Pandaily's Digest #20220121
TikTok's global head of marketing was abruptly ousted from the company. A number of marketing initiatives Nick Tran led have been paused following his departure, Pandaily learned from sources.
TikTok’s Global Marketing Head Fired After ByteDance Founder Loses Patience With “Repeated Cheap Stunt Marketing”
The New York Post reported on Wednesday that Nick Tran, TikTok’s Global Head of Marketing, had been abruptly ousted after blindsiding top management with a series of “increasingly bizarre campaigns.” A spokesperson for TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based internet giant ByteDance, confirmed Tran’s leave on Wednesday without providing further details.
Pandaily has learned from confidential sources at ByteDance that Nick Tran’s ouster might have been prompted by a campaign dubbed “TikTok Kitchen” that he launched in late December, 2021, which has clearly got on the nerves of top executives including firm founder Zhang Yiming himself.
Sequoia Capital China Sets Up New Infrastructure Fund
Sequoia Capital China has recently completed fundraising for its new infrastructure equity investment fund, which featured the participation and support of many investment institutions, including Brookfield.
The new infrastructure fund will focus on helping construction in the three major areas – digital economy, new energy and life sciences, promoting their deep integration with the substantial economy.
Ant Group Reduces Stake in ZhongAn Insurance to 10.37%
Data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) showed on Tuesday that Ant Group has reduced its stake in ZhongAn Insurance by 46,537,063 shares, dropping its shareholding ratio from 13.54% to 10.37%. Tencent and Ping An Insurance, the other two major shareholders of ZhongAn, have unchanged ratios of 10.2054%.
Ant Group responded on Wednesday that the reduction is a normal investment decision, and that the strategic partnership between the two parties will remain unchanged.
ByteDance to Disband Investment Team
Chinese Internet company ByteDance reportedly plans to disband its investment business as a whole, involving about 100 employees. The financial investment portion of the company will be completely dissolved. A ByteDance spokesperson responded that the company had carried out an inventory and analysis of the business at the beginning of the year.
Pony.ai Debuts 6th Generation Autonomous Driving System
On Thursday, Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai revealed its sixth generation autonomous driving system. The system features leading-edge sensors, the NVIDIA DRIVE computing platform, and stylish design for L4 automotive-grade mass production fleets.
Geely-Backed EV Firm Maple Launches First Battery-Swapping Model
A joint venture called Maple, established by automakers Geely and Lifan, released its first smart battery-swappable electric car and named it “Maple 60S.” The new model is expected to officially enter the market in February, 2022.
NIO Launches First Battery Swap Station in Europe
InsideEvs reported on Wednesday that Chinese EV maker NIO has officially launched the first battery swap station in Norway, where the Chinese manufacturer intends to have a total of 20 such facilities by the end of 2022.
The station is near to the E-18 at Kjellstad in Lier, a few kilometers north of Drammen. It’s a second-generation Power Swap Station 2.0, introduced in April 2021, which has 14 battery slots – 13 battery packs and an empty slot to pick up a discharged battery.
Luckin Coffee Denies Nasdaq Relisting Plan
Reports have emerged that Chinese beverage chain Luckin Coffee is exploring plans to relist its shares in the U.S. following a high profile removal in June 2020, according to the Financial Times on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Luckin has since denied the report.
BYD Semiconductor IPO Application to Be Accepted by Shenzhen Stock Exchange
According to the listing committee of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on Thursday, BYD Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Chinese EV maker BYD, will get its IPO application accepted on January 27th.
According to the prospectus, BYD Semiconductor plans to raise 2.686 billion yuan ($424 million) in this IPO to invest in the industrialization of new power semiconductor chips, R&D of intelligent control devices, while supplementing its working capital.
ByteDance Annual Revenue in 2021 Is About $58 Billion USD, Y-o-Y Increase of 70%
Reuters reported on Thursday that the total revenue of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, increased by 70% year-on-year in 2021 to about $58 billion, a slower growth rate than a year ago. The lower growth numbers may be due to the tightening of supervision on large technology companies by authorities, according to two people familiar with the matter. According to the latest exchange rate, it is equivalent to ByteDance daily income of 1.007 billion yuan ($158.82 million).