Pandaily’s Digest #20220928
On September 26, it was reported that Shopee, an e-commerce giant with operations in Southeast Asia, demanded that laid-off employees pay compensation for damaged work computers.
Shopee Confirms It Required Laid-Off Workers to Compensate for Computer Damage
On September 26, it was reported that Shopee, an e-commerce giant with operations in Southeast Asia, demanded that laid-off employees pay compensation for damaged work computers. In some cases, this involves covering costs of around 2,500 yuan ($349) for an Apple computer. Shopee confirmed this policy to Chinese media outlets, claiming that it has affected less than ten former colleagues and that it is part of normal resignation procedures.
CATL Advances $4.4B New Energy Industrial Park Project
Leading Chinese battery firm CATL held an event on September 27 regarding trial production of the Brunp Recycling Project and the commencement of a new phase in the CATL-BRUNP Integrated New Energy Industrial Park, which has total investment of 32 billion yuan ($4.42 billion).
BYD New Energy Vehicles to Enter Jordanian Market
BYD, a leading Chinese manufacturer of new energy vehicles, announced on September 28 that it has entered into a cooperation with Bustami & Saheb Trading Company (BSTC), Jordan’s leading car dealership group. The move confirms that BYD’s NEVs will soon be introduced into the Jordanian market.
BYD held an online signing ceremony with Mobility Solutions Auto Trade Co. (MSTC), an NEV sales company under BSTC Group, and the events were synced between BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzhen and BSTC Group’s headquarters in Amman.
Battery Firm EVE Energy to Invest Over $1.38B on Production Expansion
An investment roadmap released on September 27 by Chinese battery company EVE Energy, which has a market value of over 170 billion yuan ($23 billion), has offered further insight into the potential of the lithium industry.
EVE Energy issued a series of investment announcements yesterday. First, it plans to spend 10 billion yuan to build a 40GWh energy storage and battery project in Shenyang, to be built in two phases. In the initial phase of the project, the firm will invest 5 billion yuan (including 4 billion yuan as a fixed asset investment) to build a 20GWh energy storage and battery manufacturing plant, along with supporting facilities.
Fake Subsidiary Emerges as BYD Largely Invests in Battery Industry
Recently, a little-known small company in Nanning, Guangxi Province, has received some attention due to its claim to be wholly-owned by BYD. On September 16, the small enterprise focusing on business services changed its name to “BYD (Guangxi) New Energy Co., Ltd.,” claiming to have been acquired by BYD, and then submitted the necessary materials to the local government. The company’s registered capital jumped from 300,000 yuan to 100 million yuan and the scope of business changed to be related to the sales of new energy vehicles and auto parts.
Developer of Mini-Game “Sheep a Sheep” Claims Infringement by GameFi Version
Following the release of a digital mini-game called “Sheep a Sheep,” which has recently gone viral in China, a new GameFi version has quietly been launched. While ownership of this new version is denied by the official developer, its token price has experienced roller coaster-like fluctuations within a short period of time.
In mid-September, Sheep a Sheep (羊了个羊 Yángle Ge Yáng), which is available on Tencent‘s WeChat platform, suddenly went viral, as its high level of difficulty became a trending topic on various Chinese social media sites. Since September 14, the game has attracted more than 1.6 billion netizens on Douyin and has more than 60 million daily players. According to WeChat’s statistics, 26 million players participated in a challenge on September 14, causing the server to break down several times.
Chinese Authorities Crack Down on $5.6B Crypto-Related Money Laundering
Authorities in China’s Hunan province have recently busted a criminal group that used cryptocurrency to launder 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion). The trade of digital currencies was banned in the country last September.
Police in Hengyang, a county in China’s southern province of Hunan alleged that the criminal group had been buying cryptocurrencies with illicit funds since 2018, which were then traded for US dollars at a profit. The dirty money reportedly originated from telecom scams or gambling.
Metaverse Jobs on Chinese Recruitment Platform Up 16.6% YoY From January to July
Chinese recruitment platform Zhaopin released its 2022 Talent Development Report on the Metaverse Industry on September 26. The document points out that metaverse-related sectors have shown positive development trends in terms of job growth and salary. From January to July, the number of jobs related to the metaverse on the platform increased by 16.6% year-on-year.
DJI Unveils Mavic 3 Enterprise Series of Portable Drones
DJI, a civilian drone and camera manufacturer based in China, introduced its new Mavic 3 Enterprise Series on September 27. The firm says that the DJI Mavic 3E and DJI Mavic 3T can serve as beneficial tools for environmental and wildlife protection, construction, surveying, energy, public safety and other fields.
NetEase Cloud Music’s First Social Music App Starts Registration
MUS, the first social music app released by NetEase Cloud Music, on September 27 officially opened for registration. MUS, an abbreviation of Music with Us, is designed for matching user groups with similar music tastes.
MUS started private testing at the end of March, and is now officially open to users. The app’s system analyzes song data, such as which are collected and frequently played by users and the time period of listening to music. Then the system matches the user with others exhibiting similar patterns. After matching, both parties can view the detailed common points of each other.