Short news
October 31, 2013 Category Short news
Hardware
- All 100,000 units of Xiaomi’s latest flagship smartphone, the Mi-3, sold out in 86 seconds online. The Mi-3 is the world’s first smartphone running on Nvidia’s Tegra 4 quad-core chipset. The 16-gigabyte version of the Mi-3 sells for CNY1,999.
- Lenovo has hired actor Ashton Kutcher to promote its computers, smartphones and tablets. Kutcher, who stars on the television show “Two and a Half Men”, has more than 15 million followers on his Twitter microblog, and had the title role in “Jobs”, a biopic on Apple’s co-founder released in August.
- Samsung apologized to Chinese consumers and promised to improve after-sales service for two smartphones after China Central Television (CCTV) alleged that the two models have “serious design flaws” that were not included in the warranty. Samsung, which has around 20% share in the Chinese smartphone market, promised to extend the warranty period by a year for the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 models produced before November 30, 2012. The problems, probably caused by a memory chip, were originally not covered by Samsung’s warranty. Some customers payed CNY800 to CNY2,000 for repairs.
- Apple will start selling its next-generation iPad – the iPad Air – in China on November 1. It will cost from CNY3,588 for the 16 gigabyte (GB) model to CNY5,688 for the 128 GB model. The iPad Mini with Retina display will be available later in November and be priced from CNY2,888 for the 16 GB model to CNY4,988 for the 128 GB model. Apple also upgraded its flagship laptop Macbook Pro. This is the first time that China has been included in the first batch of markets for a new iPad release.
- Luxury mobile phone marker Vertu launched its second Android phone, the Constellation, in Hong Kong. Vertu Chief Executive Massimiliano Pogliani also told the South China Morning Post that Vertu would develop audio devices as part of its luxury product portfolio. The mid-tier Constellation, with prices starting from HKD52,000, marks the British firm’s second major product launch this year, following the release of its top-of-the-line Ti model in February. Vertu, which has annual sales of about €300 million, counts China – the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao – as its biggest market worldwide.
Operators
- China Mobile, the world’s largest telephone company, posted an 8.8% profit decline – the most since 1999 – to CNY28.4 billion in the third quarter as costs to build its new fourth-generation network increased. Sales totaled CNY159.9 billion in the quarter. Chief Executive Li Yue intends to roll out commercial 4G services by the end of the year that will boost capital spending by 49% this year. China Mobile said the average monthly net additional customers for the first three quarters reached nearly 5 million and, as at September 30, the number of customers amounted to 755 million.
- China will issue 4G licenses by the end of this year as originally planned, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said. At the end of September, China had more than 1.21 billion mobile phone users, with 368 million of them using the 3G network. In the first nine months of this year, China’s telecommunications revenue was CNY870.9 billion, up 8.6% from a year earlier. The value of e-commerce transactions totaled CNY7.5 trillion in the period, a 35% jump from a year ago.
- China Unicom (Hong Kong) posted a 51% increase in third-quarter net profit to CNY3.06 billion, driven by robust 3G subscriptions. For the first nine months, net earnings soared 53.6% from a year earlier to CNY8.37 billion. “The number of 3G subscribers has reached 110 million and the growth is expected to continue”, said Ma Jun, Analyst at Hua Chuang Securities. In the first three quarters, total revenue rose 18.9% year-on-year to CNY220.17 billion, Unicom said. Unicom had 272.76 million mobile subscribers at the end of last month, of whom 111.63 million were 3G users.
- China Telecom Corp, the country’s third-biggest mobile phone company by users, achieved a better-than-expected gain of 20% in quarterly profit to CNY4.5 billion as it benefitted from an increased 3G user base and data income. Chairman Wang Xiaochu attributed the growth in net profit to 3G users and iPhone owners, who subscribe to heavy data packages and various value-added services. The telco’s revenue jumped 12% in the three months ended September 30 to CNY80.7 billion. By the end of September, China Telecom had 96.5 million 3G users, over half of its total user base of 181 million.
Radio, film & TV
- Hong Kong’s Executive Council has decided to issue just two new free-to-air TV licenses, fearing more licenses would lead to fierce competition and the closure of TV stations. PCCW’s Hong Kong Television Entertainment and i-Cable’s Fantastic TV received the new licenses, while Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV) failed to obtain one. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said the whole market’s sustainability was a concern.
