Baidu sets up venture capital firm for innovation in artificial intelligence

Baidu Inc announced Tuesday that it will set up an independent venture capital firm to focus on investing in early-stage high-tech innovative projects related to artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality and virtual reality, according to media reports.

The company, named Baidu -Venture, has received the first round of funding of $200 million, -chinanews.com reported on Tuesday.

Baidu CEO Li Yanhong will serve as chairman of the firm and of its investment committee. He will participate in the review and assessment of the projects, said the report.

Baidu Venture will operate independently from Baidu, with innovative assessment mechanisms to accelerate the decision-making process and boost the company’s investment efficiency, domestic news portal -leiphone.com reported on Tuesday.

Leading AI scientists, including those in Baidu, will be invited to serve as consultants, leiphone.com noted.

It is another milestone in Baidu’s strategic move into the AI sector, which Li said “will be a core tool for remarkable changes in daily life, just as electricity was over a century ago.”

He spoke at the Baidu World -Conference on September 1, the Xinhua News Agency reported the same day.

Allen Zhu, managing director of GSR Venture, said the AI sector “has already attracted investment from the capital market.”

Zhu predicted that it will be “the next promising investment opportunity after the Internet.”

In 2015, China’s market for AI amounted to 1.2 billion yuan ($179.65 million), according to consultancy iResearch Consulting Group.

The sector is expected to reach 9.1 billion yuan in 2020.

Baidu is one of the pioneers in the field. Earlier this month, the company unveiled its AI system called Baidu Brain, which is able to recognize and process speech, images and words, as well as build user profiles, said Xinhua’s report.

It launched the Institute of Deep Learning in 2013 to develop AI technology, chinanews.com noted.

Firms need to step up efforts on standardization, says official

Chinese enterprises should make more efforts to participate in international cooperation in standards to promote their overseas development, said Zhang Xiaogang, president of International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

“Chinese enterprises should pay more importance to international standards and increase awareness in participating in international standardization affairs,” Zhang said in an exclusive interview with China Daily ahead of the 39th ISO General Assembly. “They should increase their familiarity of the rules on the formulation of international standards.”

The 39th ISO General Assembly will open on Monday in Beijing, and delegates from all of the ISO’s 163 members are expected to attend the meeting. This is the second time that the general assembly of the world’s biggest organization for standardization has been held in China.

“The meeting will expedite China’s participation in international standardization affairs, and play a role beyond measure in facilitating integration between China and the international community in economy, trade, science and technology, and other fields,” Zhang said. “It will also greatly contribute to China’s economic upgrade.”

The technical standards, such as those for measurements and units, and industrial standards issued by the ISO have been widely adopted and have had far-reaching influence in global technological and economic development, Zhang said.

Participation into international standardization can help enterprises to master international rules, familiarize themselves with the latest technological development, increase their competitiveness and brings them economic benefits, he said.

China has made remarkable progress in international standardization in recent years. China led in the formulation of 182 international standards between 2001 and 2015. The figure was 13 between 1947, when the ISO was founded, and 2000, Zhang said.

Despite this progress, China still lags far behind developed countries in international standardization. Around 95 percent of international standards are made led by Western countries, he said. Only 0.7 percent of international standards were led by China, and these standards are mainly limited to industries in which China enjoys traditional advantages, such as fireworks, he said.

To reduce the gap, China needs intensified participation in the formulation of international standards, and the government should consider national plans for internationalization of Chinese standards, he said.

Meanwhile, the government should foster an incentive mechanism to encourage enterprises to cooperate with standardization research institutes to promote advantageous technical standards held by enterprises to become international standards, Zhang said.

In addition, enterprises should make more efforts to cultivate employees who excel in foreign languages, master certain fields of technology, and are familiar with the rules of international standards formulation, to improve international cooperation and exchanges in standardization, he said.

Meng Yongye, deputy director of the Center for International Language Service and Management, at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said with more Chinese enterprises investing overseas, more Chinese technologies will also go overseas, and they should aim to internationalize their standards if they want to become world-class enterprises.

Less than 5 percent of Chinese standards have English versions, far below countries such as Japan and Germany.

China will take a series of measures to encourage internationalization of Chinese standards, such as encouraging enterprises and experts in the formulation and revision of international standards, and carry out mutual recognition of standards with China’s major trade partners, Tian Shihong, director of China’s Standardization Administration, said at a news conference in August.

