https://www.scmp.com/rss/509371/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang Not long ago, a humble fruit stall in Shanghai saw its sales skyrocket when Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, dropped by for some food. Meanwhile, a once-obscure village in southern China has become a tourist hotspot, drawing over 10,000 visitors daily, simply for being the hometown of Liang Wenfeng, the founder of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek. During Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s 44-hour visit to China in 2023, the buzz surrounding his meals and itinerary on mainland social... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3341558/why-tech-billionaires-enjoy-rock-star-treatment-china-compared-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3341558/why-tech-billionaires-enjoy-rock-star-treatment-china-compared-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 06:00:08 +0000 Mandy Zuo Mandy Zuo While China continues to produce many young self-made billionaires, showcasing its economic dynamism, observers have urged the creation of a more supportive environment, saying that innovation is still being held back. About 98 per cent of the super-rich in mainland China, with assets valued at US$1 billion or more, are relatively young first-generation entrepreneurs, reflecting the vitality and wealth-creation power of its economy, Swiss bank UBS said in a recent report. However, Beijing’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3336231/chinas-growing-young-billionaire-class-masks-innovation-hurdles-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3336231/chinas-growing-young-billionaire-class-masks-innovation-hurdles-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 03:00:17 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Mainland China’s billionaires have tightened their grip as Asia-Pacific’s wealthiest after their combined fortunes swelled to nearly US$1.8 trillion, with electric-vehicle (EV) maker BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu and bubble tea chain Mixue’s bosses among the biggest drivers of that growth, according to a UBS report. Backed by a booming tech sector and surging asset prices, the wealth of mainland China’s billionaires jumped 22.2 per cent year on year to US$1.77 trillion in the 12 months to early... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3335155/mainland-chinas-billionaire-count-surges-byd-and-mixue-bosses-power-wealth-gains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3335155/mainland-chinas-billionaire-count-surges-byd-and-mixue-bosses-power-wealth-gains?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding, received a rock-star welcome on Friday as he appeared at an annual event for staff and family, lifting employees’ spirits during a time of strategic repositioning at the business empire he established, according to company sources. Ma, 60, visited Alibaba’s campus in Hangzhou, capital of east Zhejiang province, in the evening. He toured a replica of the flat where he founded the company 26 years ago and attended a music show alongside thousands of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309853/jack-mas-alibaba-visit-and-replica-flat-spark-nostalgia-over-companys-humble-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3309853/jack-mas-alibaba-visit-and-replica-flat-spark-nostalgia-over-companys-humble-start?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 May 2025 10:30:09 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Richard Liu Qiangdong, the founder of JD.com, who has an estimated net worth of US$6.5 billion, donned a uniform to transport meal orders on an electric bike in Beijing on Monday, highlighting the company’s resolve to challenge rival Meituan’s dominance in the delivery services market. The publicity stunt, which also included a hotpot dinner with delivery workers, received widespread media coverage in China. It follows an unusual war of words between JD.com and Meituan, with the two companies... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3307435/jdcoms-billionaire-founder-delivers-food-publicity-stunt-challenge-meituan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3307435/jdcoms-billionaire-founder-delivers-food-publicity-stunt-challenge-meituan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2025 09:00:12 +0000 Yujie Xue Yujie Xue Xiaomi has raised its full-year target for electric vehicle (EV) deliveries by 16 per cent on the back of strong demand after reporting solid financial results for last year, underpinning confidence among market bulls who drove its stock to an all-time high this week. The EV maker on Tuesday lifted its target to 350,000 from 300,000 units for this year, after stepping up production to compete in the luxury end of the EV market in rivalry with BYD, Geely Auto and other makers. “Xiaomi has been... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3302872/xiaomi-lifts-ev-deliveries-target-16-after-solid-gains-2024-results?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3302872/xiaomi-lifts-ev-deliveries-target-16-after-solid-gains-2024-results?