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☆ China’s international students under pressure as economic uncertainty looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ulrica Lin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a growing number of overseas Chinese students run into financial difficulties due to the declining wealth of their families, many go online to express their grief and seek advice on how to cope with the situation. The 24-year-old Chinese student is currently studying design in an undergraduate program at a university in Alabama. Her parents have so far spent 1.5 million Chinese yuan, or about $211,500, to fund her overseas studies and living expenses. But in October last year, her parents told her they were facing cash flow problems and could no longer offer her financial support. "I didn't have time to feel sad because I needed to make money to pay for my tuition fees and rent as soon as possible," Zhang told CNBC in Mandarin.

Persons: Xiao Zhang, Zhang Organizations: New Oriental Education, CNBC Locations: Alabama, U.S

☆ A student persuaded by his friend to get his legs amputated for a $1.3 million insurance scam wound up getting only $7,200 that he now has to return: prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A 23-year-old man in Taiwan had his legs amputated to receive a $1.3 million insurance payout, prosecutors said. Just days before, Zhang bought several expensive life insurance, travel insurance, and accident insurance policies, prosecutors said. Local media, citing prosecutors, reported that Zhang had claimed $7,200 from one insurer, but this money would be seized. The department's chief inspector, Tom Hill, said an increasing cost of living may push people to consider insurance fraud. AdvertisementThe FBI estimates that an annual $400 to $700 from the average US family's insurance premiums goes to covering insurance fraud costs.

Persons: —, Zhang, Liao, Tom Hill Organizations: Service, Taiwan Criminal Investigation, Local, London Police's, Department, FBI Locations: Taiwan, Taipei, City, London, South Korea

☆ Ex-TikTok executive says she was fired because she 'lacked the docility and meekness' required of women at the company
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewAn ex-managing director at TikTok has accused the company behind the popular social media app and its China-based owner of unlawfully firing her because the corporate big-wigs deemed she "lacked the docility and meekness" required of women working there. "Zhang and other corporate executives determined that Ms. Puris lacked the docility and meekness specifically required of female employees," the complaint says. "By the second quarter of 2021, it became very evident that Ms. Puris was on Lidong Zhang's 'kill list,'" the lawsuit says. "Part of Lidong Zhang's 'kill list' approach was to build a case against any employee he placed on the list and instruct other employees to do the same."

Persons: —, Katie Ellen Puris, Lidong Zhang, ByteDance, Puris, United States —, Zhang, TikTok, Marjorie Mesidor, Monica Hincken Organizations: Service, Business, TikTok's New, TikTok Inc, Google, Facebook, Cannes Lions, Cannes Lion Locations: TikTok, China, New York, Beijing, TikTok's New York, United States, France, Lidong

☆ You're not imagining it — it feels damn near impossible to get into top colleges right now
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementEven students who have gone megaviral for acceptance videos showing they got into multiple Ivy League schools called social media a major stressor. Schools are rethinking their admissions processes amid a glut of applicantsAn exponential increase in applications has benefited schools financially and reputationally. "A lot of these schools are making so much money from these application fees, which are $80, $90," Rim said. AdvertisementAnd as the game gets more and more competitive year after year, students know they must rise to untold challenges.

Persons: —, Christopher Rim, Rim, It's, Steve Gardner, Gardner, Grant Tucker, Grant Tucker Gardner, Olivia Zhang, Zhang, Kyungyong Lim, Tucker, Tucker's, Oliva Zhang, they've, Lim, who's, it's, " Tucker Organizations: Service, Command, New York City, Hamptons, Rim, Business, Ivy League, New York University, Northeastern, Babson, NYU, MIT, Yale, Facebook, Harvard, Duke, Cancer, Olympic, . News Locations: Asia, Christopher, New, yesteryear, Georgetown, Harvard merch, Jacksonville , Florida

