestyle is really starting to find its stride, with many companies providing tools and services that make the process easier for both the nomad and the employer.

Timedoctor and Slack can help with time management and productivity. Managing multi-currency accounts via Revolut and money transfers with Transferwise make global banking a breeze. Remote teams can chat through Sqwiggle and Horn, while individuals can arrange co-living and travel destinations through Caravanserai and Nomadlist. In fact, Bruno Haid from Caravanserai has a fair point that this fictional global co-living lifestyle should be accessible to everyone.

And the small but growing community is already finding its influencers.

 You can now work from virtually anywhere

Co-working spaces (a sort of outgrowth of the Internet cafe) are also starting to pop up all over the world, as nomads look for like-minded people as they pass through on their travels. Dave from the third floor may have a portable golf mat next to his desk, but has he ever been to the Hubud bamboo office in Bali?

Also Read: In photos: Co-working space ‘Hubud’ is Bali’s Mecca for digital nomads

As we refine the ways in which nomads work and communicate, the wider world is also about to get much more efficient as well. The Internet is only going to get faster. Our ability to travel great distances is also going to become more efficient, with driverless cars on the horizon.

Then there’s Elon Musk’s Hyperloop which will take us from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 45 minutes. Musk even has his sights set on commercial space travel within the next decade. Will the first common man on the moon be a digital nomad?

Technology was always supposed to be about making our lives easier and more fulfilling. The rise of the digital nomads represents a milestone where this couldn’t be more true. Exciting times are ahead for all of us, if we dare to take the leap.

The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, please send us an email at writers[at]e27[dot]co 

Image Credit: VectorLifestylepic/Shutterstock

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The culturally rich island of yummy street food, bubble tea and mega Chinese pop stars is also brimming with innovative tech ideas

The island of Taiwan is renowned for many things: bubble tea stores in every corner, cheap mouth-watering street food, warm and friendly folks, and a rich hive of cultural arts and music.

Its tech scene, however, is far less prominent, with smartphone brand HTC  — which has been embattled with problems recently — its most recognisable feature. The startup scene is trying to finding its legs, and angel investors are still wary of it.

This does not necessarily spell doom and gloom for the aspiring tech innovators of Taiwan. Some have taken to online platforms such as Indiegogo to crowdfund their projects.

Here are four who could use your spare change:

1. Meitangua — a smart voice-controlled bidet toilet

Tech-enabled lavatories aka bidet toilets are not exactly new. They have, in fact, been commonplace in Japanese households and toilets. You can push a button to warm your seat, or another button for a low pressure jet of water to clean your behind.

Meitangua wants to take this technology to the next level by integrating your smartphone with your bidet toilet. Sync your smartphone with the toilet through its app and you can control functions such as the flush or water rinsing mode using personalised voice commands. Currently its voice recognition system is available for only the English and Chinese languages.

It won’t help you put the toilet seat down though

You can also use the app to set the seat warming time and water temperature. It has even a specific female cleaning mode, although the details on it are vague (a lady would probably know better).

Besides its techie aspects, Meitangua is able to customise the toilet seats for each customer to make sure they are the right ergonomic fit for them.

For many people who take their smartphones into the toilet to catch up on social media or to read, this product would be a great addition to your household; just don’t drop your phone into the product.

This campaign raised US$30,739 about six days ago, exceeding its funding goal by two per cent.

Also Read: Why Chinese crowdfunding sites aren’t really for entrepreneurs

2. Beker — a personal boombox for sports

Many of us tune into music while we exercise. There are a plethora of earphones designed specifically for sports, some are even suited for diving, so what’s the big deal about Beker?

Well, for a start, Beker is not an earpiece. It is in fact, a band that fits around your head. Using its bone conduction system, sounds are transmitted via the skull and not through ear buds. It can also withstand up to three metres of water.

While the jury is still out on the sound quality, this headband mini-boombox is tackling a few annoyances earphone users face.

Firstly, earbuds can get real dirty easily, especially when you are exercising. Now you don’t want to be sticking in the same pair of earphones deep into your ears after it has accumulated enough sweat to fill a bathtub, would you? Secondly, if you are jogging or cycling, you might not want to completely block out the surrounding noise because of the potential dangers around you. You could be cruising down on your mountain bike, banging your head to Pearl Jam, and be blissfully unaware of the out-of-control 18 wheeler hurling towards you because your earbuds are preventing you from hearing it.

Will this see a resurgence in 80s-style headbands?

You don’t have to worry about Beker making your head heavy either. It is fairly lightweight at 34 grams. In addition, it can store up to 1,000 mp3s and has a battery life of eight hours.