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:07:40 +0000 Cheryl Arcibal Cheryl Arcibal One in every 176 Hongkongers is estimated to have a net worth of more than US$10 million, making the city the world’s 10th largest wealth hub last year, according to a report from Knight Frank. There were an estimated 42,715 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Hong Kong last year, making up around 0.6 per cent of the city’s population of 7.53 million, according to the Census and Statistics Department. With an estimated 2.34 million HNWIs in the world, Hongkongers made up about 2 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/property/article/3301202/hong-kong-still-among-worlds-top-wealth-hubs-according-knight-frank-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/article/3301202/hong-kong-still-among-worlds-top-wealth-hubs-according-knight-frank-report?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:34:16 +0000 President Xi Jinping hosted a meeting with China’s top entrepreneurs on Monday – the first gathering of its kind since 2018 – in a highly anticipated event that signalled Beijing’s clear support to the private sector, particularly the tech industry. The government’s core principles and policies for the private economy, which are firmly integrated into the socialist system, will remain steadfast and unwavering, Xi was quoted as saying, according to Xinhua. “These policies will not change,” he... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3298944/xi-hosts-symposium-chinas-top-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3298944/xi-hosts-symposium-chinas-top-entrepreneurs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2025 04:06:46 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma on Thursday visited a Freshippo supermarket in central Hunan province, days after he appeared at the Chinese e-commerce giant’s Hangzhou campus in a show of support for the business empire he created more than two decades ago. Ma – wearing a grey T-shirt, navy blue coat, white cap and black face mask – was spotted touring a Freshippo store in Hunan’s capital Changsha, according to photos shared by shoppers on social media. In one picture, he was seen walking... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3298674/jack-ma-tours-alibabas-freshippo-supermarket-central-china-after-xianyu-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3298674/jack-ma-tours-alibabas-freshippo-supermarket-central-china-after-xianyu-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:00:44 +0000 Zhou Xin Zhou Xin Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma on Tuesday visited the Hangzhou offices of Xianyu, China’s largest online marketplace for second-hand goods, as the technology giant advances its artificial intelligence (AI) agenda. Photos and video clips shared by Xianyu employees showed Ma, 60, sporting a vest emblazoned with the Alibaba logo and smiling broadly. The company’s young staff members were seen jostling for a selfie with the retired entrepreneur, who remains widely regarded as the spiritual... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3298167/jack-ma-visits-second-hand-marketplace-xianyu-alibabas-ai-grabs-attention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3298167/jack-ma-visits-second-hand-marketplace-xianyu-alibabas-ai-grabs-attention?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 04:30:05 +0000 Even for China’s richest man, it was a bold investment. Last month, beverage magnate Zhong Shanshan raised eyebrows when he announced plans to spend 40 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion) over the next decade to set up a private university called Qiantang University. Zhong, the founder of bottled drinks giant Nongfu Spring, said the new institution would have a clear vision: to advance scientific research, drive the application of new technologies and cultivate top-tier talent in strategic fields. His... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3297788/why-chinas-super-rich-are-spending-billions-set-universities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3297788/why-chinas-super-rich-are-spending-billions-set-universities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Feb 2025 06:00:21 +0000 Yi Luo Yi Luo Chinese enterprise software company Yonyou Network Technology has named Huang Chenhong – former global executive vice-president at German rival SAP – its new president, as the mainland’s tech sector scoops up talent from multinational firms that are scaling back operations in the country. Beijing-based Yonyou, a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and cloud services provider in China, said in a statement that Huang’s leadership would help the company “capture strategic... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3294235/chinese-software-firm-yonyou-picks-former-senior-sap-executive-new-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3294235/chinese-software-firm-yonyou-picks-former-senior-sap-executive-new-president?