☆ A top city official used a downtown billboard to secretly funnel 'huge sums' of cash into his family's pockets, Chinese state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zhang Xiaopei, the former party secretary of Jilin, had people pay "huge sums" to rent a billboard. AdvertisementA top Communist Party official had for years used a digital billboard in the downtown area of the Chinese city of Jilin to channel illicit funds toward him, Chinese state media reported on Saturday. Zhang Xiaopei, Jilin's now-disgraced former party secretary, was expelled from the ruling party in June 2023 after anti-graft officials announced he had been taking bribes. As party secretary, Zhang held the top position in Jilin starting in 2011 before being assigned vice-chairman of the province's political advisory body in 2014. Related stories"Some companies didn't even have advertising needs, but they took the initiative to buy these ads, typically in an effort to obtain benefits from Party Secretary Zhang," Tang added.

Persons: Zhang Xiaopei, —, Jilin's, Zhang, Zhang's, Tang, Xi Jinping's, Xi Organizations: China, Service, Communist Party, Business, Party, Central Commission Locations: Jilin, China

Signage for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. covers the front facade of the New York Stock Exchange November 11, 2015. Cloud competition from HuaweiAlibaba has been an industry leader in the cloud business. Alibaba in November blamed U.S. restrictions on chip sales to China for the decision to pull the cloud IPO. Alibaba said its cloud business revenue grew by just 2% year on year in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Those resellers were other companies that had acted as distributors or agents for Alibaba cloud and received commissions.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, It's, Alibaba, hasn't, they're, Duncan Clark, Clark, ”, Jack Ma, Brian Wong, Eddie Wu, Trudy Dai, Daniel Zhang, Yi Zhang, —, Alibaba's, Canalys, BDA's Clark Organizations: Alibaba Group Holding, New York Stock, Reuters, BDA, Alibaba Group, Alibaba, Duncan Clark BDA, Huawei Alibaba, Huawei, Tencent, “ Global Locations: Reuters BEIJING, U.S, China, Beijing, Alibaba

New York is the $1.35 trillion fund's only office outside mainland China besides Hong Kong. CIC asked Bai Xiaoqing, who was in charge of some of its private equity investments from Beijing, to move to New York for the North America head role, the sources said, requesting anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced. U.S. authorities have been especially suspicious of investments originating from entities close to China's communist government, like CIC. CIC is also a significant investor in U.S. private equity funds, as so-called alternative assets comprise almost half of its portfolio. One of its most prominent investments has been a $2.5 billion Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) private equity fund aimed at investing in companies that can benefit from closer U.S.-China ties.

Persons: Bai Xiaoqing, Zhang Hong, Bai, Zhang, Peng Chun, Larry Fink, Milken, Echo Wang, Roxanne Liu, Kane Wu, Greg Roumeliotis, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: China Investment Corp, North America, CIC, Foreign Investment, American Enterprise Institute, Public, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, China -, China - U.S . Industrial Cooperation Fund, Britain, BlackRock Inc, BlackRock, China's Ministry of Finance, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: North, New York, China, Hong Kong, Washington, Beijing, United States, U.S, China - U.S, BlackRock

Alibaba Group sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. Zhang also handed over the role of group CEO to Wu on Sunday as scheduled. "Alibaba Cloud has lost some ground with government and state-owned enterprise clients, which were previously a stronghold for the company," Li said. "During his leadership tenure, Alibaba Cloud's business did not improve significantly despite his efforts. Zhang likely realised that the challenges facing Alibaba Cloud's lacklustre growth were beyond what he could influence or control as an individual executive."

Persons: Aly, Daniel Zhang, Alibaba, Eddie Wu, Zhang, Wu, Canalys, Li Chengdong, Li, Sern Ling, Union Bancaire Privee, Donny Kowk, Josh Ye, Yelin, Anne Marie Roantree, Brenda Goh, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, China's, Reuters, DAMO Academy, Huawei Technologies, Union Bancaire, HK, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, HK, Alibaba, Beijing, Yelin Mo

SHANGHAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group (9988.HK) said on Sunday that Daniel Zhang will step down from its cloud business, in a surprise move just two months after the company announced he would leave his roles as group CEO and chairman to focus on the cloud unit. Zhang had previously been concurrently serving in three roles, heading the group as well as its cloud unit. As scheduled, he handed over the role of group CEO to Eddie Wu on Sunday, who will also take charge of the cloud business after Zhang's departure, the company said in a statement. "Following careful consideration, the Alibaba board respected and accepted Daniel's decision and appointed Eddie as acting chairman and CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group, effectively immediately." Zhang will continue to contribute to Alibaba by "channeling his expertise differently," the letter added, saying that Alibaba will invest $1 billion in a technology fund that Zhang would establish.

