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☆ Jack Ma is praising Alibaba. Wall Street is more cautious
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alibaba shares got a boost last week from news founder Jack Ma is pleased with the company's turnaround so far. They cut their price target to $100 a share, down from $105 previously, while maintaining an overweight rating. Eddie Wu became CEO of Alibaba in September, and is also acting head of the cloud business. They cut their price target by $1 to $105 a share and maintained their buy rating. They have a price target of $85, and, in contrast to the many buy ratings, rate the stock equal weight.

Persons: Jack Ma, Joe Tsai, Ma, Alex Yao, Tsai, Nicolai Tangen, We've, Eddie Wu, Trudy Dai, Daniel Zhang, Kenneth Fong, Douyin, Nomura, Doubao, Ernie, Qianwen, monetization, Morgan Stanley, Gary Yu, — CNBC's Michael Bloom, Arjun Kharpal Organizations: CNBC, Wall Street, JPMorgan, Norges Bank Investment, Alibaba, Commerce, UBS, PDD Holdings, Norges Bank Investment Management Locations: China, U.S, Taobao, BABA

☆ China removes anonymity of bloggers' accounts with more than 500,000 followers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Doxxing is the public release of sensitive information identifying an individual or organisation, like a home address or phone number. Some, like former state media editor Hu Xijin, have defended the measure as necessary in order to force influential accounts to use more responsible speech. Others, however, have expressed concerns that the measure would make doxxing easier and platforms would further remove online users' anonymity in the future. Weibo CEO Wang Gaofei said two weeks ago that the policy would not be expanded to include accounts with follower counts below 500,000. The new measures will remove the anonymity of thousands of influencers on social media platforms that are used daily by hundreds of millions of Chinese.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tik Tok, Hu Xijin, Wang Gaofei, Bytedance's Douyin, Eduardo Baptista, Ed Osmond, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Baidu, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, Weibo, Douyin

A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - New Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu has told staff the tech giant's two main strategic focuses going forward will be "user first" and "AI-driven", according to an internal letter reviewed by Reuters. The new CEO, one of Alibaba Group's founders and long-time lieutenant of former chief Jack Ma, is laying out his strategic priorities at a key moment for Alibaba, which is undergoing the biggest organisational restructure of its 24-year history. Late on Sunday Alibaba also announced that Wu would concurrently serve as CEO of its cloud computing unit, replacing Daniel Zhang. The cloud unit is Alibaba's second-biggest revenue source after domestic e-commerce and houses the group's generative artificial intelligence model, Tongyi Qianwen.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Eddie Wu, Wu, Alibaba, Jack Ma, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, ByteDance's Douyin, Casey Hall, Gerry Doyle, Stephen Coates Organizations: Alibaba Group, REUTERS, Rights, Alibaba, Reuters, Cloud Intelligence Group, PDD Holdings, Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, HK, Baidu, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China

☆ China's big internet names have mostly beat. Here's where analysts think the stocks are headed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

All three stocks have double-digit gains ahead of them, if the average FactSet analyst price target holds true. Still, the average price target rose by 2.4% to $118.90 a share, according to FactSet. KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) gained nearly 19% last month. "We expect the stock will remain volatile in the near term along with China internet peers on macro uncertainty," the report said. Loop has a $210 price target on Baidu, more than 50% above where shares closed on Friday.

Persons: Tencent, –, Louis, Vincent, Jiong Shao, Nomura, Jialong Shi, Morgan Stanley, Alex Poon, NetEase, Rob Sanderson, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Baidu, UBS, Hong, Barclays, China Internet, CSI China Internet Locations: U.S, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Barclays China, Tencent

☆ China's livestreaming attracts young hopefuls as competition grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A day in the life of a livestreaming host like Zhang can include more than six hours of talking almost non-stop to camera, time spent on hair, make-up, and on post-broadcast debriefs. I can pick up my phone and I'm livestreaming," Zhang said. The livestreaming industry employed 1.23 million hosts as of 2020, according to iResearch, and a pandemic era boom in livestream sales helped the industry to generate $480 billion in business in China last year. To facilitate an increasingly professional and competitive livestreaming landscape, agencies have sprung up to train stables of young hosts and connect suitable anchors with brands. Indeed, the way brands approach livestreaming in China has also quickly evolved.

Persons: Zhang Jinyu, Zhang, Bytedance's, Shining Li, Shi Jianing, Hugo Boss, Casey Hall, Robert Birsel Organizations: Romomo, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai

☆ Premier urges Chinese tech giants to support economy as crackdown ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After listening to suggestions from firms that also included PDD Holdings' (PDD.O) Pinduoduo and JD.com (9618.HK), Li told them authorities would seek to make regulation of platform firms more transparent and predictable. Shares in some U.S.-listed Chinese firms rallied in premarket trade, with Alibaba Group Holding gaining 2.2% and PDD Holdings rising 2.7%. Still Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International, said Wednesday's meeting was a "positive signal". "A sound development of the platform economy is very significant to investors too. Prudent development of platform firms is important to investors' long-term valuation," he added.