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jan 2025 09:30:08 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the development of video games is poised to eliminate many jobs across the industry, according to Cai Haoyu, co-founder of Genshin Impact creator miHoYo. “For game developers – ranging from average to professional – we might as well consider switching careers,” Cai, 37, suggested in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. He said the adoption of AI-generated content (AIGC) would lead to “only two types of people logically making sense when it comes to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3276624/genshin-impact-creator-mihoyos-co-founder-sees-ai-revolution-upending-video-gaming-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3276624/genshin-impact-creator-mihoyos-co-founder-sees-ai-revolution-upending-video-gaming-jobs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Aug 2024 13:00:14 +0000 Xu Yangtian, the founder of Chinese-originated fast-fashion shopping app Shein, has deliberately kept himself from the public eye for fear of attracting unwanted attention, sources say, as the company seeks an initial public offering (IPO) in London that values the company at £50 billion (US$64 billion). While it has become a trend in recent years for tech entrepreneurs in China to keep a low profile, the lengths that the Shein CEO – also known as Sky Xu or Chris Xu – has taken to avoid personal... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3266882/shein-heads-towards-ipo-its-chinese-billionaire-founder-stays-under-cloak-secrecy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3266882/shein-heads-towards-ipo-its-chinese-billionaire-founder-stays-under-cloak-secrecy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:00:14 +0000 Richard Liu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, said the company is no place for unproductive staff and threatened to lay them off, as competition heats up in the country’s online shopping sector. “[For people who] underperform and don’t work hard, the company will not tolerate them and will weed them out,” the 51-year-old entrepreneur said in a video that is circulating on social media and was widely reported by local media. Those who perform well should not... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3264396/jdcom-billionaire-founder-richard-liu-blasts-underperforming-employees-e-commerce-giant-faces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3264396/jdcom-billionaire-founder-richard-liu-blasts-underperforming-employees-e-commerce-giant-faces?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 May 2024 10:00:18 +0000 ByteDance’s profit surged roughly 60 per cent in 2023, outpacing the growth of online peers Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, in a sign of the TikTok owner’s resilience in the face of an economic downturn. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped to more than US$40 billion from about US$25 billion in 2022, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The world’s most valuable start-up also grew sales... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3258509/bytedance-profit-jumps-60-us40-billion-taking-tiktoks-owner-past-arch-rival-tencent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3258509/bytedance-profit-jumps-60-us40-billion-taking-tiktoks-owner-past-arch-rival-tencent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2024 08:45:20 +0000 Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, the co-founders of Alibaba Group Holding, have emerged as the two largest shareholders of the Chinese e-commerce giant by aggressively scooping up its tumbling shares in New York and Hong Kong. Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in 2019, bought about US$50 million of stock in the fourth quarter, raising his stake beyond the 4.3 per cent reported at the end of 2021, to become the largest single shareholder, according to sources familiar with the matter. Joe... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3249552/jack-ma-joe-tsai-replace-softbank-alibabas-largest-shareholders-scooping-tech-giants-tumbling-shares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3249552/jack-ma-joe-tsai-replace-softbank-alibabas-largest-shareholders-scooping-tech-giants-tumbling-shares?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jan 2024 02:25:23 +0000 The Hurun Research Institute, a rich list compiler run by Rupert Hoogewerf, has clarified its decision to list Zhang Zetian, wife of Chinese tech billionaire Richard Liu Qiangdong, as the third-richest person to have graduated from the prestigious Tsinghua University after the ranking stirred controversy online. According to a list published by Hurun last Friday, Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University have produced the most graduates to become billionaires in China. And 30-year-old Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3247956/china-rich-list-compiler-hurun-clarifies-tsinghua-graduate-zhang-zetians-ranking-quell-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3247956/china-rich-list-compiler-hurun-clarifies-tsinghua-graduate-zhang-zetians-ranking-quell-online?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jan 2024 23:00:34 +0000 Chinese tech founders had the biggest gains in fortunes among the country’s richest people amid an internet sector rebound this year, but the number and overall wealth of Chinese billionaires continued to drop in the face of broader economic headwinds. Four of the top five Chinese billionaires with the biggest wealth increases this year are tech entrepreneurs, including Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang Zheng, Tencent Holdings’ co-founder and CEO Pony Ma Huateng, miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3239156/chinese-tech-founders-bounce-back-huruns-2023-rich-list-number-and-overall-wealth-billionaires-drop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3239156/chinese-tech-founders-bounce-back-huruns-2023-rich-list-number-and-overall-wealth-billionaires-drop?