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University plans to showcase “naked-eye” 3D technology – which puts a 3D lens onto the screen, allowing viewers to watch 3D images without glasses – at the 15th China International Industry Fair, which runs from November 5 to 9 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in the Pudong New Area. The university will also introduce a 3D Pad for watching 3D movies and playing 3D games.
- Samsung Display said that its first LCD plant in China has started operations, joining rivals who are boosting capacity even as TV markets shrink and flat screens are in oversupply. Chinese companies such as BOE Technology Group and TCL’s LCD unit CSOT are undercutting the world’s two biggest LCD makers and winning market share with robust sales to local TV manufacturers.
Software
- The popularity of mobile phone apps differs markedly from one city to another, according to the Horizon Research Consultancy Group of Beijing. In big metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai, navigation software is popular, while users in smaller cities tend to use smartphones more as video game machines. Social networking apps top the popularity list in big and small cities alike. Among 1,973 respondents aged 18 to 32, 53.8% of those from big cities use social networking apps often, while in third- and fourth-tier cities, the figure is about 41%.
Telecom Mfg. Co.
- Huawei has hired Serge Abou, the EU’s top representative to China between 2005 and 2011, as a consultant in Brussels to provide general strategic advice on matters relating to the global economy and political matters. The former Ambassador had to wait two years before taking up his new position, but is still not allowed to represent the Chinese telecommunications company when dealing with the European Commission. Huawei spent €3 million on lobbying the EU last year, according to the EU’s Transparency Register, making the company the eighth-biggest spender on lobbyists in Brussels.
- Huawei Technologies will invest USD200 million to set up a new research center in Britain. The center will conduct studies on photo-electrons, mobile end design and software development. Huawei will also expand the existing UK research center team to 300 engineers by 2017 from 80 now.
- Huawei Technologies said in a report on cybersecurity that it never has been asked to provide information about a citizen to any government, Huawei’s Vice Chairman Ken Hu said in a report. Huawei is the world’s second-largest supplier of telecoms network gear after Sweden’s LM Ericsson. Its 2012 profit rose 33% over the previous year to CNY15.4 billion on sales of CNY220.2 billion.
- ZTE, the world’s fifth-largest supplier of telecommunications equipment, posted a 112% jump in net profit to CNY241.6 million in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, while revenue reached CNY17.1 billion, representing a decrease of 5.6%. The company reported a net profit of CNY551.6 million for the first nine months of the year, up 132.4% year-on-year. Operating revenue was CNY54.7 billion, down 10%.
- Huawei Technologies and Dubai-based Drake and Scull International (DSI) said they agreed to work together on ICT development projects in the Middle East and North African region in building up data center technology.
- Australia’s new government has decided to maintain a two year old ban on Huawei from working on the nation’s high-speed broadband network. The previous center-left Labor Party government banned the Australian subsidiary of Huawei Technologies in late 2011 from tendering for work on the multi-billion dollar National Broadband Network (NBN) based on security concerns. Huawei Australia Chairman John Lord has maintained that his company poses no threat and complained that the reasons for the ban were never explained.
Web
- Alibaba Group plans to revolutionize China’s retail industry, investing USD16 billion in logistics and support by 2020, and open up China’s vast interior. CEO Jonathan Lu says Alibaba expects to nearly triple the volume of transactions on its marketplaces Taobao and Tmall to about CNY3 trillion by 2016, overtaking Walmart Stores as the world’s biggest retail network. Analysts predict e-commerce will account for a fifth of total retail sales in China within five years, up from just 6% last year.
- Alibaba Group has forged an anti-counterfeiting pact with French fashion house Louis Vuitton Malletier, agreeing to take down listings of suspected counterfeit goods and implementing preventive measures against the sale of fake merchandise. It marked the first time that a brand under LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the Paris-based luxury goods conglomerate, has collaborated with a leading e-commerce platform in China to combat counterfeiting. U.S. luxury brand Coach, a New York-based maker of bags and accessories, had signed a deal similar to Louis Vuitton’s with Taobao Marketplace in December 2011.
- Tmall, the B2C unit under Alibaba Group, said it will offer CNY300 million worth of cash vouchers and encourage consumers to share gift coupons with friends to allow more participants at its annual shopping spree on November 11. The number of merchants involved will double to 20,000. Last year, transactions on the so-called Single’s Day recorded by both Tmall and Taobao reached CNY19.1 billion after discounts of at least 50% were promised on a massive range of goods. The company also said it aims to double the capacity of its internet servers to prepare for the large influx of visitors.