Tens of Thousands of Jobs Go as China’s Biggest Banks Cut Costs

China’s four biggest banks reported that staff numbers fell by the most in at least six years in the first half, highlighting the possibility that employment has peaked at the firms that are the world’s biggest providers of banking jobs.
A decline of 1.5 percent from the end of last year left 1.62 million workers at Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp. and Bank of China Ltd., earnings filings showed. Agricultural Bank, the No. 1 bank employer, saw its number of employees slip below half a million.
While a fall in the first half is not unusual, the 25,000-job decline is the biggest since at least 2010 and analysts at firms including BOC International Holdings Ltd. and DBS Vickers Hong Kong Ltd. say changes to how banking is done will limit prospects for increases.
“Chinese banks went through years of expansion, adding physical outlets that helped to push their staff numbers to a peak,” said Polar Zhang, a Beijing-based bank analyst at BOC International. He expects the workforce to “dwindle” on technological advances and cost cutting.

Chinese lenders take four of the top five slots for employment by listed banks around the world, ahead of the likes of Wells Fargo & Co., HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., data compiled by Bloomberg show. Russia’s Sberbank PJSC is in the top five.
Economic Slowdown
Lenders from Citigroup to Deutsche Bank AG have cut staff and costs in revamps since the global financial crisis.
While Chinese banks have avoided the multi-billion dollar fines for compliance breaches that have weighed on their international counterparts, they’re under pressure from an economic slowdown and a rising quantity of bad loans. Margins are falling as the government deregulates the industry and online and mobile players like Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group — also known as Ant Financial — and Tencent Holdings Ltd. eat into their businesses.
Chinese lenders have generally reduced numbers by not replacing staff who leave, according to Shujin Chen, a Hong Kong-based analyst at DBS Vickers Hong Kong. Workers are departing in search of better pay, she said, adding that banks would need less staff as artificial intelligence and online and mobile transactions played a bigger role and lenders developed robots that would interact with customers.
Besides a reduced number of workers, the first-half data also pointed to pressure on pay. The big four banks’ combined staff compensation costs — including salaries, bonuses, allowances and post-employment benefits — fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier. At the mid-sized China Minsheng Banking Corp., the decline was 22 percent.

Flat revenue and rising pressure on asset quality means “banks have been pushing even harder in cost optimization,” Wei Hou, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a note.
— With assistance by Jun Luo

Banking Layoffs Continue in China as Salaries Slashed in First Half

The departures come as the banking industry struggles against strong financial headwinds.

China’s biggest banks have eliminated thousands of jobs in the past six months to June 2016, as the nation’s banking industry, despite avoiding the huge fines for compliance breaches that weighed on their Western peers, has seen a challenging year amid a sluggish economy, lower interest margins and top-down financial reforms.

Big banks in China have announced almost 1.62 million new job cuts this year, and thousands more are expected, as the wave of lay-offs that began in 2013 shows no sign of abating.

So far, 10 out of the 16 listed mainland banks have reported a headcount drop. The top six listed banks, which reported their weakest profit growth in a decade, have cut a combined total of 34,691 jobs in the first half of the year, the semi-annual reports of the banks showed. This marks the biggest scale of employee departure ever recorded in China’s banking sector, which has expanded uninterrupted over the past 10 years.

Salaries are also going down
According to several media reports, many banks have been easing staff for different reasons, with China Merchants Bank scaling back the most, cutting 10 per cent of its workforce. Bank of China said its headcount at the end of June 2016 had decreased by 6,881 to a total of 303,161 employees. Agricultural Bank, the nation’s biggest bank employer, lost 4,023 staff while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China cut back by 7,635. China Construction Bank also shed 6,721 staff to 362,462.

Besides a reduced number of workers, salaries are also going down as Chinese banks’ profits slid 3.5 per cent on the year, while the four state-owned banks reported profit growth below one per cent. In addition, the first-half data showed that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank reduced their salary expenses, including salaries, bonuses, allowances and post-employment benefits, by 1.6 percent, 2.9 percent, and 2.18 percent respectively.

Compensation structures are generally different in Chinese banks compared to their Western peers. For example, the average annual income for a mid-level banker can typically range between $100,000 to $125,000 while similar international counterparts offer more than double those salaries. They also offer longer holidays and fewer travel curbs, while Chinese staff can only get five days annual leave and must request approval from authorities before being allowed travel abroad.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative to stimulate Asian, global economic growth: Bangladesh economist

Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China could stimulate sustainable Asian and global economic growth, a leading Bangladeshi legal economist told Xinhua.

In an exclusive interview recently, MS Siddiqui, a professor at Dhaka’s Daffodil International University, said the Belt and Road Initiative will connect countries that represent 30 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP), 63 percent of global population, and most of known energy reserves.