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Oct 2023 11:30:09 +0000 Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has denied speculation that its billionaire founder Richard Liu Qiangdong and his wife Zhang Zetian had emigrated to the US, crushing the latest rumours surrounding the personal life of one of the country’s most well-known entrepreneurs. The Beijing-based firm wrote on its Weibo account on Monday that gossip circulating on social media, alleging that the couple had moved to the US or spent more than US$100 million there to buy luxury homes, were fabricated. It... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3231160/e-commerce-giant-jdcom-denies-founder-richard-liu-and-wife-have-moved-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3231160/e-commerce-giant-jdcom-denies-founder-richard-liu-and-wife-have-moved-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2023 12:00:14 +0000 Faye Bradley Faye Bradley Acquiring a comfortable fortune usually takes years, even for some of the most famous tycoons of our time. In fact, according to Forbes, the average billionaire today is 65 years old. But that’s not always the case. On the latest Forbes list, 15 young people under 30 joined the billionaire club this year, with their wealth stemming from inheritances or self-started successful enterprises. Ben Francis made bank off Gymshark while Palmer Luckey sold Oculus, his VR headset maker, to Facebook,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3225373/10-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2023-ranked-italian-eyewear-heirs-leonardo-maria-luca-and-clemente?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3225373/10-worlds-youngest-billionaires-2023-ranked-italian-eyewear-heirs-leonardo-maria-luca-and-clemente?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jun 2023 06:05:38 +0000 Zhang Yiming, the billionaire founder of TikTok’s parent ByteDance, has set up a private investment fund in Hong Kong, as he continues to stay out of the spotlight since relinquishing his corporate roles two years ago. The personal fund, named Cool River Venture, will primarily invest in technology-related industries, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because the matter is private. The vehicle was incorporated on May 22, the Hong Kong government’s companies... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3221651/tiktok-parent-bytedances-billionaire-founder-zhang-yiming-sets-investment-fund-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3221651/tiktok-parent-bytedances-billionaire-founder-zhang-yiming-sets-investment-fund-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2023 10:00:19 +0000 Zhang Yiming, the 40-year-old founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, has donated another 200 million yuan (US$28.9 million) to an education fund he created two years ago, a municipal education authority said in a statement on Thursday, offering a rare glimpse of the Chinese entrepreneur’s activity after disappearing from the public spotlight nearly two years ago. The education bureau of Longyan, Zhang’s home city of 2.7 million people in southeastern Fujian province, announced the new donation in a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3219398/founder-tiktok-owner-bytedance-zhang-yiming-makes-fresh-donation-while-keeping-low-profile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3219398/founder-tiktok-owner-bytedance-zhang-yiming-makes-fresh-donation-while-keeping-low-profile?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 May 2023 13:00:11 +0000 China’s top internet regulator has pledged to crack down on online rumours and information breaches violating the rights of private companies as Beijing signals better protection for the private sector while striving to revive the economy. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)’s work priorities this year include optimising the online business environment and protecting the rights of enterprises and entrepreneurs, CAC deputy director Niu Yibing told a press conference in Beijing on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3215134/china-crack-down-online-rumours-and-company-privacy-breaches-move-reassure-business-and-revive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3215134/china-crack-down-online-rumours-and-company-privacy-breaches-move-reassure-business-and-revive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Mar 2023 11:00:16 +0000 Lynn Farah Lynn Farah It’s been a tough year financially for crypto billionaires after the market suffered a trillion-dollar crypto crash. The wipeout has resulted in thousands of lawsuits as investors attempt to recoup their lost billions. The top crypto leaders in the space have lost a combined US$112.7 billion this year alone. But which of cryptocurrency’s biggest names has lost the most? 1. Changpeng Zhao – US$82 billion He is known as the Chinese crypto king, but 2022 was not Changpeng Zhao’s year. According to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3201553/cryptos-biggest-losers-5-billionaires-who-lost-most-2022-sam-bankman-frieds-net-worth-took-us23?