Archives July 2016

Tencent opens up big data platform to boost sharing economy

Tencent Holdings Ltd has announced that it will fully open up its big data platform and machine learning technology in a move to build a “sharing economy” based on cloud services.

Enterprises will be able to use a set of big data analysis tools developed by Tencent, helping them gain a better understanding of their clients and improve their products.

The Shenzhen-based internet giant, which owns instant messaging tools QQ and WeChat, has years of experiences storing and analyzing huge amounts of data.

The opening of its core technologies is part of Tencent’s efforts to develop cloud services, an area which many other big companies including Alibaba and Baidu are also tapping into.

“Development of a sharing economy is closely related to cloud services” said Ma Huateng, chairman of Tencent. “Like transportation, accommodation and many other areas, cloud services are also a kind of sharing economy.”

He said cloud computing has become one of the key areas Tencent focuses on and the company is dedicated to opening its IT resources and technological capabilities to outsiders.

“In the past, enterprises were only users of internet technology. Now, as they engage themselves in the cloud, they are becoming a part of the internet ecosystem,” Ma said at the 2016 Tencent Cloud Summit held in Shenzhen this week.

Cloud technology has achieved greater importance in recent years as more and more Chinese enterprises integrate themselves deeper with the internet. However, it remains difficult for companies, especially smaller ones, to build their own data center because it involves large capital investment and a waste of resources, said Dowson Tong, senior executive vice-president of Tencent.

Cloud services help enterprises get access to more resources while reducing their operating costs, Tong said.

According to the 2016 Internet Trends report, services provided by Tencent are the most commonly used by Chinese internet users. More than 50 percent of their time on the internet is spent on Tencent services.

“We are not offering cloud services as a separate business. Instead, it is a part of Tencent’s entire strategy. Enterprises will be able to get access to all Tencent platforms by using its cloud services,” Ma said.

Joe Weinman, a leading cloud computing strategist, said Tencent has a good background in offering cloud services. The company owns a huge amount of consumer data and knows what consumers need. This will enable it to do better in user experience and improve availability of its products, he said.

China service sector growth expands slightly in June

Business activity in China’s service sector expanded slightly in June, a private survey showed Tuesday.

The Caixin China General Services PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) came in at 52.7 in June, up from 51.2 in May, according to the survey conducted by financial information service provider Markit and sponsored by Caixin Media Co. Ltd.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 represents contraction.

China’s manufacturing sector remains the ‘most competitive’ for now, report says

China remains the most competitive country in the manufacturing sector, but it will be replaced by the U.S. by 2020 because of shortcomings in human resources, innovation, resources policies and infrastructure, a report released on Saturday noted.

Considering its relatively low labor costs and strong infrastructure policy, China was ranked No.1 in manufacturing competitiveness, according to a global survey of more than 500 companies, Guangzhou-based newspaper 21st Century Business Herald reported during the weekend.

The survey was part of a report released jointly by Chinese think tank ChinaInfo100 and multinational professional services provider Deloitte.

The report said China has established an ecosystem to encourage innovation, partially because research and development spending has increased significantly in recent years, according to the media report.

In some areas, China has already surpassed the U.S. — for example, the Tianhe-2, a supercomputer developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology, is the world’s fastest supercomputer, it said.

However, global economic growth will continue to slow in 2016, which will depress industrial output. China is lagging behind the U.S. in several aspects such as human resources, innovation and the legal environment, the report said.

By 2020, the U.S. will become the most competitive country in manufacturing, followed by China, the report predicted. Germany will remain No.3.

In China, labor costs have increased about 150 percent in the past decade, which has become a major concern for manufacturers, the report said, adding China’s aging society also worries many investors.

Chinese company Hisense reaps benefits from Euro 2016 sponsorship

Chinese electronics giant Hisense appears to have gotten its money’s worth out of its sponsorship of the Euro 2016 soccer championship.

Hisense signed as the 10th global partner for the UEFA EURO 2016 finals on Jan. 14, joining top brands Adidas, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Continental, Hyundai-Kia, McDonald’s, Orange, SOCAR and Turkish Airlines to complete the tournament’s sponsorship program.

Hisense kept its sponsorship fee a secret, while reports said it spent 370 million yuan (about 50 million euros) for its debut in the top European soccer event, a sum amounting to about 25 percent of last year’s net profit.

As the first-ever Chinese company to endorse the 56-year-old tournament, Hisense announced that its Euro 2016 exposure in China alone meant that returns exceed its investment after only the group stage.

“It has been the most successful brand marketing in the company’s 47 years of history,” said the company’s brand director Zhu Shuqin.

Hisense said its logo appeared not only on the LED screen on site in the 36 group matches, but also on the tickets and the interview backdrops.

“Hisense’s logo was caught by the cameras during the matches and seen by millions of TV viewers all over the world,” Zhu said.

In China, Hisense’s logo exposure through the live broadcast of China’s Central Television amounts to some 300 million yuan worth of advertisement on TV, Zhu said, adding that 35 million Chinese fans followed the tournament and watched the matches on TV.

Pleased with the results of their sponsorship at Euro 2016, Zhu revealed that the company may go on to sponsor the 2018 Russia World Cup while its endorsement for other UEFA national team competitions will run until the end of 2017. The competitions include the European Qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Futsal Euro 2016, the 2017 UEFA European U-21 Championship and UEFA Women’s Euro 2017.

European soccer’s ruling body UEFA also seems happy to have Hisense on board.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, the marketing director of UEFA Events SA, told Xinhua that the sponsorship “is something between football and the Chinese brand. As we provide a great commercial platform, I am sure that this sponsorship will give Hisense a great opportunity to grow their brand in Europe and internationally.”

“We look forward to working closely together with them in a mutually beneficial partnership that will also further promote the best of European football to millions of fans in China,” he added.

While Hisense added the first-ever Chinese flavor to the European Championship, other Chinese enterprises are also seeing potentially enormous returns from sponsoring high profile sports events.

In December last year, Alibaba E-Auto, an “internet car” brand owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, reached an eight-year presenting partnership of the Club World Cup with soccer’s world governing body FIFA.

Alibaba thus became the first Chinese company to have presenting partnership with the FIFA tournament.

Months later, Chinese real estate and entertainment giant Wanda Group inked a partnership deal with FIFA which runs through the 2030 World Cup. The contract grants Wanda the highest level of sponsorship rights in the next four FIFA World Cup editions.

But Wanda’s ambition did not stop at soccer. It also ventured into basketball, becoming the exclusive partner of the Federation of International Basketball (FIBA) for their worldwide sponsorship, including the sale of licensing rights and global marketing.

“It was not a mindless splurge. We are buying our way out because the key international sports industry resources, including the marketing rights and broadcast rights can only be redistributed in this way,” said Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin. Last year, Wanda nailed a 20 percent stake in Madrid Atletico at 45 million euros, merged with World Triathlon Corp. (WTC) for 585 million euros, and acquired Swiss sports marketing group Infront Sports & Media for 1.05 billion euros.