https://www.scmp.com/rss/266650/feed Jane Zhang joined the Post in 2017, working with the video team before moving to reporting. She covers business and political stories in Hong Kong and mainland China. Previously, Jane interned at CNN and Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma made a rare public appearance on Monday, participating in a ceremony at a primary school in the tropical island of Hainan, his first public showing since returning to China in November from a European study trip. Ma, 57, took part in the annual Rural Teachers Initiative at Changhao Central School, where he participated in a video call with 100 rural teachers from 24 provinces around the country, according to a post from The Jack Ma Foundation on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162929/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-shows-hainan-primary-school-his-foundation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162929/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-shows-hainan-primary-school-his-foundation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jan 2022 07:30:17 +0000 JD.com, the second-largest e-commerce platform in China, has opened two “robotic” shops in the Netherlands as it tests a new shopping model in the European market. Branded as Ochama, combining the concepts of “omnichannel” and “amazing”, the stores merge online ordering with pickup shops where robots prepare parcels for collection and home delivery services are offered, the company said in a statement late Monday. This is the first time that the Beijing-based tech giant, founded by billionaire... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162840/jdcom-opens-robotic-shops-netherlands-chinese-e-commerce-giant-tests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162840/jdcom-opens-robotic-shops-netherlands-chinese-e-commerce-giant-tests?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:00:17 +0000 Wang Gang, a former vice-president with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and head of its autonomous driving lab in the DAMO Academy, has quit to start his own business, becoming the latest top scientist to leave a Chinese Big Tech firm. Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, confirmed Wang’s resignation but declined to comment further. Wang did not reply to a request for comment. Wang, who focuses on deep learning and its application to computer vision and autonomous driving,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3162591/alibabas-auto-driving-lab-chief-wang-gang-leaves-start-his-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3162591/alibabas-auto-driving-lab-chief-wang-gang-leaves-start-his-own?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Jan 2022 03:00:35 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has restructured the back-end operations of its core Chinese online retail platforms Taobao Marketplace and Tmall, as the e-commerce giant moves to bolster its lead in the world’s second-largest economy amid increased competition and tightened regulation. The reorganisation involves the establishment of three new operation centres for both Taobao and Tmall that are focused on platform strategies, user expansion and industrial development for merchants, according to a report... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162594/alibaba-reorganises-back-end-operations-core-chinese-online-retail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162594/alibaba-reorganises-back-end-operations-core-chinese-online-retail?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jan 2022 13:30:28 +0000 Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has secured a deal to serve as the exclusive partner of state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) to give away cash as virtual red packets at this year’s Spring Festival Gala, the country’s most-watched television broadcast. The partnership is often seen as a barometer of financial power and a political blessing from Beijing. The 2021 partnership went to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok that is also owned by ByteDance, after being pulled from... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162347/jdcom-wins-spring-festival-gala-partnership-following-bytedance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162347/jdcom-wins-spring-festival-gala-partnership-following-bytedance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jan 2022 10:00:21 +0000 The decision by Tencent Holdings to sell its stake in Singapore-based e-commerce giant Sea Limited, hot on the heels of offloading JD.com stock, has led to speculation about further divestments in mature technology firms, as China’s largest social media and video gaming company seeks opportunities in new areas amid Beijing's continued antitrust campaign. The divestment has raised questions about Tencent’s sprawling investments across a wide variety of companies. These holdings amount to US$130... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162207/tencent-divestments-could-signal-more-sales-amid-big-tech-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162207/tencent-divestments-could-signal-more-sales-amid-big-tech-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 09:10:44 +0000 China is rolling out a new regulation to rein in algorithms used on apps to recommend what consumers would like to read, watch, play and buy online, marking Beijing’s latest effort to bring the country’s Big Tech sector firmly in line with state policies. The regulation, which was published on Tuesday, will take effect on March 1. It was jointly drawn up by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162099/china-rolls-out-new-regulation-rein-algorithms-used-apps-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3162099/china-rolls-out-new-regulation-rein-algorithms-used-apps-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jan 2022 14:00:18 +0000 A firm backed by Taiwanese pop icon Jay Chou has launched a non-fungible token (NFT) project featuring virtual avatars called “Phanta Bears”, joining a growing list of entertainment and sports celebrities to test the technology that verifies ownership of unique digital assets. The Phanta Bears, a collection of 10,000 algorithmically-generated digital avatars launched as a spin-off from Chou’s PHANTACi fashion brand, sold out in less than 40 minutes on New Year’s Day, according to an official... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3161948/taiwanese-pop-star-jay-chou-latest-celebrity-issue-ntfs-selling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3161948/taiwanese-pop-star-jay-chou-latest-celebrity-issue-ntfs-selling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jan 2022 09:30:37 +0000 China’s top market regulator plans to tighten enforcement of antitrust and anti-unfair competition rules in 2022, the head of the agency said, signalling that the tech sector will continue to face government scrutiny after a year of forceful regulatory clampdown on the country’s Big Tech firms. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) will “strengthen supervision and law enforcement in key areas such as the platform economy, technological innovation, information security, and the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3161521/chinas-tech-crackdown-antitrust-body-signals-tighter-enforcement-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3161521/chinas-tech-crackdown-antitrust-body-signals-tighter-enforcement-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:00:26 +0000 Ant Group, the fintech company affiliated with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, said it will close its Xianghubao mutual aid platform next month, amid Beijing’s ongoing regulatory crackdown on financial services in the technology sector. Xianghubao – which means “protect each other” in Chinese – will cease on January 28 next year, according to an Ant Group notice sent to users on Tuesday. The closure of the mutual aid service is the latest sign of the shake-out in China’s fintech... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3161316/chinas-ant-group-close-worlds-largest-mutual-aid-platform-next-month-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3161316/chinas-ant-group-close-worlds-largest-mutual-aid-platform-next-month-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:18:49 +0000 China’s largest on-demand food delivery firm and the country’s second largest short video operator announced a “strategic partnership” on Monday, the latest sign of attempts by Big Tech to appease Beijing after a tumultuous year of regulatory crackdowns that have pummelled tech stocks. Meituan, which has lost half its value since peaking in February 2021, will open a mini app on the short video platform operated by Kuaishou Technology, the main rival to ByteDance’s Douyin, allowing users to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3161291/food-delivery-giant-meituans-pact-short-video-app-kuaishou-seen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3161291/food-delivery-giant-meituans-pact-short-video-app-kuaishou-seen?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 10:30:10 +0000 Tencent Holdings said it would distribute most of its shares in JD.com as a special dividend to investors, as China’s dominant social media network made a surprise move to pare back its stake in the country’s second-largest e-commerce platform in response to Beijing’s antitrust demands. The market value of JD.com shares to be transferred is estimated at HK$127.7 billion (US$16.37 billion), according to a Tencent statement issued on Thursday. Shenzhen-based Tencent, previously the biggest... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160765/chinese-internet-giant-tencent-offload-its-us16-billion-stake-no-2-e?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160765/chinese-internet-giant-tencent-offload-its-us16-billion-stake-no-2-e?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Dec 2021 02:55:25 +0000 This year will go down as a tough period for Chinese technology firms, as Beijing moved to exert control over the once-freewheeling sector. In the second of a four-part series, the South China Morning Post looks at how 2021 became the watershed moment in the development of China’s Big Tech companies. The first part is here. In early July, the head of ByteDance’s gaming studio outlined an ambitious plan to rival Nintendo and Activision Blizzard, after hiring 3,000 programmers and artists to work... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160705/year-chinas-tech-crackdown-sky-no-longer-limit-chinas-big-tech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160705/year-chinas-tech-crackdown-sky-no-longer-limit-chinas-big-tech?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Dec 2021 02:00:27 +0000 It has been a spectacular fall from grace for Chinese online influencer Viya, who went from being the country’s most bankable live-streaming e-commerce star to a virtual pariah overnight after authorities in the eastern city of Hangzhou slapped her with a record 1.34 billion yuan (US$210 million) fine for tax evasion. One of China’s rare one-name celebrities, Viya – whose real name is Huang Wei –saw her widely followed social media account on microblogging platform Weibo and her online presence... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160598/who-live-streaming-e-commerce-star-viya-and-how-did-she-become-famous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160598/who-live-streaming-e-commerce-star-viya-and-how-did-she-become-famous?