Pandaily's Digest #20210625
Didi reveals a $4 billion financing plan, bubble tea brand MXBC's secret of success, Pony.ai refuted market rumors, HeyTea's valuation tops $9.27 billion, Meituan's new service, and more.
Chinese Ride-Hailing Giant Didi Updates Prospectus to Reveal 4 Billion Dollar Financing Plan
Didi updated its prospectus to SEC in the small hours of June 25th, Beijing time, according to reporting by Tencent News. The new document shows that the ride-hailing firm expects to issue 288 million American depository shares, and plans to raise a total of about 4 billion US dollars, with a maximum of about 4.6 billion dollars.
Bubble Tea Brand MXBC Goes Viral 24 Years After Creation – What’s In the Recipe?
love you, you love me, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea…” With some catchy lyrics thrown into the tune of American folk song “Oh! Susanna”, the 4-bar theme song for bubble tea brand Mixue Bingcheng (also known as MXBC) has dominated Chinese video platforms of all sorts over the past month. Waves of livestreamers and vloggers have picked up their cameras and made their way to everyone’s new favorite filming spot – MXBC stores located all over the streets of Chinese cities – to take part in the frenzy.
Sources Say Chinese Autonomous Driving Firm Pony.ai to Build Cars Based on SEA Haohan Architecture, Denied by Company Response
According to Sina Science and Technology, Chinese self-driving unicorn Pony.ai on June 24 responded to recent market rumors that the company will initiate its own car production. The firm officially announced: “Recent Pony.ai car-building rumors are all false information. We are on a steady track of executing the productization and commercialization of intelligent driving.”
China Esports Weekly: Tencent Esports Anti-Match-Fixing Convention Announced, Six Cities Selected for HoK World Champion Cup
Over the past week, China’s esports industry saw several key developments, primarily related to Tencent esports titles, including Honor of Kings, Peacekeeper Elite, League of Legends and CrossFire.
HeyTea to Complete New Round of Funding for $9.27 Billion
According to PEDaily, several independent sources said that Chinese milk tea chain HeyTea is about to complete a new round of funding. At present, the amount of funding for this round has not been disclosed, though the company is currently valued at around $9.27 billion. HeyTea did not comment on the matter.
Meituan to Launch Food Delivery Butler Service for Restaurants, Speeding Growth of Take-away Services
According to DoNews on June 23rd, Meituan announced that it will launch a “Food Delivery Butler Service” to provide free take-away operation support to small and medium-sized restaurants across the country.
Tesla China’s First Super Charging Station Integrating Energy Storage and Charging Landed in Lhasa
Tesla China on Wednesday held a press conference to announce the official completion of the first supercharging station, which integrates energy storage and charging, in Lhasa, the “City of Sunlight”. The charging station can convert solar energy uninterruptedly into electric energy to meet the energy demand of Tesla’s cars when traveling in Tibet.
Ofo Affiliate Fined RMB13.41 Million by Court
On June 23, Tianyancha App showed that Dongxia Datong Company was listed as a judgment debtor by the Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing, obliging it to pay about 13.416 million yuan in fines. The reason behind it is the dispute between Dongxia Datong Company and Jiawei New Energy Co., Ltd.
Canalys: China’s Expenditure on Cloud Services Reached $6 billion in the First Quarter of 2021
According to data made available by Canalys on June 23, the expenditure on cloud infrastructure services in the Chinese market grew by 55% in the first quarter of 2021, reaching $6 billion. As the Chinese government has made cloud computing its top strategic priority, it has promoted the development of cloud infrastructure services, with the Chinese market growing faster than the rest of the world.
Community-Focused Retailer Missfresh Speeds up Efforts to Digitalize China’s Wet Markets
On a morning in June, when the taxi I took cruised through the scenic streets in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao and arrived at a busy crossroads in the heart of the city’s most historic district, a giant building came into view with its striking pinkness breaking through the milky fog created by moist winds from the East China Sea. The flagship Fresh Market in Qingdao, a 5,500-square-meter modern wet market set up by Chinese grocery delivery unicorn Missfresh and painted in the brand’s signature hot pink color, stood on the Anshan No.2 Road and attracted nearby residents with an endless array of goods and a seamless shopping experience.
TikTok Rival Kuaishou Technology Wins Broadcasting Rights for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
On June 23rd, Kuaishou, a Chinese short video company and rival of TikTok, held a strategic cooperation conference in Beijing with Voice of China, a state-owned company. Kuaishou obtained the rights to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on its short video platform.
Sources Say Chinese Convenience Store Chain Bianlifeng to file US IPO, Denied By Company Spokesperson
Sources said today that China’s Internet convenience store brand Bianlifeng is planning to file for an IPO. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and CITIC Securities will act as lead underwriters to arrange the listing.