- Alibaba Group more than doubled its profit in the second quarter to USD707 million, as revenue soared 1% from a year ago to USD1.74 billion.
- Alipay, China’s largest third party payment service provider, said it will keep the partnerships with domestic commercial banks. China UnionPay, the country’s sole bank card transaction firm, last year asked all non-financial institutions to connect their payment service through UnionPay instead of directly linking to banks. Last month, the Alibaba Group formed a strategic alliance with China Minsheng Banking Corp in a bid to offer financial services to online shoppers.
- Yahoo said it would keep a larger stake in Alibaba Group than originally planned after the it goes public, hoping to profit from the company’s future growth. Alibaba is expected to file for an estimated USD15 billion IPO next year, valuing it at more than USD100 billion. Alibaba has decided not to list its shares in Hong Kong but has not yet committed to listing on any other exchange.
- Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma has asked each employee to collect at least 100 external contacts by the end of November on Laiwang, the company’s little-known smartphone messaging application. Ma called on the company’s employees to raise the profile of Laiwang to compete against Tencent’s extremely popular WeChat, implying that those who did not hit the target would lose their bonus. Laiwang allows users to log in using their Taobao account. However reactions to Laiwang have been disappointing since its launch, drawing only one million users, while WeChat claims to have more than 400 million users.
- Baidu Wallet’s website crashed as it was unable to process the massive number of users who tried to access the system after the company launched the sale of an asset-management product in collaboration with China Asset Management Co. Baidu said the total CNY1 billion quota was sold out in two hours after the system resumed operations. Baidu Wallet found an initial 120,000 buyers, company Spokesman Kaiser Kuo said. On average, these initial investors put CNY8,333.33 into the new financial service, which plans to achieve 8% returns on investment annually.
- Dianping, a restaurant review website, reported to police that it was deceived by an unnamed party into selling non-existing McDonald’s promotional meal deals, causing a loss of CNY2.2 million to the website. Dianping said the purchases will be refunded to consumers and they will also receive additional compensation.
- Baidu’s quarterly profit rose 1.3% to CNY3 billion as it invested to expand its fledgling mobile business. Revenue surged 42.3% to CNY8.9 billion but sales and administrative costs more than doubled, due mostly to mobile-related expenses. Development costs soared 77.5%. Baidu’s latest profit growth was below the double-digit rates of previous years but represented a rebound from the previous quarter’s rare 4.5% contraction in net earnings.
One-line news
- State-owned engineering firm Beijing Changfeng Microelectronics Technology has successfully used China’s home-grown Beidou navigation satellites to help collect upper-atmosphere weather data, another step towards ending the country’s dependence on U.S.-controlled GPS technology. The company says its radiosonde system – which collects atmospheric data – provided more accurate data than equipment using GPS alone. Beijing Changfeng is developing civilian applications for the Beidou system.
- Haier, Sina Weibo, and ZTE all announced new foreign tie-ups. U.S. private equity firm KKR plans to take a 10% stake in Shanghai-listed Qingdao Haier; Sina concluded a deal with U.S. data mining firm Socialgist to tap the huge volume of data generated on the Sina Weibo social networking site, which has 500 million users but is still losing money; and ZTE has signed its first major product endorsement tie-up in the U.S. with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to become their official smartphone brand.
- China’s Beidou navigation system industry is expected to be producing revenue of CNY400 billion by 2020 with global satellite coverage, wide civilian use and convergence of mobile devices. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) expects that by 2020 the Beidou Navigation Satellite System will be adopted by more than 60% of navigation systems in the domestic market.
- Taiwan-based Foxconn has admitted some of its student interns worked night shifts and overtime in violation of company policy in its facilities on the Chinese mainland. A university in Xian forced students to join the Foxconn internship program in Yantai, Shandong province, in order to graduate. They were assigned to assembly lines to make Sony’s PlayStation game consoles instead of doing any work relating to their major and were sometimes forced to work 11 hours a day.
- IBM reported a 4% drop in third-quarter revenue to USD23.7 billion. Hardware sales declined in China, which accounted for about 5% of IBM’s business.
Recent News
- KURT VANDEPUTTE (UMICORE) APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE FLANDERS-CHINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (FCCC)
- Webinar: “Knowing Your Chinese Partner” – May 26, 2021, 10 am – 12 am
- EMA starts rolling review of CoronaVac, WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
- The Global Times warns not to politicize the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)
- Hainan to become biggest duty-free market in the world