Pandaily's Digest #20211119
ByteDance’s Commercial Products Department held a general meeting on Thursday during which it was suggested that advertising revenue had seen no growth in China over the past six months.
ByteDance Suffers Lackluster Growth of Advertising Business in China
On Thursday, The Paper reported that ByteDance’s Commercial Products Department held a general meeting on Thursday during which it was suggested that advertising revenue had seen no growth in China over the past six months. ByteDance refused to give a comment on the matter.
A source said, “It’s certain that ByteDance earned less in ads than previous years.” The firm’s popular short video platform Douyin hasn’t seen greater earnings, and its news aggregator Toutiao is even on the verge of making a loss. ByteDance is now undertaking an organizational and strategic review. It recognizes that some problems are caused by bloated organization, and it now highlights business innovation and better management, downplays short-term goals, and strives for long-term breakthroughs instead.
Xiaomi’s Second Auto Company Officially Registered With Capital of 1 Billion Yuan
According to Chinese business data inquiry platform Tianyancha, Xiaomi Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was established on Thursday with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($156.65 million), which is the second auto company registered by Xiaomi. Xiaomi cofounder and chairman Lei Jun is serving as the new auto firm’s legal representative, with business covering new energy vehicle manufacturing, lithium ion battery manufacturing and other related areas. According to shareholders’ information, the company is wholly owned by Xiaomi.
Weibo Passes HKEx Listing Hearing, Revenue Increased by 30% YoY in Q3
On Thursday, a document released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) showed that leading Chinese microblogging platform Weibo had passed its listing hearing, with Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, CLSA and CICC acting as co-sponsors.
CATL Defeated by Rival in Millennium Lithium Acquisition
On Wednesday, Lithium Americas Corp announced its acquisition of Vancouver-headquarted Millennium Lithium for $400 million. This price is about 34% higher than the $299 million offer from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) and nearly 43% higher than that of Ganfeng Lithium (GFL). In addition, American Lithium Industry will bear the liquidated damages of US$20 million payable to CATL.
Tesla Decides Not to Apply Starlink Internet Services in Chinese Mainland
The Chinese media out Cnstock learned from Tesla China on Thursday that the U.S. electric vehicle firm has no plans to apply Starlink services in Chinese mainland at present. All vehicles and charging stations across the domestic market will apply network services provided by Chinese telecom operators, and all relevant data will be kept in China.
WeRide Reaches Strategic Cooperation on Robotaxi Commercialization With Car Maker GAC Group and Mobility Platform ONTIME
WeRide, the Level 4 autonomous driving technology company, announces the strategic cooperation with China’s major automobile manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Group) and its subsidiary mobility service platform ONTIME to advance Robotaxi commercialization.
Hillhouse Group and Chinese Local Government Set Up $783.5 Million VC Fund
Chinese domestic media outlet The Paper reported on Wednesday that Chinese venture capital (VC) firm Hillhouse Capital Group and the district government of Xishan in Wuxi, Jiangsu province will set up a 5 billion yuan ($783.5 million) VC fund to invest in fields such as biotechnology, carbon neutrality and manufacturing.
BYD Responds to Sudden Death of Employee: Firm is Actively Communicating with Family Members
On Wednesday, a line reading “BYD employee died suddenly in rental house” appeared as a trending topic on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo. The Shenzhen-based automotive firm responded that the employee’s cause of death needs further investigation. At present, BYD is actively communicating with the families of the employee.
Tencent Apologizes to Content Creators, Terminating Controversial “Dawn Project”
Recently, a large number of content creators on Chinese video sharing website Bilibili have released new posts, claiming that the “Dawn Project” of the Tencent Open Media content platform has infringed their rights. In response to the great controversy among creators, Tencent Open Media issued an announcement on Thursday saying, “We accept all criticisms and apologize to creators.”
Hisense Plans to Acquire Siemens Intelligent Traffic Systems
Chinese home appliance maker Hisense planned to invest nearly $1 billion to acquire Siemens’ Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS), 21st Century Business Herald reported on Wednesday. Hisense has not responded on this matter.
In November, Siemens announced it was splitting its ITS division into a separate company. Subsequently, many media outlets reported that Siemens was planning to divest its the transportation business in 2021, which was expected to involve more than 40 countries and regions.