DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Tencent posts better-than-expected 47% profit surge as games, AI tools shine
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese tech company Tencent is a gaming giant and the parent company of WeChat, the ubiquitous social messaging app in China. Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesChinese social media and gaming company Tencent on Wednesday reported better-than-expected profit in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, spurred by growth in games, advertising and cloud services. Tencent reported profit attributable to shareholders surged by 47% year-on-year to 53.23 billion yuan ($7.37 billion) in the third quarter, compared with an LSEG estimate of 46.18 billion yuan for the period. The company's revenue rose by an annual 8% to 167.19 billion yuan, short of the 167.82 billion yuan analyst forecast. Marketing services revenue, previously called online advertising, surged by an annual 17% to 29.99 billion yuan, making it one of the fastest-growing categories outside gaming.

Persons: Cheng Xin, Tencent Organizations: Getty, Management, Gaming, Global Locations: WeChat, China, Weixin

☆ Forget the Magnificent 7: UBS just refreshed its 'Super 8' list of global stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | In Amala-Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

But for those looking for alternatives, UBS has refreshed its list of "highest conviction and most investable" tech stocks in Asia. So far, UBS' Asian Super 8 has gained 8.3% since its inception in February, beating the 6.7% returned by the benchmark MSCI Asia-Pacific index. "We believe the valuation discount across the value chain in Asia's technology sector offers a defensive catch-up play for investors," UBS' analysts wrote. Tencent has been making headlines recently, with several analysts bullish, including Goldman Sachs , which included the stock in its conviction list. The company, which also goes by the name Foxconn, is expecting over 40% year-on-year growth in its AI server sub-segment this year, UBS' analysts noted.

Persons: Tencent, Goldman Sachs, Hon Hai Taiwan's, Hai, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, UBS, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, U.S, Hai Precision Industry, Taiwan Stock Exchange, Lenovo Lenovo, Lenovo, Hong Kong Exchange Locations: Asia, China, U.S

In China, Tencent is already doing it. Now it’s betting on Weixin Palm Payment, a biometric system launched in May for users of Weixin Pay, WeChat’s sister app. Last year, JPMorgan cited the opportunity as it announced its own payment authentication software pilot program using palm scanning. “With face scanning technology, people can look a lot like each other — like twins,” he said. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant launched its own palm scanning payment service in 2020, letting users connect their palm prints to credit cards to buy items at the company’s cashier-free stores.

Persons: China that’s, — Tencent, Guo Rizen, “, ” Guo, Tencent’s, Guo, ”, Tencent, “ We’re, Edward Santow, …, ” Santow, Kate Xue, wasn’t Organizations: China CNN, CNN, Goode Intelligence, JPMorgan, Fujitsu, University of Technology Locations: China, Shenzhen, Beijing, Seattle, Chinese, Guangdong, Supermonkey, University of Technology Sydney

☆ China's AI applications are coming — where it matters for monetization
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Around the same time, Tencent announced it is integrating its AI model into advertising content creation, and its own Zoom-like video conferencing app. It's also not clear how powerful China's AI applications currently are, beyond demos and select business partnerships. "Overall we see generally Chinese language model[s] still lag behind the most advanced ChatGPT version 4," CLSA's Tony Zhang said in a phone interview in the last week. Now with Beijing's green light, public-facing AI applications such as Baidu's Ernie bot can be widely used in China. Generative AI and large language model-related revenue contributed to 20% of SenseTime' s revenue in the first half of 2023, Nomura analysts said, citing company management.

Persons: Nomura, Tencent, Coffee, Luckin, Joey Wat, It's, Tony Zhang, –, Ernie, Oliver Wyman's David Xie Organizations: Baidu, KFC Locations: Beijing, China, Taobao, TikTok

☆ Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept Visa and Mastercard for all payments in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The move marks a revival of efforts by Alipay and WeChat Pay to accept foreign credit cards after they provided some limited access in late 2019. WeChat Pay is officially known as Weixin Pay in China. Alipay and WeChat Pay are dominant in digital payment services, accounting for a combined 91% market share. In 2019, Alipay and WeChat started allowing the use of foreign credit cards on their apps as Chinese regulators eased restrictions. A week later, an executive from Tencent said at a forum that the company would open wider its WeChat Pay system to international card organizations, such as Visa, starting in July.

Persons: Alipay, WeChat, ” Dennis Chang, Tencent, ”, Chen Qiru Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Mastercard, Ant Group, Visa, Club, Discover, World, Hangzhou, Alibaba, JCB, Greater China, “, Tencent Financial Technology, ”, People’s Bank of Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin, People’s Bank of China

☆ China lands its secretive space plane after 9 months in orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China landed its mysterious reusable space plane after nine months in Earth's orbit. The space plane launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in August 2022. The nine-month mission was the longest yet for the new space plane. In the absence of photos or details from China, multiple news outlets have suggested that the Chinese space plane may resemble the X-37B space plane developed by Boeing for the US military. Adam Shanks/US Space ForceThe Chinese space plane took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in August 2022 and in October mysteriously ejected something into orbit, according to Space.com.

Listed miners with lithium projects in South America suffered, however, on concerns other governments may follow Chile's lead. Elsewhere in Asia, lithium prices stabilised on an improved demand outlook, and Japan acted to shore up its EV minerals supply by announcing a swathe of industry subsidies. Bucking the regional trend were Australian-listed miners with projects in South America's lithium triangle which spans Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, on concerns other governments may follow Chile's footsteps. Shares in miners with Argentine projects fell. Lithium Power International, (LPI.AX) whose Maricunga brine project is Chile's largest permitted, proposed project welcomed the new policy which it said would "positively transform" Chile's lithium industry.

☆ China's Tencent wants to expand its presence in Singapore — and Chinese tourists are a big reason
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kimberley Kao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Budrul Chukrut | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesTencent is expanding its presence in Singapore — and China's a big reason. The Chinese tech giant has struck new partnerships with Singapore businesses such as ride-hailing app Grab through its digital messaging app, WeChat/Weixin. In Grab's mini-program, Chinese travelers can also choose to pay via WeChat/Weixin Pay in Chinese yuan. "Chinese travelers represented the largest group of non-Southeast Asian users using the Grab app in 2019," he added. Singapore did not tighten travel restrictions for Chinese travelers after China announced the easing of its border controls.

Search resuls for: "Weixin"

8 mentions found