Persons: Li Qiang, Li, ByteDance's Douyin, Zhou Hao, Ella Cao, Brenda Goh, Ellen Zhang, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Barbara Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Wednesday, HK, PDD Holdings, Alibaba, Ant, Reuters, Guotai, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, premarket

☆ Apple opens store on China's WeChat platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc's new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File PhotoBEIJING, July 11 (Reuters) - Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat said on Tuesday that iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) had opened a store on its social media platform, marking an expansion of the U.S. firm's retail channels in the world's second largest economy. The announcement by WeChat, China's dominant messaging app which also provides e-commerce, livestreaming and payment services, said users would be able to buy Apple products including iPhones, iPads and Macs from the store. The move by Apple comes as Chinese consumers increasingly turn to social media platforms such as WeChat and ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to shop. China's smartphone sales in the first quarter fell 5% year on year, marking the lowest first-quarter sales figure for the country since 2014, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

Persons: Thomas Peter, WeChat, Tencent, ByteDance's Douyin, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, HK, Counterpoint Research, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

The Chinese e-commerce giant saw sales rise 6-8% over the 618 festival period that ran from late May through to Sunday evening, according to a client note from Citi analysts. The festival, named after the founding date of JD.com but embraced by all e-commerce platforms, is a key barometer of Chinese consumer spending. JD.com has said it will not release its GMV for the festival period this year, only noting that sales hit a record - a milestone which was expected. Alibaba has also stopped releasing GMV figures for the so-called Singles Day shopping festival period in November in the face of slowing sales. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a client note that JD.com sales during 618 "slightly" exceeded expectations, while Jefferies analysts said the event "surpassed expectations and set new records."

Persons: brokerages, Syntun, Alibaba, JD.com, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Casey, Sophie Yu, Edwina Gibbs, Susan Fenton Organizations: HK, Citi, Alibaba, PDD Holdings, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ What one key business indicator is saying about China's consumer recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"For 618, generally of course brands will be trying, but compared to before it's a bit more tired," said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan, a China marketing consultancy. In the first quarter, the median disposable income of urban residents in China was officially 12,175 Chinese yuan ($1,739), up 3.9% from a year ago. A focus on affordabilitySluggish economic growth and uncertainty about future income have weighed on Chinese consumer spending since the Covid-19 pandemic. watch nowBrands are keen to spend more on ByteDance's Douyin, likely taking away from ad spending on Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms, Oliver Wyman's Xie said. And for brands spending on Douyin, he said the return on investment per ad dollar was getting lower.

Persons: Jade Gao, Ashley Dudarenok, Dudarenok, let's, Microsoft's Bing, Dave Xie, Oliver Wyman, Douyin, Oliver Wyman's Xie, ByteDance isn't, doesn't, Pinduoduo, Sun Hao, Sun, didn't, Trip.com, Kelly Shi Organizations: Afp, Getty, Baidu, Retail, Brands, Growth, Nestle, Netflix Locations: Beijing, BEIJING, China

☆ Rivals ByteDance's Douyin and Tencent reach cooperation agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A logo of Tencent is seen at its booth at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, April 7 (Reuters) - China's tech giants ByteDance's Douyin and Tencent have reached agreement recently to explore joint promotion of short and long videos, according to a statement on the WeChat account of Douyin on Friday. Reporting by Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tencent's online ad revenue grows for the first time in more than a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Overall revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at 144.95 billion yuan ($21.07 billion), higher than the 143.89 billion yuan estimated by FactSet. Average monthly users of WeChat in China and overseas rose by 3.5% from a year ago 1.31 billion accounts in the fourth quarter. Ad spendingIn-feed ads for video accounts generated more than 1 billion yuan in revenue in the fourth quarter, Tencent said. Revenue sourcesThe largest revenue segment, which includes the giant gaming business, fell by 2% to 70.4 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, in line with FactSet estimates for 70.2 billion yuan. Tencent's second-largest revenue source, financial technology and business services revenue fell by 1% to 47.2 billion yuan, below FactSet estimates for 49.49 billion yuan.

☆ Regulator visits ByteDance's Douyin to discuss revised pricing rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man stands near a giant sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, during China Fashion Week, in Beijing, China March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - Beijing's market regulator recently visited ByteDance's Douyin video hosting service to look into the company's livestreaming e-commerce business and discuss how to prevent over-charging, a statement, published on Thursday on the regulator's official WeChat account, said. "A good foundation has been laid for further deepening government-enterprise cooperation, working together to standardise the pricing behaviour of the live streaming industry," the market regulator said. Douyin said in a statement on the same day that it had revised rules governing price-gouging and the behaviour of e-commerce livestreamers promoting products on its platform. Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Baidu's ChatGPT-like app will revolutionise its search engine, says CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) will use its ChatGPT-like app Ernie Bot to create a "revolutionary" version of its popular search engine, the company's CEO said on Wednesday. Ahead of Ernie Bot’s launch in March, Baidu CEO Robin Li told reporters on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results that users would be more dependent on the Baidu search engine once it was embedded with the chatbot. He added that online advertising, the company's main source of revenue, would also be boosted by the integration of Ernie Bot into the search engine. Since early February, more than 400 companies have signed up to join the Ernie Bot community as early users of the app, Baidu has said. He also said Ernie Bot was "state of the art" among large AI-driven language models in terms of understanding China's language and culture.