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3201553/cryptos-biggest-losers-5-billionaires-who-lost-most-2022-sam-bankman-frieds-net-worth-took-us23?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Nov 2022 16:10:09 +0000 The founders of three of China’s technology giants each pledged over US$2 billion to charitable causes over the past year, in a collective response to the nation’s call for common prosperity that drove donations to a record, according to the Hurun China Philanthropy List 2022. The list recorded 49 benefactors who each gave away more than 100 million yuan (US$14 million) from April 2021 to the end of August, driving total donations to a record US$10 billion, the most in 19 editions and “a record... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3199812/tech-titans-hew-chinas-common-prosperity-call-49-richest-tycoons-donate-record-us10-billion-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3199812/tech-titans-hew-chinas-common-prosperity-call-49-richest-tycoons-donate-record-us10-billion-their?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Nov 2022 07:41:04 +0000 One of China’s most prominent tech tycoons is relinquishing direct ownership and executive roles in various entities under the business empire he founded nearly a quarter century ago, triggering questions about his next steps after the abrupt end of a lengthy legal battle in the US involving a rape allegation. Richard Liu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder of JD.com and the world’s 155th richest man with an estimated net worth of US$10.8 billion, has surrendered his 45 per cent stakes in each of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3199305/chinese-tech-billionaire-richard-liu-gives-front-office-roles-and-direct-ownership-jd-he-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3199305/chinese-tech-billionaire-richard-liu-gives-front-office-roles-and-direct-ownership-jd-he-still?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Nov 2022 02:00:17 +0000 ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok and the world’s most valuable unicorn, has established a school in founder Zhang Yiming’s hometown of Longyan in the southeastern province of Fujian. The ByteDance School of Digital Economy Industry was established last week under the Minxi Vocational and Technical College, a local institution, according to a statement from the provincial education department. The school aims to train “high-calibre talent” needed for developing the local digital economy,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3189548/bytedance-launches-digital-economy-school-hometown-founder-zhang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3189548/bytedance-launches-digital-economy-school-hometown-founder-zhang?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2022 01:30:23 +0000 Georgina Lee Georgina Lee The head of Binance has issued a lawsuit against Modern Media in Hong Kong for allegedly making defamatory statements on the cover of a Chinese magazine, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange steps up actions to defend its reputation amid a recent cryptocurrency rout. Zhao Changpeng, founder and chief executive of Binance and known as “CZ” in the cryptocurrency community, has filed a writ at the Hong Kong High Court against Modern Media, alleging that the July 6, Chinese-language... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3186704/binances-founder-cz-sues-modern-media-libel-richest-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3186704/binances-founder-cz-sues-modern-media-libel-richest-man?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jul 2022 02:35:10 +0000 William Ding Lei, founder of China’s second-largest video gaming company NetEase, has relinquished his roles as legal representative and executive chairman of one of the firm’s gaming affiliates, according to information from business registration tracking platform Tianyancha. Ding’s retreat from Shanghai NetEase Network Technology Development Limited comes days after it emerged that Lei Jun, founder of smartphone giant Xiaomi, was no longer the chief executive of the company’s gaming unit,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3184166/neteases-william-ding-and-xiaomis-lei-jun-relinquish-corporate-roles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3184166/neteases-william-ding-and-xiaomis-lei-jun-relinquish-corporate-roles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jul 2022 09:30:25 +0000 Stock markets – as John Meynard Keynes, Warren Buffett and others have remarked – are like casinos. It is often a winner-takes-all game where a few become rich and powerful while others do not even get a seat at the table. These “others” are often the legions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which, in contrast to the flashy tech titans and entrepreneurs of Wall Street, provide by far the largest share of employment, output and productivity in corporate Asia