Axington's planned RTO of Chinese tech company was dead on arrival

Anita Gabriel

Published Tue, Aug 10, 2021 · 05:50 AM

BY most accounts, now may not be the best time to dabble in China's tech sector. Beijing's regulatory crackdown on Internet companies has left the nation's homegrown giants reeling. The outlook is not much better for those companies turning to China tech plays for a new lease of life.

The proposal of scandal-hit Axington to pay S$405 million for a stake in Hong Kong's Veivo Web Technology was, therefore, dead on arrival.

On Saturday, Axington disclosed that the deal, which would have resulted in a reverse takeover (RTO), was a no go. Talks with the vendor were not fruitful and the non-binding memorandum of understanding inked last month has lapsed.

Regulatory scrutiny of the tech sector aside, there were aspects of the deal that would have…