Who has the most unicorns – China or the US?
A report by Deloitte and China Venture says that China accounts for 38.9 per cent of the total number of unicorns globally, and the US accounts for 42.1 per cent
More than one third of the world’s unicorns were born out of China, according to a report, as the world’s second-largest economy aggressively embrace technology to spur growth.
The report by Deloitte and China Venture recorded that China has 98 unicorns – companies that venture capitalists and private investors valued at US$1 billion or more but have held back from listing – in 2017, accounting for 38.9 per cent of the world’s 252 unicorns that are collectively valued at US$879.5 billion.
The US topped the list with 106 unicorns, or 42.1 per cent of the total number, while third-placed India has 10.
The unicorn big names have not only come from the US – sharing service providers Uber and Airbnb, but also from China such as Did Chuxing, a Uber rival that bought Uber’s China business in 2016, and Alibaba’s finance arm Ant Financial, phone maker Xiaomi and drone producer DJI.
In China, the finance sector has produced the biggest number of unicorns – 16, led by Ant Financial and JD Finance, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant JD.com.
“China’s internet giants are aggressively developing online payment service and e-commerce business, and at the same time, the traditional finance institutions are also actively embracing technologies and seeking cooperations with tech companies,” said the report, mainly written by Zhong Yuntai, senior manager at Deloitte China.