and beyond. This is an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183684/why-stock-markets-must-stop-acting-casinos-especially-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3183684/why-stock-markets-must-stop-acting-casinos-especially-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jul 2022 02:15:08 +0000 The number of billionaires in mainland China slipped slightly last year as wealth creation in the world’s second largest economy was subdued by Beijing’s crackdown on the technology and property sectors, according to the latest study by New York-headquartered Wealth-X. Hong Kong, which hosts the sixth-largest billionaire population in the world, ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, experienced relatively slow wealth creation too, as it lost some of its shine as an... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3183535/fewer-billionaires-mainland-china-ultra-wealthy-feel-pain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3183535/fewer-billionaires-mainland-china-ultra-wealthy-feel-pain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:30:23 +0000 The sudden slump in China’s biggest electric-vehicle battery maker this year has erased almost 40 per cent of founder Robin Zeng Yuqun’s personal wealth while hitting some of the world’s biggest fund managers. Zhang Kun has managed to sidestep the pain. Zhang, an industry celebrity at E Fund Management in southern Guangdong, has kept Contemporary Amperex Technology out from his four funds with US$12.7 billion of assets, while the stock crashed 37 per cent. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 26... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3177119/earnings-stinker-teslas-battery-supplier-catl-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3177119/earnings-stinker-teslas-battery-supplier-catl-leaves?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 May 2022 05:00:21 +0000 NetEase founder and chief executive William Ding Lei, one of the pioneers of China’s internet industry, has relinquished his roles at the company’s media subsidiary, joining other Big Tech leaders who have scaled back their corporate duties amid a tightened regulatory regime. Ding, 50, recently stepped down as the legal representative, general manager and director of Beijing NetEase Media Co, according to corporate registry tracking firm Tianyancha. He was replaced by Li Li, chief executive of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3175710/netease-ceo-william-ding-relinquishes-corporate-roles-subsidiary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3175710/netease-ceo-william-ding-relinquishes-corporate-roles-subsidiary?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Apr 2022 13:00:13 +0000 Jacky Wang is an entrepreneur in China, but like many of his peers he is trying to recalibrate what that should involve. This year, he has bought two Mercedes-Benz cars and given 3 million yuan (US$470,000) to a social cause, after being urged to donate by his local government in the eastern province of Jiangsu. His cement company has been performing averagely, but he has spent money rather than plough his funds into business growth. “I know business prospects may turn good this year, because... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3171169/does-chinas-goal-common-prosperity-leave-room-super-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3171169/does-chinas-goal-common-prosperity-leave-room-super-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 05:00:24 +0000 It is a gross travesty of justice that the richest 10 per cent is taking home 52 per cent of global income, as revealed in the World Inequity Report 2022. Both US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have vowed to deal with the worsening inequities, but the divergent American and Chinese views of individualism are generating disparate outcomes. In extolling the vision of a “community with a shared future for humankind”, Xi declared China’s commitment to establishing a new world... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161549/fate-chinese-and-american-billionaires-reveals-divergences-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3161549/fate-chinese-and-american-billionaires-reveals-divergences-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Dec 2021 17:30:09 +0000 In the worst year for Chinese stocks since 2008, China’s 10 biggest winners gained almost US$100 billion of additional wealth. Global investors, facing an onslaught of regulatory crackdowns and economic slowdown, were US$5.2 trillion poorer in the broader sell-off. Topping the list is Robin Zeng Yuqun, the chairman and founder of electric-car battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technologies, or CATL, whose fortunes grew as its shares jumped 68 per cent in Shenzhen after a 252 per cent surge in... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3161618/chinas-top-10-tycoons-add-us100-billion-wealth-while-alibaba?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3161618/chinas-top-10-tycoons-add-us100-billion-wealth-while-alibaba?