Archives September 2015

Telecom operators not to clear remaining traffic data

China’s top three major telecom operators will launch rollover data services on Thursday, meaning unused data at the end of the month will no longer just disappear.

The operators will launch the service to all subscribers automatically.

Since May of this year, the three major operators have tested this kind of service within certain businesses and through a traffic data donation service.

In July, China’s Department of Telecommunication Development urged telecom operators to launch data rollover plans to all the subscribers.

The authority also urged telecom companies to lower Internet prices and elevate connection speeds.

Yhd.com denies unusual pace of departures after managers quit

Fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platform yhd.com said Monday that recent staff departures represented normal employee turnover, domestic news portal 163.com reported Monday.

A large number of middle-level managers or department directors are leaving the company, according to media reports that cited information from several staff who had recently left the company.

Though some employees chose to leave, new talent is joining the team, the company was quoted as saying in the report.

After U.S.-based retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc took full ownership of yhd.com in July, the company continued to provide its customers with a good shopping experience backed by the capital and supply chain of Wal-Mart, according to media reports.

Wal-Mart initially invested in the Chinese online retail platform in 2011 and gained majority control of the site by raising its stake to 51.3 percent in 2012.

The U.S. retail giant took full ownership of the e-commerce company in July, 10 days after two of its co-founders, former chairman Yu Gang and former CEO Liu Junling, resigned “to pursue their next ventures”.

Media reports said that the company’s employees felt insecure because the founding partners held no more than 20 percent of the company’s equity and the welfare benefits fell short of expectations.

However, what matters more is that the staff see no future for the company after the departures of senior executives, domestic news portal jiemian.com reported on July 27.

This year, employees found it difficult to operate the e-commerce platform due to lack of resources.

Also, the self-operated business model of yhd.com did not develop well, according to jiemian.com.

Wal-Mart has not pointed out a direction for the development of the company, the report said.

The Chinese online retail operator accounted for 1.3 percent of the market in terms of transactions on domestic shopping websites in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Tmall, a business-to-consumer unit of Alibaba Group Holdings, held about 55.6 percent. And China’s second-largest e-commerce company JD.com Inc accounted for 25.2 percent, according to data from Beijing-based iResearch Consulting Group released in September.

China says to promote equity crowdfunding to support start-ups

China will promote greater use of equity crowdfunding for start-ups to encourage entrepreneurship in the world’s second-largest economy, a cabinet document said on Saturday.

China’s leaders have repeatedly said they want to promote more entrepreneurial activity in the State-dominated economy to stimulate employment, a top priority as the economy slows.

While they have pledged strong support for online business, however, they have until now generally refrained from showing enthusiastic support for crowdfunding.

A State Council document posted on the government’s website called for expanding equity crowdfunding projects to help small companies raise funds as a “useful complement” to traditional equity financing while underlining the need to protect investors’ rights and minimize financial risks.

With most Chinese banks unwilling to fund start-ups, crowdfunding has already seen rapid growth, helped by new platforms set up by e-commerce giants such as JD.com Inc.

Crowdfunding is also being used by large companies as funds from traditional channels dry up. Commercial property developer Dalian Wanda Group said in June that it raised 5 billion yuan ($784 million) from investors online and that it would continue to raise money from the public.

But reports have highlighted some of the risks of the unregulated market. A Beijing court earlier this month ordered a restaurant in the capital to pay a fine of 15,000 yuan for deceiving public investors about its intended use for 700,000 yuan raised online, according to a local media report.

The cabinet document give no details about how to address risks but promised that the government would grant easier market access to start-ups.

It also called for the development of third-party credit rating services and a standardized system for collecting, evaluating and sharing credit information.

China’s securities regulator said in August that it would soon begin inspecting online equity financing platforms to address risks from illegal activities in online equity financing platforms.

China could account for half of the developing world’s crowdfunding by 2025, or $50 billion, according to a World Bank forecast.

Skyworth to buy stakes in 2 Toshiba units

Toshiba Corp said it would sell stakes of 5 percent each in two white goods manufacturing units to China’s Skyworth Digital Holdings, a move that comes amid a revamp of its operations in the wake of a $1.3 billion accounting scandal.