Persons: Daniel Zhang, Zhang, Eddie Wu, Alibaba, Daniel, Joseph Tsai, Eddie, Brenda Goh, Hugh Lawson, Sharon Singleton Organizations: HK, Sunday, Cloud Intelligence Group, Reuters, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI

☆ Alibaba says Daniel Zhang steps down from cloud business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Daniel Zhang, chairman and chief executive officer Alibaba Group, said the company's financial year from April 2021 to March 2022 was impacted by the uncertainties around Covid, "new expectations" on China's internet sector and the "high frequency" of international geopolitical conflicts. Alibaba Group said on Sunday that Daniel Zhang will step down as chairman and chiefexecutive officer of its cloud business. Zhang had previously been concurrently serving in three roles, heading the group as well as its cloud unit. He handed over the role of the group's CEO to Eddie Wu on Sunday, who willalso take charge of the cloud unit after Zhang's departure.

Persons: Daniel Zhang, Zhang, Eddie Wu Organizations: Alibaba

Feeling the pinch of rising housing costs and a slowing economy, the jobless graduates are forfeiting cities that have traditionally provided a stepping stone to middle-class wealth. The numbers varied by region, with 59% of graduates in the well-developed east heading home. To keep costs down as they stay longer in hope of finding a job, some young mega-city drifters even share their beds with strangers. One such post was looking for a roommate to share one bed in a room "with a huge balcony" in Beijing. ($1 = 7.2004 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer CHINA, Joyce Zhang, I've, Zhang, China's, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Conor Humphries Organizations: Central China Normal University, REUTERS, China News Service, China's, Xinhua, Reuters, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Wuhan, Hubei province, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Inner Mongolia, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

☆ What are 'full-time children'? Young people in China are rejecting the rat race and getting paid by their parents to do chores while living at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some young adults in China are opting to work as "full-time children" in place of traditional careers. Full-time children are often paid by their parents to run errands, clean, and prepare food. In China, however, young people are turning this idea on its head and staying at home, working as "full-time children." China's notoriously grueling 996 culture, which entails 72-hour workweeks, and difficulty finding employment are some of the main contributors to the "full-time children" movement. In China, there are even social media groups devoted to the "full-time children" trend.

Persons: China's, it's, Julie, Jia Zhang, Zhang, Litsky Li, Li Organizations: BBC, NBC News, CNN, Census Bureau, Karma Locations: China

☆ What are 'full-time children'? Young adults in China are rejecting the rat race and getting paid by their parents to do chores while living at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: China's, it's, Julie, Jia Zhang, Zhang, Litsky Li, Li Organizations: BBC, NBC News, CNN, Census Bureau, Karma Locations: China

☆ China's real youth unemployment rate could actually be close to 50% - more than double the official rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China's youth unemployment rate may be severely skewed, a Peking University professor wrote. While official statistics for March cited a 19.7% rate, Zhang Dandan estimated it's closer to 46.5%. According to Zhang Dandan, whose findings were recently published in the financial magazine Caixin, March's youth unemployment rate could have been as much as 46.5% when accounting for 16 million non-students not actively seeking work, Reuters reported. This is more than double that month's official 19.7% rate, as published by the National Bureau of Statistics. To be sure, the US Labor Department's unemployment rate doesn't include Americans who have stopped looking for work.