PROMOTE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

In particular, countries along the Belt and Road routes, especially those with underdeveloped infrastructure, low investment rates, and low per-capita incomes, could experience a boost in trade flows and benefit from infrastructure development, said Siddiqui.

The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, in a bid to revive the historic trade routes by boosting cooperation between China and other nations.

The Silk Road Economic Belt revival project could involve more than 60 countries and regions.

According to the economist, Chinese investment in large infrastructure projects constitutes the basis of the China-led initiative, which consists primarily of infrastructure that facilitates east-west trade over land, such as railways, roads and pipelines.

China has committed a total of about 100 billion U.S. dollars to a trio of new infrastructure funds, allocating 40 billion U.S. dollars to the Central Asia-focused Silk Road Fund, 50 billion U.S. dollars to the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and 10 billion U.S. dollars to the BRICS-led New Development Bank, he mentioned.

The vision document for the Belt and Road Initiative, goes well beyond just infrastructure, and envisions closer coordination of economic development policies, harmonization of technical standards for infrastructure, removal of investment and trade barriers, establishment of free trade areas, financial cooperation and “people to people bonds” involving cultural and academic exchanges.

Personnel exchanges and cooperation, media cooperation, youth and female exchanges, and volunteer services, are also major components of the initiative, he said.

“China would be able to better secure its energy and raw materials supply, which now predominantly gets shipped through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea as China is gradually becoming more influential economically and diplomatically. Eventually it will shift geo-strategically from a ‘low-profile’ international strategy and take on a far greater role in global affairs.”

With the Belt and Road Initiative, Siddiqui said China as “a new great power is trying to supplement the international economic order.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR BANGLADESH

“Bangladesh is in a strategic location between China, India and ASEAN countries and hence is well placed to be a trading and manufacturing hub. Bangladesh needs such increased connectivity with other economies in this region and China’s Belt and Road Initiative will see the realization of this economic area.”

He added that Bangladesh should seek more Chinese support to help develop more mega infrastructures and develop other facilities related to finance and technology.

“Following China’s construction here of the multipurpose road-rail Padma Bridge bridge, we are expecting China to help develop a deep sea port,” the economist said.

Bangladesh also needs Chinese support on regional and global issues and has invited China to be involved in regional issues with other relevant countries, he said.

Siddiqui went on to explain that the current infrastructure and energy sector projects bottlenecking in Bangladesh transpired mainly from a shortage of long-term investments.

The Bangladeshi government’s budgetary allocations and long-term financing from local and foreign enterprises including banks, non-banking financial institutions and insurance companies, were not sufficient for maintaining the required investment for these sectors, he said.

“Bangladesh will have to spend between 7.4 billion and 10 billion U.S. dollars a year until 2020 to bring its power grids, roads and water supplies up to the standard needed to serve its growing population. In total, the country will require between 74 billion and 100 billion U.S. dollars between 2011 and 2020, or between 7.38 to 10.02 percent of its gross domestic product to improve infrastructure.”

BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) economic corridors will increase trade, transport, tourism and investment for Bangladesh, due to its strategic location between India and China, he said.

“The availability and affordability of workers and its geographical location are important aspects of Bangladesh developing into regional hub, yet it urgently needs a port, and related infrastructure to boost connectivity with other nations through ocean and land routes. The Belt and Road Initiatives will open up numerous opportunities for Bangladesh,” said Siddiqui.

CONNECTING WORLD EFFICIENTLY

He said Chinese investment in large infrastructure projects constitutes the basis of the Belt and Road Initiative and emphasizes the commercial and open nature of the modern version of this network, he said.

He further explained that the ambitious programs of infrastructure construction along the main Asia-Europe shipping route will also result in connecting the world more efficiently.

“Firstly, China is gradually becoming more influential economically, diplomatically and geostrategically in regions close to Europe, therefore stronger investment and trade relations between China and countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia are increasing China’s stake in regional affairs, as friendly relations with Beijing increase,” Siddiqui said.

“Secondly, the Chinese government has an increased ability to influence routes trade between China and the European Union. And in the long term it is likely that transport and supply chain routes involving Asia and Africa will increasingly bypass those of Europe,” the economist concluded.

Chinese Job Recruitment App Raises RMB200 Million

Shanghai-based online recruitment app HunterOn says it has raised RMB200 million to expand its recruitment services to more sectors, including finance, healthcare and consumer.

UOB Venture Management, an investment arm of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Group, led the series C round, and existing investor IDG Capital Partners also participated in the round.

Founded in 2012, HunterOn provides a platform connecting recruiters and headhunters. Its web and mobile apps aggregate 20,000 headhunting companies and 60,000 headhunters, providing services to 30,000 companies.