☆ Morgan Stanley is bullish on this Chinese tech giant — giving it upside of nearly 20%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese tech giant Tencent is ramping up its efforts to monetize its fast-growing short video function, and Morgan Stanley is bullish on that. Other key growth drivers Morgan Stanley said it believes global gaming will be another key growth driver for Tencent, though it will be a "much longer-term growth story." Another longer-term growth driver is Tencent's software-as-a-service products, namely Tencent Meeting, Tencent Docs and Tencent Cloud. "We believe it will take 2-3 more years for Tencent to reach breakeven in cloud businesses and for them to become a long-term growth driver," the bank said. Morgan Stanley has raised its price target on Tencent to 450 Hong Kong dollars ($57.30) from 420 Hong Kong dollars — an implied upside of about 20% to the stock's closing price on Feb. 13.

☆ ByteDance is testing food delivery service via its Chinese version of TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

ByteDance's Douyin has been trialing a food delivery service since December as it looks to expand its business beyond advertising. ByteDance told CNBC on Wednesday that it has been testing a type of food delivery service in China via its short video app Douyin, potentially pitting itself against major e-commerce companies like Alibaba and Meituan . Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok which are both owned by ByteDance. The model is very different from Meituan and Alibaba's Ele.me which are both on-demand food delivery services, much like Uber Eats. There is no detailed timeline yet," a Douyin spokesperson said.

☆ China tightens media control with tiny stakes in two Alibaba units
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesBEIJING — State-backed entities have taken tiny stakes in parts of two Alibaba subsidiaries that oversee a video platform and web browser. The state-backed stakes reflect a progression of government directives over the last decade to increase control of media in China. "So far most of the stakes announced (including in other Chinese companies) seem to be highly concentrated on media companies and media subsidiaries." watch nowSince 2020, business records show state-backed entities have taken 1% stakes in popular social media or short-video apps Weibo , ByteDance's Douyin and Kuaishou . A provincial state media group completed a 1% investment in September, leaving Alibaba's media arm with 99% ownership.

☆ Alibaba quarterly revenue misses expectations as spending slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) posted a smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday as COVID-19 curbs and a worsening economic outlook stifled consumer spending. Alibaba has also had to contend with stiff competition from the likes of Pinduoduo (PDD.O) and ByteDance's Douyin - the Chinese version of Tiktok - which have expanded their e-commerce offerings and taken more market share. Revenue grew 3% to 207.18 billion yuan ($28.96 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 208.62 billion yuan drawn from 25 analysts. Excluding one-off items, Alibaba earned 12.92 yuan per American Depository Share. ($1 = 7.1540 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Tencent Music Entertainment Corp beat analyst estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit, boosted by a recovery in advertising sales and an increase in the number of paying users on the Chinese music streaming company's platform. Tencent has been ramping up its original content slate to help put more users behind a paywall. Paying users at its online music streaming service rose to 85.3 million in the quarter from 82.7 million in the second quarter, the earnings statement showed. Net profit attributable to equity holders was 1.06 billion yuan, up from 740 million yuan in the same period last year. Yip said Tencent Music expects its long-form audio content to break even on a gross margin basis by the end of next year.

An advertisement promoting Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival is pictured, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, October 22, 2022. Sweaty Betty China Vice President Lexie Morris told Reuters the active-wear brand would use only "one or two" livestream hosts this Singles Day season and that it was starting to work with much smaller and more sports-focused livestreamers. Analysts expect to see another year of slowing sales overall this Singles Day, dampened by a slowing economy and China's zero-COVID-19 policy. In June, Alibaba rival JD.com Inc (9618.HK) also recorded its slowest-ever sales growth for 618, China's second-largest shopping festival after Singles Day. "Instead of a traffic-driven model, Taobao Live helps merchants grow their businesses sustainably," it said.

☆ A game about sheep is going viral in China even as gaming regulation remains tight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A young Beijing company's game called "Sheep a Sheep" went viral in China in September 2022. That's because the new game, called Sheep a Sheep, sits inside ByteDance's Douyin and Tencent's messaging app WeChat as a mini-program. Sheep a Sheep just went viral these past few days. Weeks later in early September, Jianyou had launched the sheep game, according to posts on its official Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform in China. In contrast, NetEase's first game approval in more than a year came 10 months after the company registered the software, according to Tianyancha data.

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