The sale is part of broad agreement in which Toshiba will use the Chinese electronics maker and retailer’s local distribution network to sell refrigerators, washing machines and vacuum cleaners.

Meanwhile, it will be winding down two China sales units.

Shares in Skyworth Digital jumped 7.5 percent by mid-afternoon.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Hang Seng index was down 0.7 percent.

Toshiba’s shares ended down 2.4 percent, in line with the broader Tokyo market.

Terms of the equity stake sales in the two China units were not disclosed by either company.

Following revelations that the Japanese laptops-to-nuclear power conglomerate had overstated income going back to fiscal year 2008 to 2009, the company’s Chief Executive Masashi Muromachi said this month he was considering a drastic overhaul of what he said were the company’s weaker operations.

Xi calls for safe cyberspace, reassures U.S. business titans

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with tech executives at 8th U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum in Seattle, Sept 23, 2015.

Seeking better ties with U.S. businesses, especially information technology elites, President Xi Jinping called for more cooperation in trade between the two nations on Wednesday. A few hours later he addressed another closely-watched issue – cybersecurity. [Special coverage]

Xi’s busy schedule in Seattle took him to a roundtable discussion with business leaders from both countries, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook and BerkshireHathaway’s Warren Buffett.

The visiting president encouraged more investment and reiterated support for U.S. businesses operating in China, hosted by the Paulson Institute. The event highlighted China’s market potential.

“We support large American businesses in setting up regional headquarters or research and development centers in China, and encourage more small- and medium-sized companies to expand their businesses in China. Meanwhile, China will keep increasing its investment in the United States,” Xi said citing China’s market-friendly policies.

Pushing for more active trade cooperation, Xi said trade is mutually beneficial as the American businesses that operate in China and cooperate with Chinese counterparts have played a positive role in China’s development and, by harvesting generous profits at the same time, helped boost the American economy.

A few hours later Boeing Co announced a $38 billion package to sell 300 aircraft to China as Xi toured the airplane manufacturer’s plant in Everett, 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle.

Boeing also revealed plans to build an aircraft finishing center in China, its first outside the United States.

To the east of the U.S. west coastal city, at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, where Xi was welcomed by Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates and its CEO Satya Nadella, he spoke at the 8th U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum that saw the gathering of several tech executives, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tencent founder Pony Ma Huateng.

A safe and stable cyberspace is of great significance for world peace and development, Xi said.

Addressing cybersecurity, one of the pressing concerns that is believed to sometimes strain China-U.S. relations, he added that China, besides advocating building a peaceful, safe, open, and cooperative cyberspace, proposes that all nations enact Internet public polices which are in accordance with their particular conditions.

“We are on the same boat,” said Lu Wei, China’s chief Internet regulator, highlighting the two nations’ shared pursuit of safer Internet.

Xi also visited Lincoln High School in Tacoma, south of Seattle, along with wife Peng Liyuan. The sports-loving president received a jersey while watching the school’s football team practice.

He will head to Washington on Thursday where he will meet his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

Holidays spark shopping spree

Travelers are expected to spend more than $1,560 on average in top cities

Big-spending Chinese tourists are embracing a longer vacation as this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival falls close to the National Day holiday in October.

Ctrip, China’s leading online travel service provider, said the number of tourists who booked long-distance trips during the National Day holiday increased by 150 percent compared with the same period last year.

“Shopping is still one of the major goals for Chinese outbound tourists. We have many tailored travel groups with shopping as the only activity,” said Zhang Shuo, publicity officer with the global shopping platform under Ctrip.

The top overseas destinations for shoppers from the Chinese mainland for the coming two holidays include New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong.

Average consumption in the top 10 favorite overseas destinations is expected to surpass 10,000 yuan ($1,569), while in New York, the number could exceed 21,000 yuan.

“We also noticed some changes this year based on the overseas consumption data of the past nine years,” Zhang said. “Barcelona, Spain, is gaining popularity. The growth rate surpassed 71 percent year-on-year.”