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Dec 2021 15:23:31 +0000 Chinese smartphone users have seen the number of apps available to them fall by 38.5 per cent over the past three years, with the most precipitous drop coming this year amid the country’s crackdowns on Big Tech platforms and internet content, showing how China’s fortified market structure has taken a toll on the digital sector. The total number of apps in Chinese app stores fell to just 2.78 million by October of this year, down from 4.52 million at the end of 2018, according to a South China... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3160457/chinas-big-tech-crackdown-number-apps-falls-40-cent-over-three?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3160457/chinas-big-tech-crackdown-number-apps-falls-40-cent-over-three?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2021 23:00:21 +0000 A controversy over a sexual assault allegation at Alibaba Group Holding became a hot topic again after the e-commerce giant fired the female employee who accused her boss of sexual assault in August, but key facts are still missing about the saga that triggered debates about work culture, gender equality and #MeToo campaigns in China. The fresh controversy started last week, when the accuser surnamed Zhou told the state-backed news outlet Dahe Daily, in Henan province, in a written interview... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159977/metoo-or-not-controversy-lingers-after-alibaba-fires-woman-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159977/metoo-or-not-controversy-lingers-after-alibaba-fires-woman-who?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Dec 2021 02:00:15 +0000 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has reiterated its focus on three key strategic engines – China consumption, globalisation and technology – to drive future growth, as it seeks to fight off a growing list of contenders. “Our vision for the future remains unchanged,” said Daniel Zhang Yong, chairman and chief executive of Alibaba, at the company’s Investor Day on Friday. “We believe we are in the best of times, in the digital era today, to capture opportunities of the future with... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160195/alibaba-stick-core-strategic-engines-china-globalisation-and-tech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3160195/alibaba-stick-core-strategic-engines-china-globalisation-and-tech?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:20:06 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has sweetened its employee benefits by offering more paid time-off, bigger allowances and flexible work schedules to boost morale after a challenging year that saw the company weather tightened regulatory scrutiny, fierce competition and a plunge in share price. The newly launched “heart-warming” package by the Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant includes seven days of fully-paid annual leave for family reunions, 10 additional leave days for new parents to care for babies, and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159806/alibaba-pumps-employee-perks-warm-hearts-after-tough-year-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159806/alibaba-pumps-employee-perks-warm-hearts-after-tough-year-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Dec 2021 10:00:28 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has registered a new company in Beijing named Yuanjing Shengsheng to test the gaming potential of the metaverse, in the latest sign that China’s Big Tech firms are doubling down on what many see as the future of the internet. The new unit, wholly owned by Alibaba’s investment arm, has listed its major business as software development and services, according to public registry tracking firm Tianyancha. It has 10 million yuan (US$1.6 million) in registered capital. The unit’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159691/alibaba-test-gaming-potential-metaverse-big-tech-firms-stampede?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159691/alibaba-test-gaming-potential-metaverse-big-tech-firms-stampede?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:00:23 +0000 Disruptions to Apple’s vast supply chain and cost control measures amid a pandemic-induced chip and components shortage are causing pain for the US tech giant’s Chinese suppliers and distributors, according to a local media report. Apple’s supply chain crisis has affected the financials of multiple Chinese suppliers and distributors and this has “set off alarm bells” for companies that are “overly dependent” on Apple, Chinese newspaper the Securities Daily, reported on Thursday. It is clear that... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3159265/disruptions-apples-manufacturing-chain-and-cost-control-measures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3159265/disruptions-apples-manufacturing-chain-and-cost-control-measures?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2021 14:00:19 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has invested 240 million yuan (US$37.8 million) to double its stake in a loss-making local tour agency, a deal that caps a year of “cautious” investments since the e-commerce giant became the target of an antitrust probe on Christmas Eve 2020. Alibaba (China) Technology Co, a subsidiary of the Chinese e-commerce giant, will double its stake in Shenzhen-listed UTour Group Co from 5.02 to 11.06 per cent by buying shares from chairman Feng Bin and deputy chairman Guo Hongbin,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159070/alibaba-ends-cautious-year-overshadowed-antitrust-probe-doubling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3159070/alibaba-ends-cautious-year-overshadowed-antitrust-probe-doubling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Dec 2021 11:00:15 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has designated Jiang Fan, the retail wunderkind who fell from grace because of a public scandal, to head its overseas e-commerce operations and engage a vast market outside China to fulfil the company’s long-term goal of serving 2 billion consumers worldwide. The new appointment forms part of the biggest management reshuffle at Hangzhou-based Alibaba and comes more than a year after Jiang, 36, was removed from the company’s elite partnership of 38 people in 2020, following... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158960/alibaba-gives-fallen-star-fresh-start-redeem-himself-mission-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158960/alibaba-gives-fallen-star-fresh-start-redeem-himself-mission-win?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Dec 2021 15:00:24 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding promoted Toby Xu to succeed long-standing chief financial officer Maggie Wu, and named new leaders to its commerce business, in the biggest management reshuffle for one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies as CEO Daniel Zhang seeks greater agility and strategic clarity. Xu, the deputy chief financial officer who joined the company in July 2018, will succeed Maggie Wu as the company’s CFO on April 1. Wu will remain director of the board and become a member of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158598/alibaba-brings-new-cfo-management-reshuffle-dividing-domestic-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158598/alibaba-brings-new-cfo-management-reshuffle-dividing-domestic-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Dec 2021 05:21:33 +0000 Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Friday that it will start the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and move forward with plans for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO). Beijing-based Didi was founded in 2012 by Alibaba alumnus Cheng Wei, who owned 7 per cent of the shares and controlled 16.2 per cent of its voting power ahead of the New York listing. In recent years, the company has emerged as a tech giant that dominates China’s ride-hailing market,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158334/didi-delisting-chronicle-ride-hailing-giants-troubles-its-new-york?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158334/didi-delisting-chronicle-ride-hailing-giants-troubles-its-new-york?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Dec 2021 09:00:24 +0000 Realme, the world’s fastest growing smartphone maker known for its budget hardware, is intensifying efforts to expand in high-end handsets in China, where it hopes to go head-to-head with Apple and other market leaders, the brand’s founder Sky Li Bingzhong told the South China Morning Post. Since starting Realme as a sub-brand of Oppo in 2018, Li has turned it into one of the top brands in India by offering good hardware at low prices. Now he wants the brand to “break the development bottleneck... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158180/chinese-smartphone-maker-hopes-quick-charge-growth-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3158180/chinese-smartphone-maker-hopes-quick-charge-growth-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Dec 2021 13:00:25 +0000 Lenovo Group, the world’s largest personal computer maker, maintained its market leader position globally and at home in the third quarter despite a cancelled blockbuster IPO in Shanghai and a debt controversy. The Beijing-based company came ahead of competitors HP, Dell and Apple in the three months ended September 30, having shipped 20.2 million desktops, notebooks and workstations worldwide – a 4.6 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to research firm Canalys. In a separate report... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157924/lenovo-retains-lead-global-pc-market-after-surprise-withdrawal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157924/lenovo-retains-lead-global-pc-market-after-surprise-withdrawal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Nov 2021 15:00:24 +0000 China has fined Tenpay, an online-payment unit of Tencent Holdings, 2.8 million yuan (US$438,000) for violating foreign exchange rules amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the nation’s fintech industry. The unit received warnings last week and was also ordered to rectify its failure to submit relevant materials and for carrying out foreign exchange business beyond the scope of its business registration, according to a statement published by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157665/china-fines-caifutong-tencents-wechat-pay-operator-breaking-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157665/china-fines-caifutong-tencents-wechat-pay-operator-breaking-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Nov 2021 08:53:26 +0000 Meituan, operator of China’s largest food delivery and on-demand local services platform, reported a worse than expected loss in the third quarter, after swallowing a fine by China’s antitrust regulators, while its revenue of 48.8 billion yuan was in line with forecasts. The Beijing-based company incurred a net loss of 10 billion yuan (US$1.565 billion), missing analysts’ estimates for a 7 billion yuan loss. That compared with a 6.3 billion yuan profit in the period a year earlier. Revenue rose... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157512/china-food-delivery-giant-meituan-reports-10bn-yuan-loss-after-paying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3157512/china-food-delivery-giant-meituan-reports-10bn-yuan-loss-after-paying?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Nov 2021 09:42:09 +0000 Shenzhen resident Chen Channing frequently receives blocks of gibberish code via his WeChat app – and he knows exactly what to do with it. He copies the codes, opens Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao shopping app on his phone, pastes them in, and voila – links to purchase selected products appear. But lately Chen has noticed that some of the codes now include links that open directly within WeChat, the supper app operated by Tencent Holdings. To his disappointment though, the links do not always... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3155846/chinas-internet-walled-gardens-may-be-cracking-users-face-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3155846/chinas-internet-walled-gardens-may-be-cracking-users-face-long?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Nov 2021 02:00:28 +0000 Singles' Day, the world’s biggest online shopping event, recorded a slower pace of annual growth after Alibaba Group Holding swapped the usual razzmatazz for a more down-to-earth retail promotion that stressed sustainability. Alibaba reported that gross merchandise value (GMV) for this year’s Singles’ Day grew to a record 540.3 billion yuan (US$84.5 billion) during the 11-day campaign, marking 8.45 per cent year-on-year growth. This is the first single-digit GMV growth since Alibaba created... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:25:52 +0000 A local market watchdog summoned 16 e-commerce platform operators – including a branch under Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan’s group-buying business, and Vipshop – to warn them against “unfair competition” activities and other business malpractice, as Beijing’s ongoing antitrust crackdown weighs on Big Tech companies during this year’s Singles’ Day festival. In a meeting last Friday, the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation accused the companies of various irregularities including... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3155578/alibaba-meituan-units-summoned-chinese-regulator-unfair-competition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3155578/alibaba-meituan-units-summoned-chinese-regulator-unfair-competition?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Nov 2021 14:00:12 +0000 For six years in a row, Ding Xiaojuan has “chopped” hands for the Singles’ Day shopping festival, a popular expression among Chinese consumers describing an obsession with online retail that is so out of control that they want to cut off their hands to stop bleeding money. “I set alerts and stayed up late until midnight in previous years to pay for my orders so that I could get extra presents for being the first batch to pay,” the 39-year-old said, attributing the behaviour to being “crazy” in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155403/alibabas-singles-day-shopping-bonanza-loses-lustre-amid-chinas-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155403/alibabas-singles-day-shopping-bonanza-loses-lustre-amid-chinas-big?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Nov 2021 09:59:57 +0000 Police in Beijing have busted a data analysis company, which ranks Chinese online influencers in sales performance, for illegally using crawler software to steal data from live-streaming apps, ahead of the roll-out on Monday of the country’s new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL). The office of data analysis firm Pangqiu, which means “Fat Ball” in Mandarin, was raided by the police on September 15 and some 23 employees were arrested for “illegal acquisition of computer information system... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3154482/beijing-police-bust-firm-stealing-data-live-streaming-e-commerce-apps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3154482/beijing-police-bust-firm-stealing-data-live-streaming-e-commerce-apps?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:00:17 +0000 The turnover growth rate for China’s e-commerce sector over the next five years is expected to be only a third of the previous five years as the online market in the world’s second-largest economy matures, according to a national plan published on Tuesday. China’s nationwide e-commerce turnover is expected to reach 46 trillion yuan (US$7.2 trillion) by 2025, or a 23.6 per cent increase from the level in 2020, according to China’s 14th five-year plan for e-commerce. In the previous five-year... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3153915/china-sees-sharp-slowdown-online-commerce-growth-coming-years-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3153915/china-sees-sharp-slowdown-online-commerce-growth-coming-years-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Oct 2021 15:00:40 +0000 Jack Ma, the founder of the world’s largest e-commerce platform Alibaba Group Holding, is visiting research institutions in the Netherlands to further his interest in the technology of agriculture, according to people familiar with his first overseas trip in more than a year. Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s chairman in 2019 on his 55th birthday, is undertaking his study tour in his personal capacity, according to the people. The former English teacher was photographed visiting a number of Dutch... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153741/jack-ma-visits-dutch-research-institutes-alibabas-founder-pursues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153741/jack-ma-visits-dutch-research-institutes-alibabas-founder-pursues?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Oct 2021 10:15:18 +0000 More than 20 major Shenzhen-based companies, including video gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings and telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co, on Friday vowed to bolster user data safeguards ahead of the roll-out of China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) on November 1. The companies, all of which operate popular apps used by consumers and businesses, pledged to abide by 10 initiatives that promote the “healthy and sustainable development” of the internet... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3153448/tencent-huawei-other-major-shenzhen-firms-bolster-user-data-safeguards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3153448/tencent-huawei-other-major-shenzhen-firms-bolster-user-data-safeguards?