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 23:30:25 +0000 Georgina Lee Georgina Lee A growing number of artists and cryptocurrency exchanges are riding the popularity of non fungible tokens (NFTs) to launch blockchain-based fundraising campaigns for philanthropic causes. The buzz surrounding non fungible tokens has helped artists such as Mike Winkelmann, a digital artist better known as Beeple, fetch a record US$69 million for NFT artwork at Christies’ online auction in March. Rapper Snoop Dogg also auctioned his NFT Decentral Eyes Dogg, featuring his new audio track and... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3161091/how-artists-cryptocurrency-exchanges-are-using-nft-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3161091/how-artists-cryptocurrency-exchanges-are-using-nft-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Dec 2021 05:30:20 +0000 Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, has topped the rankings of China’s richest billionaires under 40, Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute said on Friday. As of mid-September, the 38-year-old’s fortune had grown by 230 billion yuan (US$36.1 billion) to 340 billion yuan from the same period last year. Zhang’s jump in terms of wealth was the biggest among his peers and he could become the country’s richest person, Hurun said. “Zhang Yiming is very likely to become the next... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3160962/tiktoks-zhang-yiming-chinas-richest-person-under-40-fortune?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3160962/tiktoks-zhang-yiming-chinas-richest-person-under-40-fortune?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Dec 2021 04:30:14 +0000 The year 2021 marked a new paradigm for the Chinese economy. China is shifting from a model championing gross domestic product growth above all, to one emphasising efficiency, consumer welfare and protection, climate-change mitigation and environmental protection. Chinese companies’ growth will be less unbridled, and more regulated and monitored. The goal of building a global manufacturing powerhouse has evolved into the pursuit of techno-nationalism. China’s leaders believe their country is on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160148/common-prosperity-china-can-avoid-excesses-unrestrained-western?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160148/common-prosperity-china-can-avoid-excesses-unrestrained-western?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2021 22:45:08 +0000 The Chinese used to be described by Westerners as “inscrutable” and it is certainly not easy to discern Beijing’s real motives in cracking down on the activities of high-flying tech entrepreneurs at home and overseas. But it is possible to detect pragmatism rather than ideology behind its recent actions. Consider the impact that the apotheosis of tech entrepreneurs has had on Western financial markets and economies where capital tends nowadays to flow very largely into areas dictated by fashion... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159250/us-tech-bubble-grows-chinas-crackdown-looks-less-madness-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3159250/us-tech-bubble-grows-chinas-crackdown-looks-less-madness-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Dec 2021 05:30:14 +0000 From Bridgewater Associates to BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, some of the world’s biggest stock investors have one thing in common when it comes to China. Valuations are cheap again to get back into the market. Bridgewater, the world’s biggest hedge fund with US$220 billion of assets, ploughed some US$400 million into US-listed Chinese stocks in the third quarter, the Post estimated based on its 13F filing. It held positions in 45 mostly tech-related stocks valued at US$1.7... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3157411/bridgewater-templeton-money-managers-warm-unloved-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3157411/bridgewater-templeton-money-managers-warm-unloved-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:30:25 +0000 ByteDance will separate out its worldwide social media phenomenon TikTok into a stand-alone business unit, as chief executive Liang Rubo overhauls the world’s most valuable technology unicorn into six parts after founder Zhang Yiming decided to take a back-seat role. Liang will oversee the finance of ByteDance, allowing chief financial officer (CFO) Chew Shou Zi to relinquish his finance role to focus on his job as chief executive of TikTok, the video-based social network service, and expand it... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3154537/bytedance-carve-out-tiktok-worlds-sole-hectocorn-splits-six-units-delineating?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3154537/bytedance-carve-out-tiktok-worlds-sole-hectocorn-splits-six-units-delineating?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Nov 2021 05:14:57 +0000 Chinese mainland property tycoons slipped out of the top 10 wealthiest persons for the first time as bottled water giant Nongfu Spring’s Zhong Shanshan took the crown in the latest Hurun China Rich List. China Evergrande, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent founders suffered a combined US$59 billion erosion amid a crackdown in their industries. Entrepreneurs from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were included for the first time in the list of China’s super-rich, or those whose wealth exceeds 2 billion... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3153885/bottled-water-magnate-zhong-shanshan-tops-hurun-china-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3153885/bottled-water-magnate-zhong-shanshan-tops-hurun-china-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Oct 2021 10:30:15 +0000 Alibaba founder Jack Ma is in Europe for a series of business meetings, the Post has learned, the first overseas trip in more than a year for the entrepreneur who spent one of every three days travelling in 2018. The former chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the Post, is currently in Spain for an agriculture and technology study tour related to environmental issues, according to a person familiar with his itinerary. Before flying to Europe, Ma was in Hong Kong to spend low-key... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3152901/jack-ma-study-tour-agriculture-europe-alibabas-founder-travels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3152901/jack-ma-study-tour-agriculture-europe-alibabas-founder-travels?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Oct 2021 10:40:29 +0000 Wang Sicong, the son of Dalian Wanda Group’s billionaire founder and an outspoken social media personality with 40 million followers, has opened fire on Meituan’s data policies just as the country’s dominant food delivery service is grappling with a fine for breaching antitrust rules. Wang said he was locked out of his account on Dazhong Dianping, the restaurants and review service operated by Meituan, when it was linked to another user’s mobile phone number, according to two of his posts on the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151942/chinese-tycoons-socially-influential-son-adds-meituans-antitrust-woes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3151942/chinese-tycoons-socially-influential-son-adds-meituans-antitrust-woes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Oct 2021 15:00:15 +0000 The third part of a series on China’s antitrust crackdowns in the technology industry looks at the regulatory scrutiny on the algorithms that power recommendations in such applications as news aggregators, video sharing platforms and live-streaming apps. When Zhang Yiming first went about creating Jinri Toutiao in 2012, he had in mind a news service that relied on computer algorithms to recommend interesting and important articles to readers, not his own reporters or editors. Jinri Toutiao,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3148321/controlling-hearts-and-minds-china-cracks-down-content-algorithms-make?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3148321/controlling-hearts-and-minds-china-cracks-down-content-algorithms-make?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Sep 2021 07:00:23 +0000 Forrest Li, Sea Ltd’s billionaire co-founder, chairman and CEO, has become Singapore’s richest person as shares of his company surged. Li, who was born in China and later became a Singapore citizen, is now worth US$19.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after Sea’s American depositary receipts rose 67 per cent this year. The city state’s second-richest person, paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, has a net worth of US$17.7 billion. It is another example of how tech billionaires... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3146970/forrest-li-becomes-singapores-richest-person-sea-ltd?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3146970/forrest-li-becomes-singapores-richest-person-sea-ltd?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Aug 2021 02:03:36 +0000 Viewed at one level, the Chinese government’s crackdown on the country’s entrepreneurial elite seems to echo former chairman Mao Zedong’s call in the 1950s to “let a hundred flowers bloom” – and then chop off their heads. But it is probably more accurate to see Beijing’s strategy as being one of pre-emptive bubble bursting. High-flying tech and other entrepreneurs, whether they soar in the firmament of the United States or China, tend to generate stock market bubbles as big as their personas,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143319/tech-and-tuition-crackdown-why-china-doesnt-want-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143319/tech-and-tuition-crackdown-why-china-doesnt-want-stock-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Aug 2021 17:30:10 +0000 Nothing better reflects the sweet financial marriage between China and the West than this model: venture capitalists from the West Coast of the United States provide funding to the brightest entrepreneurs in China, helping them reach hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers in a short time span via internet technologies. Then Wall Street banks arrive to help them walk through the legal and regulatory labyrinth before an eventual public offering on the New York Stock Exchange or the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139879/china-tech-investors-may-find-pekingology-must-learn-term?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139879/china-tech-investors-may-find-pekingology-must-learn-term?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2021 10:15:14 +0000