Hong Kong and South Korea used to be the top choice of Chinese mainland tourists. But political agitation in Hong Kong and a fear of MERS in South Korea means they are losing Chinese mainland consumers to Japan.

“Consumption in Hong Kong and South Korea is bouncing back, but it still takes time to reach the previous level,” Zhang said.

About 36 percent of Chinese tourists selected shopping as their purpose for outbound tourism, said the Market Research Report on Chinese Outbound Tourist Consumption by the World Tourism Cities Federation.

Zhang Jinfang, 27, a staff member at a government-funded research institute in Beijing, said she had already planned to visit Japan during the National Day holiday.

“Some friends and relatives asked me to buy something for them. So I planned two days for shopping,” Zhang Jinfang said. “Not only are prices more reasonable, the quality of goods in Japan is more trustworthy. Besides, I will have more choices if I travel around and buy local brands.”

Chen Songchuan, a lecturer at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, said the surge of overseas consumption reflected the gap between Chinese consumers’ preferences and Chinese-made products.

“Historically, we had many world-famous luxury goods such as porcelain, silk or tea,” Chen said. “However, the lack of high-end made-in-China products is pushing Chinese consumers to overseas markets.”

Didi Kuaidi signs deal with Lenovo in drive to target corporate clients

Didi Kuaidi, China’s largest car-booking mobile app company, signed a corporate deal with Lenovo Group Ltd on Monday.

The agreement with the world’s largest personal computer manufacturer marks a new push into the corporate sector as most of its clients are individual customers.

There is also a family connection to the deal. Didi Kuaidi president Liu Qing is the daughter of Liu Chuanzhi, founder and chairman of Lenovo.

Under the agreement, Lenovo will open a corporate account on Didi Kuaidi’s online platform, which will allow employees at the PC maker to use the service. Fares will be billed directly to the corporate account.

“Didi Kuaidi boasts abundant car resources and stable dispatching systems,” Dai Jingtong, vice president of Lenovo, said. “Its professional services will help Lenovo reduce cost and boost the efficiency in internal management.”

Lenovo’s office system will be open to Didi Kuaidi, which will have access to the group’s list of employees.

In January, the car-booking company launched a corporate platform. So far, 7,200 companies have set up accounts, but Lenovo is the first client to actually use the mobile app version, Didi Kuaidi said in a statement.

Apple Pay sets up shop in Shanghai FTZ

An Apple Pay base has been set up in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), according to the Shanghai FTZ management committee.

The company was registered in the Shanghai FTZ in June, according to literature distributed by the management this week, which included the Apple Pay company among ventures established in the zone.

Apple has been working to introduce its Apple Pay service to China and is reported to be in talks with China’s bankcard association China UnionPay to tap into the country’s nearly 1 trillion dollar mobile payment market.

Apple did not respond to Xinhua’s request for comment.

Apple’s payment service uses near field communication (NFC) and its fingerprint recognition technology to allow users to make contactless payment in stores.

China UnionPay has been promoting NFC payment across China by teaming with telecom operators and deploying NFC-enabled POS machines at stores.

Such mobile payment methods, however, remain niche despite UnionPay’s promotional campaigns. An alternative payment solution, offered by domestic internet firms Alibaba and Tencent, which lets users scan QR code to complete transactions, is far more popular.

Standard system to be applied to all Guangdong manufacturers

Authorities in Guangdong province, a major manufacturing hub in South China, unveiled a plan in provincial capital Guangzhou on Thursday to develop a standard system of high-end equipment manufacturing.

The plan covers the development of systems of equipment for intelligent manufacturing, general aviation, urban rail transit and ocean engineering and shipbuilding, which are listed as strategic emerging industries of Guangdong.

According to Zhang Yanfei, deputy director of the Guangdong Quality and Technology Supervision Administration, the system will be of importance to the healthy development of high-end equipment manufacturing in the near future.

“Guangdong’s strong electronic and information industry has laid a solid foundation for development of high-end equipment manufacturing, which will help upgrade the province’s industrial structure,” said Zhang.

The plan was unveiled during a Pan-Pearl River Delta conference on regional quality cooperation.