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Oct 2021 10:36:46 +0000 Taobao Marketplace, China’s biggest online shopping platform, experienced a 20-minute system breakdown on Wednesday evening, as the Alibaba Group Holding subsidiary kicked off presales for the annual Singles’ Day festival in November. The system crash, which was fixed within 20 minutes, was attributed to heavy traffic generated by “overenthusiastic” consumers soon after Alibaba kicked off the presales period for the world’s largest shopping event, according to a Taobao statement posted on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153151/alibabas-taobao-runs-20-minute-system-breakdown-presales-singles-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153151/alibabas-taobao-runs-20-minute-system-breakdown-presales-singles-day?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Oct 2021 10:30:22 +0000 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding kicked off the promotion for its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival on Wednesday, focusing on sustainability and inclusiveness amid Beijing’s call for the country’s Big Tech companies to boost social responsibility and pursue “common prosperity”. The company said its Tmall marketplace is issuing 100 million yuan (US$15.6 million) worth of “green vouchers” to encourage purchasing decisions that “contribute to an environmentally friendly... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153056/alibaba-plays-social-responsibility-ahead-singles-day-amid-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3153056/alibaba-plays-social-responsibility-ahead-singles-day-amid-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Oct 2021 15:00:15 +0000 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled its own general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), the Yitian 710, for its Panjiu servers that will drive the company’s vast cloud computing operation, a development that intensifies the country’s self-reliance efforts in semiconductors and roll-out of digital infrastructure nationwide. The new CPU was internally designed by Alibaba’s T-Head semiconductor unit, based on architecture from British chip design company Arm, according to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152911/alibaba-launches-own-chip-its-servers-cloud-computing-platform-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152911/alibaba-launches-own-chip-its-servers-cloud-computing-platform-new?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Oct 2021 12:00:57 +0000 DingTalk, one of China’s most widely used workplace apps, said on Wednesday that its number of users increased from 400 million to 500 million between January and August, giving its developer Alibaba Group Holding a stronger foothold in the country’s office communication and work-related social media market. The platform also reported that it was used by over 19 million institutional users, including enterprises, schools and other organisations, by the end of August. DingTalk is China's answer... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152461/alibabas-dingtalk-tops-500-million-users-it-goes-after-tencents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152461/alibabas-dingtalk-tops-500-million-users-it-goes-after-tencents?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Oct 2021 07:21:20 +0000 New York-listed OneSmart International Education Group has closed all of its off-campus tutoring programmes and learning centres across China, sparking outrage from angry parents who are demanding refunds. Dozens of parents this week protested outside OneSmart’s headquarters in Shanghai’s Putuo District, many of whom called out the company for refunds that range from 10,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan (US$155 to US$15,524), according to a video posted online by Chinese weekly newspaper The Economic... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3152362/chinese-education-firm-onesmart-faces-demands-refunds-after-closing-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3152362/chinese-education-firm-onesmart-faces-demands-refunds-after-closing-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Oct 2021 11:00:22 +0000 Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co has established four new business units to ratchet up its diversification efforts, as its core smartphone and mobile carrier equipment operations around the world struggle under US trade sanctions. The new units are focused on digital transformation products and services for customs and ports; technologies to reduce the energy consumption of data centres; and smart systems for highways and the photovoltaic industry. Leaders for the new... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152096/huawei-diversifies-business-new-focus-ports-data-centres-highways?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3152096/huawei-diversifies-business-new-focus-ports-data-centres-highways?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Oct 2021 13:00:28 +0000 China’s big tech companies, including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, have announced donations amounting to over 300 million yuan (US$46.6 million) towards flood relief efforts in Shanxi province, where heavy rains and landslides have killed at least five people and displaced over 120,000. Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, said it has donated 30 million yuan. Its payment affiliate Ant Group plans to donate 20 million yuan, while founder Jack Ma’s foundation and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151924/chinese-tech-giants-led-alibaba-and-tencent-donate-millions-towards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151924/chinese-tech-giants-led-alibaba-and-tencent-donate-millions-towards?