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News feed
Bite-sized news updates on China’s tech world
Monday, May 9
- On May 6, TikTok owner ByteDance changed the name of its Hong Kong subsidiary from ByteDance (Hong Kong) Limited to Douyin Group (Hong Kong) Limited, in reflection of its short video app Douyin. The tech behemoth has replaced “ByteDance” with “Douyin” in the names of a number of its subsidiaries recently. The rebranding has revived market speculation about the company’s intention to spin off its business surrounding short video app Douyin for a Hong Kong IPO. This comes shortly on the heels of ByteDance’s appointment of Julie Gao, former exec at international law firm Skadden, as chief financial officer in late April. Gao’s appointment is widely interpreted as part of efforts by the company to initiate an IPO. [SCMP]
- TikTok owner ByteDance has released an all-in-one video and audio streaming device and corresponding app for professional livestreamers, priced at RMB 15,800 ($2,351), Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported on Monday. The device, named Lingjing and resembling a smartphone with extra manual controls and a flippable camera, features video and audio capturing, processing, and publishing. The accompanying app supports streaming to multiple channels simultaneously and offers multi-feed access for directors. Users can also utilize a number of built-in effects such as green screen masking and beautifying. [36Kr, in Chinese]
- The Shanghai Postal Administration (SPA) released an initial whitelist of express delivery firms that have been approved to resume operations in the city on May 8. The list includes 21 express firms, including China Post, SF Express, and JD.com’s delivery firm. Express services have been resumed to meet the need for Covid-19 prevention materials, emergency medical supplies, and daily necessities in the city. According to data from the local government, there were a total of 3,947 new Covid-19 cases in the city on May 8. [SPA announcement]
- Tesla has resumed production at its Shanghai factory, reporting an output of over 10,000 vehicles over a 12-day period until April 30, Wu Qiang, a deputy district mayor of Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, said on Saturday at a news conference. The production volume of the Shanghai Gigafactory, located in the city’s Pudong district, remains at just one-third of its pre-pandemic level of around 17,000 vehicles per week, and the company expects to resume full productivity by mid-May, local media reported, citing company sources. The US auto giant’s output dropped by more than 50,000 vehicles over the three weeks that production was suspended during the city’s lockdown in April. [Yicai, in Chinese]
- Local authorities have begun an investigation into a BYD manufacturing plant in the central Chinese city of Changsha over gas emission problems, the city’s municipal government said on May 8 on its WeChat account. The electric vehicle giant is being accused of emitting toxic gases that have caused nosebleeds, coughing, and nausea for over 600 children living near the facility. The company has denied the accusations in response and insisted that the local plant is operating in line with China’s emission rules. [Changsha Fabu, in Chinese]
Tuesday, May 10
- Tesla sold just 1,512 cars via wholesale channels in China in April, decreasing by over 95% month-on-month, and representing a decline of 24,333 units from a year earlier, according to figures published by China Passenger Car Association on Tuesday. The country’s passenger EV sector saw a significant drop with wholesale sales down by 38.5% from a month ago to 280,000 vehicles in April, a result of weeks of lockdown measures in Shanghai. Tesla’s Shanghai facility was shut down for 22 days in April and the US automaker has again halted production due to a parts shortage, Reuters reported Monday citing sources. [China Passenger Car Association, in Chinese]
- Kuaishou’s e-commerce unit has set up two new business centers targeting the online sales of local services and properties, Chinese media outlet Jiemian reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The report says that the heads of the two new centers, which were established in April, will report directly to Xiao Gu, director of Kuaishou’s e-commerce business. The short video app opened its e-commerce store to local services merchants in January and currently allows the selling of houses through livestreaming in 16 cities. Both of the services target users in China’s smaller cities, where the Douyin rival has a stronger hold. Kuaishou’s gross merchandise value increased 78.4% year-on-year to RMB 680 billion ($101 billion) in 2021. [Jiemian, in Chinese]
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Chinese online retailer JD has launched a new department store channel by integrating several existing businesses from its fashion and lifestyle sections, including clothing, cosmetics, and housewares. In addition to online channels, the company will build an offline presence for the service with plans to open themed bricks-and-mortar stores in major cities. The firm plans to launch the first group of such department stores in locations including Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an before June 18 this year, Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported. Fashion and lifestyle is a major category where JD has seen rapid growth for third-party sellers, especially after a regulatory crackdown on forced exclusivity, a practice in which platforms forbid merchants from selling their wares on competitors’ platforms. [36Kr, in Chinese]
Wednesday, May 11
- Aptiv, a US auto parts maker whose customers include Tesla and General Motors, has suspended shipments of some parts to clients after new Covid cases were confirmed among workers at its Shanghai plant, Reuters reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. This kind of supply issue could prohibit automakers from resuming full production, with Tesla having already suspended most of its production at its Shanghai facility due to a lack of sufficient resources, another Reuters report said on Tuesday. The US electric vehicle maker produced 10,757 vehicles last month following three weeks of suspended operations, figures from the China Passenger Car Association show. [Reuters]
- Chinese gaming giant Lilith’s new title, Dislyte, quickly topped app store downloads in a few regions a day after its launch. Dislyte is a role-playing game with a mythological setting and eye-catching art design. The title topped the download charts for free games on the App Store in Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore on Tuesday. This is not the Shanghai-based developer’s first attempt to win over gamers in this category; in 2019, Lilith launched AFK Arena, a title with similar gameplay. AFK Arena ranked 21st in terms of revenue among China-developed games in international markets for the month of March, according to US-based insights firm Data.ai. [Youxixinzhi, in Chinese]
- Chinese online housing firm Ke Holdings, also known as Beike, is starting a new round of layoffs, Chinese media outlet the Paper reported on Tuesday. The job cuts will affect the company’s research and development, operations, and mid- and back-end services, the report says, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Beijing-based firm reportedly downsized its operations in its second-hand and new property transaction services groups in March. At that time, the company refuted the rumored headcount reduction. China’s widespread tech layoff, which has impacted most of the country’s tech majors – from big-name behemoths such as Alibaba and Tencent to vertical unicorns such as Bilibli – shows no signs of ending just yet. [The Paper, in Chinese]
- Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry TSMC informed its clients on Tuesday that it will raise production prices by 6% from January 2023, Taiwan media UDN reports. TSMC refused to comment on the issue, but clients of TSMC confirmed to UDN that they had received notification of the price increase. This is TSMC’s latest price hike, following a 7% to 20% increase in August 2021. [UDN, in Chinese]
- Chinese EV maker Nio announced a partnership with Tencent News on May 7 to launch a news radio channel for Nio Radio, the exclusive in-car radio service for Nio users. The radio channel will run all day, the announcement said. Founded in 2003, Tencent News is an aggregated news and content platform with 16,000 media accounts and tailored news feeds. [Nio press release, in Chinese]
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