Persons: Zhang Dandan, COVID Organizations: Peking University, Service, Reuters, National Bureau of Statistics, US Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Zhang retires in tears after opponent erases mark on court
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 19 (Reuters) - China's Zhang Shuai retired from her Hungarian Grand Prix match in tears on Tuesday after her local opponent Amarissa Toth erased a ball mark on the clay court following a disputed line call. Second seed Zhang hit a crosscourt forehand that appeared to land on the line but was called out by the line judge. "Wait, wait, wait! Keep the mark," Zhang yelled. The home crowd jeered Zhang's retirement, while Toth shook hands with her before putting her arms up in celebration.

Persons: Zhang Shuai, Amarissa Toth, Zhang, Toth, Instagram, Tomljanovic, Shuai, Ellen Perez, I'm, Rohith Nair, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Twitter, Thomson Locations: Budapest, Bengaluru

☆ Golf found the next Tiger Woods, but there's one hurdle that could take her down
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Cork Gaines | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rose Zhang has arrived with a level of hype and awe that had been reserved for Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods. Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesEven before turning pro, Zhang was being called "the Tiger Woods of women's golf." Convert a few of those opportunities and the "Tiger Woods of women's golf" moniker will be too limiting. She might become "The next Tiger Woods, period."

Persons: Rose Zhang, Tiger Woods, Zhang didn't, clinches, Zhang, Christian Petersen, Cardinal, Jordan Spieth, Michelle Wie, she's, —, Woods Organizations: Tiger, American, LPGA, Athletic, US, Stanford Locations: Plenty

☆ 'When we meet again, may we all be carefree': Read the outgoing Alibaba CEO's memo to staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Read the full memo Zhang sent to Alibaba employees:My fellow Aliren,Since becoming CEO of Alibaba Group in May 2015, it has become my custom to send several letters to everyone every year. In turn, the Alibaba board of directors has appointed Joseph C. Tsai to succeed me as Chairman and Eddie Yongming Wu to succeed me as Chief Executive Officer. Time flies, and this year marks my 16th year at Alibaba Group. My appointment as CEO and Chairman of Alibaba Group was beyond my imagination. Daniel ZhangAlibaba Group Chairman and CEOAlibaba Cloud Intelligence Group Chairman and CEO2023.6.20

Persons: Zhang, Alibaba, Joseph C, Tsai, Eddie Yongming Wu, Joe, Eddie, hopefuly, Daniel Zhang Alibaba, 2023.6.20 Organizations: CNBC, Alibaba Group, Cloud Intelligence, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Cloud Intelligence Group, Alibaba Locations: Alibaba

☆ Their parents made China the world's factory. Can the kids save the family business?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Du, like tens of thousands of other young Chinese factory bosses, is inheriting a basic manufacturing business that can no longer rely on the labour-intensive model that made China the world's largest exporter of goods. Those skills would come in handy in a factory the Chinese state set up in 1951 and privatised in 2002. Like five of the other chang er dai who spoke to Reuters, Zhang never planned to take over the factory. Chang er dai, however, help lift the bottom, which is also important for preserving China's share of world manufacturing, two industry experts told Reuters. Not all chang er dai will get there.

Persons: Steven Du, Du, Zhang Zhipeng, Mao Zedong's, Du said, Zhang, Zhang Zeqing, Chang, Zhou Yuxiang, Tian Weihua, Tian, Zhang Ying, David Kirton, Marius Zaharia, David Crawshaw Organizations: Shenzhen Research Institute of High, Reuters, Apple, Agricultural Products, Lake Technologies, Science, Technology Innovation Research Institute, University of Arts, Workers, Thomson Locations: RUICHANG, China, Shanghai, Southeast Asia, India, New Zealand, United States, TW, Wisconsin, Ruichang, France, London, Ningbo