The campaign has raised US$15,485 so far, hitting 44 per cent of goal with 18 days left on the calendar.

3. iTOMO-Cup — a smart cup

The iTOMO-cup is a barebones smart cup that has two simple objectives — to remind you to stay hydrated and to help you keep track of the temperature of your beverage.

It sends out hourly reminders with a beep sound and has an electronic sensor with temperature readings on the side (although it could have definitely added a more specific range of numbers).

Also Read: Asia’s developing economies lead world in crowdfunding: Allied Crowds

The iTOMO-cup is powered by three AAA batteries and it can last for up to three months. This, however, does raise the question on whether it’s safe to drink from the cup in first place and whether degradation will cause it to be toxic.

iTOMO claims that unlike many other smart cups which use plastic, its high quality porcelain material ensures its cups are toxin-free and eco-friendly.

At US$29, this device would be a great Christmas gift. After all, one can never have too many cups in the kitchen.

The campaign has not been funded yet, but with any luck, it should be able to hit its relatively low US$2,000 goal with ease with 19 days left on the calendar.

Go fund it now! Time for some last minute Christmas shopping!

4. GlucoGenius — a Non-invasive diabetic health assistant

According to GlucoGenius, there are two things diabetics could do a lot less without — getting their blood drawn and buying consumables to test their blood sugar level.

But how do you test blood without actually analysing uh…blood?

First, a user has to input personal data such as age, gender and weight. GlucoGenius then uses a series of algorithm and leverages on Big data, pulling in analyses from various sources — “environmental temperature and humidity/body surface temperature and humidity/oxygen saturation/hemoglobin/blood flow velocity/pulse”. The information is then displayed on a smartphone app.

It takes only a minute for this device to measure your blood level and no blood pinching involved.

Buyers beware though, GlucoGenius touts itself as a “health and wellness product, used for self-management”. God forbid you ditch your doctor’s regular checkup over this US$650 device.

The campaign has raised only US$650, far below its goal of US$650,000, with 24 days left on the calendar.

Also Read: 5 high-profile crowdfunding failures of 2015

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Indeed, Singaporeans were curious enough to make it one of the top Google searches in 2015

Image credit: Denys Prykhodov/Shutterstock.com

If you have to know, a penny black stamp is the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system (thanks Google…and Wikipedia).

The penny black stamp made it to Google’s Year in Search — a look at the top trending Google searches by Singaporeans — alongside the likes of the late Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore who passed away earlier this year.

The Southeast Asian Games returned to Singapore this year after being last held on home ground 22 years ago. Coinciding with the Republic’s Golden Jubilee, it garnered sufficient interest for Singaporeans to make it the third top trending search of 2015.

The recent haze in Singapore made ‘PSI Singapore’ the top search – probably because people wanted to find out whether it was a good idea for them to head outdoors and if they needed to bring their N95 masks along.

Here’s what Singapore Googled:

Top trending searches

1. PSI Singapore
2. Lee Kuan Yew
3. SEA Games
4. WhatsApp Web
5. iPhone 6s
6. Amos Yee
7. MERS
8. QZ8501
9. Lee Wei Ling
10. Lee Hsien Loong

Trending international news

1. MERS
2. QZ8501
3. Sabah earthquake
4. Paris
5. ISIS
6. Greece
7. Charlie Hebdo
8. Nepal earthquake
9. Bersih 4.0
10. Bangkok bomb

Trending Singapore News

1. PSI Singapore
2. SEA Games
3. Sabah earthquake
4. GE2015
5. SG50
6. Prime Minister’s Office
7. Medishield Life
8. Workers’ Party
9. SEA Games medal tally
10. Budget 2015

Trending People

1. Lee Kuan Yew
2. Amos Yee
3. Lee Wei Ling
4. Lee Hsien Loong
5. Chee Soon Juan
6. Najib Razak
7. Lee Hsien Yang
8. Manny Pacquiao
9. Joseph Schooling
10. Subhas Anandan

Trending Recipes

1. Chicken Breast
2. Durian Cake
3. Pineapple tart
4. Kueh Bangkit
5. Mashed potato
6. Lo Hei
7. Overnight oats
8. Nian Gao
9. Tomato rice
10. Baked potato

Trending “What is…”

1. MERS
2. The PSI now
3. Bersih 4.0
4. A penny black stamp
5. Hepatitis C
6. Prostate cancer
7. ISIS
8. Happening in Syria
9. Netflix
10. Hari Raya Haji

Trending Movies of 2015

1. Jurassic World
2. Furious 7
3. Fifty Shades of Grey
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron
5. Spectre
6. Inside Out
7. Pitch Perfect 2
8. The Martian
9. Ant Man
10. American Sniper