The company previously raised US$10 million in a series A round from IDG and China Growth Capital in 2014. It completed a US$20 million series B financing led by Sequoia Capital with participation from IDG Capital in the same year.

The hiring of senior level professionals is mostly conducted via headhunters in China, and HunterOn is creating an Alibaba-like platform for human resources, UOB Venture Management said in a statement.

Tencent is top Asian company

Gets big boost from mobile Internet services

Internet giant Tencent Holdings has become the company with the highest market value in Asia at HK$1.99 trillion ($255.8 billion), overtaking domestic rival Alibaba Group Holding and many time-honored brands in China, media reports said Monday.

It is also the first time that Tencent surpassed China Mobile, which is valued at $254 billion, to become the top company in Asia, domestic news portal -wallstreetcn.com noted.

Alibaba ranked third at $250.2 billion, followed by South Korea-based tech company Samsung Electronics Co at $229.4 billion, according to the report.

“Tencent’s market value is based on its current and previous good financial situation, which is driven by the company’s core businesses including advertisements, games, e-commerce and financial services,” Li Chengdong, a Beijing-based independent e-commerce strategy -analyst, told the Global Times on Monday.

Tencent’s first-half revenue reached 67.7 billion yuan ($10.21 billion), up 48 percent year-on-year, said the financial report released by the company on August 17.

Gross profit rose 40 percent year-on-year to 39 billion yuan, the report showed.

Tencent has benefited from China’s fast-developing mobile Internet industry, which tops the world with 700 million to 800 million users, noted Liu Dingding, an Beijing-based independent industry analyst.

Li said that Tencent has a large base of active users who spend a long time on its products such as online chat tools QQ and WeChat, which makes its products unique in the era of mobile Internet.

Apart from its robust mobile game business, the growth of Tencent has been fueled by other activities such as video, digital reading, music, streaming media and Web ads, domestic news portal lanjinger.com reported Monday, citing an industry study from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Tencent’s mobile game revenue will approach 40 billion yuan in 2016, up 89 percent year-on-year, the JPMorgan report said.

It also forecast that the revenue of Tencent’s social network will increase 30 percent this year and 25 percent in 2017.

“Tencent’s WeChat business also reported a great performance in recent months,” Liu told the Global Times on Monday.

For WeChat, including Chinese version Weixin, monthly active users reached 806 million in the first half of 2016, up 34 percent year-on-year, said Tencent’s interim report.

Weixin further penetrated into communication scenarios at work, with more than 20 million registered users of -Weixin enterprise accounts, which facilitate internal office automation operations, the report noted.

“The company will continue to boost such businesses as WeChat, cloud computing and big data,” Liu said.

Tencent has much scope for growth in businesses like finance and e-commerce, experts noted.

“Tencent has become the biggest shareholder of JD.com Inc and will join forces with jd.com to further develop its e-commerce business, posing tougher competition for Alibaba,” Liu said.

Salary rise of 8-15% for skilled talents

SKILLED professionals in China are receiving an average pay rise of 8-15 percent this year as demand for talents continues in the information technology sector, ZW HR Consulting said in a report yesterday.

However, those “with desired skills such as leadership capabilities, on-the-job experience and language proficiency can receive up to a 25 percent rise in salary,” said Frank Yu, chairman of ZW HR Consulting.

He added that candidates are now getting 8-15 percent increase in salary.

The pay rise and growth in recruitment this year will continue to be as active as last year as employers pursue a small pool of workers with strong technical and business skills, the firm said from analysis of job placements and interviews with firms and job seekers.

The IT sector will continue to outperform and drive growth in 2016 as demand will be particularly high for specialists, mobile engineers and software developers, ZW said, adding that engineers in research and development are also highly sought-after.

“We anticipate high levels of hiring activity will continue throughout 2016. Many companies are still positive when it comes to their hiring activities,” said Yu .

Demand for professionals in digital marketing, client relationship management and e-commerce continues to exceed the supply of candidates as online businesses in China are set to grow rapidly, according to the report.

GlobalSportsJobs works with China’s Alisports

GlobalSportsJobs, a specialist digital media and talent acquisition platform for the international sports industry, has entered into a partnership with Alisports to support the Chinese online sports marketing firm’s domestic and international expansion plans.

Under the terms of the agreement, GlobalSportsJobs will provide Alisports, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, with a range of digital talent acquisition solutions including the rights to advertise career opportunities across its multi-language platforms.

The partnership also sees GlobalSportsJobs help Alisports develop its international corporate branding through a range of content aimed at educating and inspiring professionals who are looking to further their careers in sport or make a transition into the industry from outside.