☆ China's Guangzhou R&F co-chief agrees to be extradited to U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - The billionaire co-chairman and CEO of Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd on Wednesday agreed to be extradited from London to the United States, where he is facing bribery charges. Zhang Li, who co-founded Hong Kong-listed R&F (2777.HK), is wanted on a provisional warrant issued in the Northern District of California that accuses him of participating in a scheme to bribe public officials between 2015 and 2020. The 69-year-old, who is currently worth $1.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine, is alleged to have paid kickbacks to obtain permits for a construction project in San Francisco. In December, Zhang was granted bail on the condition that he pay a security of 15 million pounds ($19 million), the joint-largest security that an English court has ever accepted. Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Zhang Li, Zhang, Sam Tobin, Sarah Young Organizations: F Properties Co, HK, Northern District of, Forbes, Westminster, Lawyers, U.S, F's U.S, Properties, San, Thomson Locations: Guangzhou, London, United States, Hong Kong, Northern District, Northern District of California, San Francisco, China

☆ China's internet giants bet big on A.I. as Beijing looks to rival U.S. on tech 'paradigm shift'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"This kind of computing power needs to be provided as a kind of public service or infrastructure. China, specifically, "has some of the most advanced AI tech in the world," he added. "We believe this is a Game of Thrones also playing out in the China Tech market as the gloves are on for this battle," Ives said. Many innovative vendors are going after this market and China tech is now in the midst of a secular shift around AI." The comments from some of China's top tech companies last week hint at how Beijing is seeking to ramp up its rivalry with the U.S. on AI.

Persons: BABA BABA, Robin Li, Baidu, Ernie Bot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Tencent, Martin Lau, Lau, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Dan Ives, Ives, Hao Hong, CNBC's, —, Tencent's Lau, Baidu's Li, Didi, Meituan Organizations: HK, Microsoft, Google, Wedbush Securities, CNBC, China Tech, Big Tech, Baidu, U.S, Nvidia, chipmaker Micron, Grow Investment Locations: China, Beijing, U.S, Alibaba

☆ 19-year-old golfer shares the simple mindset that helps her win—she's on track to beat Tiger Woods' college record
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Her career has been marked by record-breaking performances, a slew of championship titles, and she could surpass the college record of Tiger Woods. Most recently, she won the highly prestigious 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur, or ANWA, tournament. "I'll be super, super busy," Zhang said in an interview with the "No Laying Up" podcast days before ANWA. But more stress doesn't often lead to better results, Zhang said, which forced her to make a simple yet significant mindset shift. It might just be a coincidence that Zhang's first-time ANWA victory happened once she adopted a lower-pressure mentality, but it could also be psychology at work.

☆ Alibaba restructuring to enhance decision-making, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Trader works at the post where Alibaba is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 30 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group's (9988.HK) restructuring will allow all its business units to become more agile and enhance faster decision-making and responses to market changes, the tech conglomerate's chief executive Daniel Zhang said on Thursday. The restructuring also opens up the possibility for each unit to raise funds through its own initial public offering (IPO). Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently. The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another, analysts says.

☆ Alibaba to decide on control over new business units after IPOs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zhang's comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units, each with their own boards and CEOs. The business units will have their own CEOs and boards, though Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added. Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago, Zhang told investors during a conference call, adding the business units could pursue public listings on their own in the future. After these units go public, Alibaba "will continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies" and "will decide whether or not to continue to retain control," Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said on the call. Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public, Xu said.

With Alibaba shares down 30% in one month, enthusiasm for China's return to normalcy is peaking early. The Alibaba chief executive also cautioned that January was a "challenging time" and that the company is keeping an eye on how the reopening develops. Alibaba has hit the limits of the reopening boon. Reuters GraphicsFollow @mak_robyn on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAlibaba on Feb. 23 reported revenue of 248 billion yuan ($35.9 billion) in the three months to December, an increase of 2% year-on-year. Adjusted earnings rose 12% to 40 billion yuan.

☆ Chinese people fed up with the rat race are calling themselves 'huminerals' — human resources to be relentlessly exploited and discarded
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The post's author, a user named Zhang Wanzhi, listed various aspects of a humineral's life. A humineral's life is divided into three stages, wrote Zhang, per CDT. The first is a Chinese person's formative and schooling years, which exist so the person can be "mined" and made available for usage, Zhang's post read. Then, the next few decades are a stage of "consumption" where the worker is exploited, the post read, according CDT. The origins of the term "humineral" are not immediately clear.

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