Trending Songs of 2015

1. Blank Space (Taylor Swift)
2. Flashlight (Jessie J)
3. See You Again (Wiz Khalifa)
4. Hello (Adele)
5. Thinking Out Loud (Ed Sheeran)
6. Bad Blood (Taylor Swift)
7. Love Me Like You Do (Ellie Goulding)
8. Locked Away (R.City ft. Adam Levine)
9. Sugar (Maroon 5)
10. Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars)

Trending Gadgets

1. iPhone 6s
2. Samsung Note 5
3. iPhone 7
4. Samsung S6
5. Apple Watch
6. iPad Pro
7. Microsoft Surface Pro
8. LG G4
9. Asus Zenfone 2
10. HTC One M9

Trending Video Games

1. Fallout 4
2. FIFA 16
3. Dota 2
4. Witcher
5. Mortal Kombat
6. Metal Gear Solid V
7. Skyforge
8. Dying Light
9. Bloodborne
10. Star Wars Battlefront

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The SGX-commissioned research paper aimed at educating investors on the digital sector estimates 210 million wearables to be shipped by 2020

By 2020, the number of wearables shipped around the world will reach 210 million units, an increase of over five times from the approximately 38 million units in 2014, estimates Frost & Sullivan in its research paper published yesterday.

While activity trackers, which are wearable bands and other devices that can track athletic activities, constitute the largest proportion of the market with 61 per cent of wearable shipments in 2014, smart watches are set to take over.

These watches, which can connect to smartphones and run third-party applications to take calls, check messages, and find restaurants, are expected to constitute 54 per cent of the market come 2020.

Crowdfunding

In crowdfunding, Asia contributed to 21 per cent of the global US$16.2 billion raised in 2014. Key drivers for growth in the crowdfunding space are unmet needs within the traditional funding sector, growth in collaboration with the Internet, growth of social media, centralised reach to and interactivity with funders or investors, and growth of crowdfunding success stories such as Singapore’s Djenee’s S$500,000 (US$354,000) on the FundedByMe platform.

Also Read: SGX and Clearbridge Accelerator to set up fundraising platform

Investor education

The research paper, titled ‘Investing in financial technology and consumer digital technology companies’, was commissioned by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as part of its investor education efforts.

“We’re seeing an increasingly vibrant digital sector in Singapore and investors getting more interested in these companies. The aim of the research paper is to better enable investors to understand the complexities and constantly changing nature of this sector and be better informed,” said Mohamed Nasser Ismail, Head of SME Development & Listings, SGX.

The paper aims to provide retail investors with valuable information on 10 key technology areas, including the major trends, business models, risks, and valuation drivers.

The overall goal of the paper is to equip prospective investors with basic knowledge on the potential of emerging technologies to enable them to make well-informed investment decisions about technology companies. The technology areas covered include both consumer technology and financial technology.

View the research paper here.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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JD.com bags Japanese e-commerce marketplace Rakuten after losing Uniqlo earlier this year

Japan-based electronic e-commerce marketplace Rakuten  announced today that it is establishing an online store on JD.com. Products sold on the platform include cosmetics, snacks and health food products.

“We opened a Japanese Mall for authentic imported goods earlier in the year, and it is one of the most popular country malls we have launched so far,” Josh Gartner, a spokesperson for JD.com, told e27. 

Though Japanese goods may be a favorite among Chinese consumers, it’s not always easy keeping merchants on board for the entire ride.

In July of this year, Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo closed its online store on JD.com. Uniqlo’s platform was open on JD.com for only three months and had seemingly performed well, prior to making the announcement. No reason was given for the closing.

However, Uniqlo’s store on Alibaba’s Tmall remains running. It’s been speculated that Alibaba provided Uniqlo with added incentives, should the fashion retailer stay monogamous.

JD.com, formerly known as 360buy Jingdong, went public on Nasdaq in May 2014 and is currently China’s second-largest online retailer, after Alibaba.

Alibaba and JD.com both compete to attract high-profile brands to their platform, and the long-term rivalry hasn’t always been friendly. In November, just prior to Singles’ Day, China’s biggest shopping day, JD.com filed an unfair competition lawsuit against Alibaba’s Tmall.com.

JD.com’s lawsuit is based on information from its merchants indicating that Alibaba was coercing merchants to choose to exclusively deal with one e-commerce site during promotional activities.

In any case, the Rakuten addition may reflect favorably on JD.com. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is one of the world’s leading Internet services companies.

Also Read: Alibaba breaks sales records on Singles Day, should you care?

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