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Oct 2021 09:00:18 +0000 Facebook’s recent service outage and allegations by a whistle-blower that the US social media giant puts “astronomical profits before people” have seen some tech commentators praise Beijing’s tighter grip on the internet, including its ban on many foreign online services and steps to restrict algorithms. The Chinese government has not made any public comment on this week’s outage at Facebook, which resulted in its vast family of apps including WhatsApp and Instagram, grinding to a halt for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151726/facebooks-troubles-stir-debate-over-internet-control-and-whether?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151726/facebooks-troubles-stir-debate-over-internet-control-and-whether?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:59:16 +0000 The local government in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province, is seeking compensation for losses from a failed chip making joint venture, according to the initial public offering prospectus of GlobalFoundries, which is seeking a listing in New York. The US-based chip maker states it set aside a provision of US$34 million in June to settle the potential compensation, and is in talks with the Chengdu government to settle the claim, according to the prospectus. This is the first time... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151408/why-chip-makers-new-york-ipo-has-left-bad-taste-mouth-chengdus-local?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151408/why-chip-makers-new-york-ipo-has-left-bad-taste-mouth-chengdus-local?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Oct 2021 15:00:18 +0000 Chinese telecoms equipment giants Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp have secured the rights to build the converged 5G and 4G core network for China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless carrier by subscribers, illustrating domestic carriers’ commitment to infrastructure suppliers that face challenges in overseas markets. The two Shenzhen-based companies will each contribute an unknown portion of the network in a contract for equipment and services worth about 7.5 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion)... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151248/huawei-zte-win-china-mobile-contract-converged-5g-and-4g-network?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151248/huawei-zte-win-china-mobile-contract-converged-5g-and-4g-network?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Oct 2021 08:45:42 +0000 China’s two largest mobile payments providers, Alipay and WeChat Pay, are further opening up their ecosystems to state-owned UnionPay, the country’s top bank card clearing service, amid Beijing’s push for Big Tech internet platforms to make their “walled gardens” accessible to competition. Alipay, operated by Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group, plans to achieve full interoperability of payment QR codes with UnionPay’s Cloud QuickPass app for offline payments in every city across China... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3151120/ant-group-tencent-further-open-their-mobile-payment-ecosystems-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3151120/ant-group-tencent-further-open-their-mobile-payment-ecosystems-state?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 09:00:31 +0000 The Lithuanian government’s recommendation that its citizens throw away Chinese smartphones, singling out devices from Xiaomi Corp for their censorship capabilities, raises a red flag for the continued business expansion of these tech companies across Europe, according to analysts. Last week, a report by the Lithuanian defence ministry’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) alleged that Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G smartphone, which is widely sold in Europe, has a built-in ability to detect and censor... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3150765/xiaomi-censorship-allegations-may-cloud-its-global-ambitions-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3150765/xiaomi-censorship-allegations-may-cloud-its-global-ambitions-other?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Sep 2021 13:30:16 +0000 Alibaba Group Holding has started to allow consumers to use WeChat Pay, the payment service operated by its rival Tencent Holdings, on a number of its platforms amid the Chinese government’s major push to encourage competition and curb monopolistic behaviour among Big Tech. A number of Alibaba services – including food delivery platform Ele.me, video-streaming platform Youku, online ticketing platform Damai and cross-border e-commerce platform Kaola – now include WeChat Pay as one of their... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3150413/alibaba-opens-its-walled-garden-tencents-wechat-pay-heeding-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3150413/alibaba-opens-its-walled-garden-tencents-wechat-pay-heeding-beijings?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2021 09:00:20 +0000 Beijing taxi operators have launched a new ride-hailing service with the help of Alibaba Group Holding that will not challenge the municipal authority’s monopoly on taxi service licensing, setting an example that could be applied in other cities and possibly undermine private ride-hailing operations like Didi Chuxing. The service called Beijing Taxi is being offered through AutoNavi, the digital maps service provider owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3150290/beijing-taxi-takes-didi-alibabas-autonavi-mapping-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3150290/beijing-taxi-takes-didi-alibabas-autonavi-mapping-service?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Sep 2021 13:00:25 +0000