Pandaily's Digest #20210813
TikTok Shop under testing in the UK, Honor releases Magic3, Wall Street English to announce bankruptcy, Alibaba sets up team against employee misconduct, Baidu's Q2 financial results, and more.
TikTok Shop Currently Under Testing in the UK, Aiming to Increase In-App Transactions
TikTok Shop, an e-commerce marketplace which is currently being tested in the UK, will allow creators and online merchants to sell their products and services directly to users through the TikTok app, Bloomberg reported Thursday. TikTok has confirmed the message in an official statement.
Report Identifies 2021 Tech Leaders in Chinese Auto Market: Mercedes, XPeng and WEY
A recent report analyzing the performance of auto firms in implementing new technologies into their vehicles has concluded that Mercedes-Benz, XPeng and Great Wall Motors’ WEY brand lead the Chinese market in their respective categories.
Honor Releases Magic3 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ Chip
On Thursday, Shenzhen-based smartphone maker Honor released three new models in its Magic3 series: the Honor Magic3, the Honor Magic3Pro and the Honor Magic3 Zhizhen Version.
Wall Street English to Announce Bankruptcy Next Week Following Repeated Closure of Offline Stores
The head of the North China division of Wall Street English, an Italian international adult English training company, has informed its staff about the upcoming bankruptcy of its China business, which will be finalized next week, CBN reported on Thursday.
Battery Manufacturing Heavyweight CATL to Bag 58.2 Billion Yuan in Private Placement
Leading Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) announced on the evening of August 12 that it plans to issue shares to no more than 35 specific investors in a non-public manner, raising a maximum of 58.2 billion yuan ($8.98 billion) to invest in lithium batteries and supplement working capital.
Alibaba Sets Up Team Against Employee Misconduct, Unconditionally Supports Refusal of Forced Drinking
The Alibaba Group on Thursday announced that a new internal team called “ALI-WE” has been created to examine and eradicate inappropriate workplace behavior reported by employees, including forced drinking culture and tasteless comments causing discomfort in the workplace.
Baidu Reports Total Revenue Grew 20% YoY in Q2
Chinese internet giant Baidu on Thursday reported better-than-expected Q2 results with its total revenue reaching 31.4 billion yuan ($4.86 billion), increasing 20% year over year as of the end of June 30.
Chinese Education Giant New Oriental Denies Move to Training Parents
On Thursday, a rumor that New Oriental has begun a shift to providing training to parents went viral on the Chinese internet. The company’s staff responded to the China Securities Journal reporter, saying that this rumor is a misunderstanding.
Yu Yongfu Takes Over as CEO of Alibaba’s Local Life Business Group After Resignation of Li Yonghe
36Kr reported that Yu Yongfu has taken over the position of CEO for Alibaba’s local life business group as Li Yonghe resigned. The cause for the resignation has become a major issue for the company since Li Yonghe’s subordinates are suspected of workplace harassment that has sparked a furor in the media.
Misinformation Surrounding Tokyo Olympics Goes Viral on Chinese Social Media Amid Rise of “Attention Economy”
During the Tokyo 2020 Games, China’s profit-first self-media industry generated traffic through the sophisticated manipulation of people’s emotion.
Meituan Conducts Internal Test of New Takeout Order Sharing Platform
In July, Meituan had started an internal test for its new feature called “Fanxiaoquan”, a social media platform which allows users to recommend food to their Wechat friends or to a phone number by sharing food delivery orders.
China VC Weekly: Telematics, Spaceplanes and Biotech
In last week’s VC news: Chinese telematics powerhouse Pateo bagged a hefty 830 million yuan round of financing to help its R&D efforts; space flight product maker Space Transportation raised millions of dollars to build its hypersonic spaceplanes; and Shanghai-based Pulse Medical Imaging Technology closed a more than $100 million series C financing round to accelerate the company’s R&D.
Chinese E-Commerce Businesses Turn to Other Platforms in Wake of Amazon Ban
Many Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies are planning to reduce their reliance on Amazon in anticipation of increasingly stringent regulations, according to the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, ifeng.com reported on Thursday.
Didi Denies Core Management Changes During Cybersecurity Probe
Didi Global, a leading Chinese ride-hailing platform, affirmed in a Weibo post that the company is actively and fully cooperating with regulators’ ongoing cybersecurity probe, and that rumors concerning changes to the company’s management are not true.
Great Wall Motors’ Focus on Foreign Expansion Shifts from India to Brazil
Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motors (GWM) is reportedly planning to shift portions of its $1 billion investment in India to Brazil, according to three sources cited by Reuters in a recent report.
Pony.ai Said to Suspend US Public Listing Through SPAC
Reports surfaced Thursday that self-driving startup Pony.ai is to suspend plans to go public in the US at a valuation of $12 billion, acting through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company affirmed that it still intends to list publicly in the US sometime in the future. Pony.ai responded to Sina Technology that it has not yet confirmed the listing plan or schedule, and has no comment on the recent developments.
Wuhan Government Seeking to Attract Xiaomi Auto Manufacturing Project
The Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Commerce responded recently to citizens that the city had communicated with leading Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi, and is now in active negotiations with the company to promote the project’s settlement in Wuhan, according to reporting by Jiemian News. Xiaomi has not yet issued an official response on the matter.
Nio Reports $1.3 Billion in Total Revenue for Q2 2021
According to a financial report released Wednesday by Nio, its revenue for Q2 this year reached 8.45 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 127.2%. The firm’s net losses amounted to 659 million yuan, lower than market expectations.
Chinese Telematics Startup Pateo Raises 830 Million Yuan
Chinese Telematics startup Shanghai Pateo Electronic Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., announced on Wednesday that it had raised more than 830 million yuan ($128 million) in a funding round, led by state-owned automaker China FAW Group.
Bilibili’s Daily Active Users Exceeds 65 Million, Surpassing Youku to Become the Third Largest Long Video Platform in China
LatePost reported on Wednesday that the number of daily active users of video platform Bilibili has exceeded 65 million, surpassing Youku to become the third largest long-form video platform after iQiyi and Tencent Video.
SoftBank Halts New Investments in China
Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group plans to pause new investments in China until the impact of regulatory actions against the country’s tech firms becomes more clear, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.