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☆ Chinese EV upstart Nio plans to cut workforce by a tenth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of NIO seen on an EL6 car model is pictured at the NIO House, the showroom of the Chinese premium smart electric vehicle manufacture NIO Inc. in Berlin, Germany August 17, 2023. Nio has told staff the reduction exercise would be completed in November, it said in a statement to Reuters. "We still have a gap between our overall performance and expectations," it told staff in an email, adding that it needed to improve efficiency and ensure adequate resources. Apart from the layoffs, Nio said it would defer or cut long-term project investments that would not contribute to financial performance within three years. Reporting by Zhang Yan, Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Annegret, Nio, Li Auto, BYD, Tesla, Zhang Yan, Qiaoyi Li, Brenda Goh, Tomasz Janowski, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, EVs, Reuters, U.S, China's EV, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Rights SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, China's, Europe

China's delegate to the meeting, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Wu Zhaohui, was present on Thursday, his ministry said on Friday. The Chinese technology ministry declined to say why China did not agree to the proposal, which was about AI model testing. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired Thursday's meeting that comprised "a small group of like-minded senior representatives from governments around the world", Britain said, including the U.S. vice president and the EC president. Some British lawmakers had criticised China's participation in the inaugural AI summit. Sunak told reporters: "Some said we shouldn't even invite China, others said we would never get an agreement with them.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Kamala Harris, Rishi Sunak, Giorgia Meloni, Antonio Guterres, Yoshua Bengio, Mila, Microsoft Brad, Technology Wu Zhaohui, Wu, Oliver Dowden, Sunak, Paul Sandle, Brenda Goh, Alistair Smout, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Italy's, UN, Quebec AI Institute, Microsoft, Safety, Science, Technology, Bloomberg, U.S, European Union, Thomson Locations: British, SHANGHAI, LONDON, China, Britain, Beijing, Bletchley Park, England, United States, Bletchley, London, Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Halloween revellers thronged central Shanghai late on Tuesday night, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun at China's strict COVID-19 curbs in a rare showcase of free expression as police looked on. Celebrations in the Chinese financial hub began on the weekend, culminating on Tuesday in a large crowd of mostly young people that gathered around a popular bar area, according to onlookers and social media posts. "The 'dabai', COVID-19 testing, A-share market...that Shanghai people dressed up as are all elements that speak to the trauma of the times and traces of history. Public critiques of government policies are rare in China, where authorities have been cracking down on free expression. Some party goers also showed up with blank sheets of paper stuck to their clothes, a key symbol of last year's protests, other social media posts showed.

Persons: Lu Xun, Brenda Goh, Casey Hall, Eduardo Baptista, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, Weibo, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, China, Beijing

☆ Renault had 'friendly' discussions with Chinese investment bank - spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Renault is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) had "friendly" discussions with Chinese investment bank CICC about potential cooperation, but nothing has been signed or decided so far, a company spokesperson said, confirming media reports. "A meeting took place between CICC and Renault Group for friendly discussions about China's market," a spokeswoman told Reuters. Chinese media outlet Cailianshe reported on Friday that Renault and CICC had reached a preliminary intention agreement to jointly invest to establish an investment fund to focus on the NEV industry chain, citing people familiar with the matter. Cailianshe added that Renault CEO Luca de Meo was in China for a week long visit.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, carmaker, CICC, Luca de Meo, Gilles Guillaume, Brenda Goh, Roxanne Liu, Tassilo Hummel, Marine Strauss, Louise Heavens Organizations: Renault, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Rights, carmaker Renault, Renault Group, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, CICC, China, Shanghai, Beijing

Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group did not respond to a request for comment. This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary. Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, "doesn't care" about Singles Day as much. "In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need," she said.

Persons: Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Josh Gardner, Alibaba's, Ashley Dudarenok, AlixPartners, Douyin, Melody Zhao, Casey, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh Organizations: PDD Holdings, Kungfu, Tmall, Administration, Market, ByteDance, Alibaba, Suisse, Industry, Hua Gui Food Group, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HK, China, Wenzhou, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ Alibaba upgrades AI model Tongyi Qianwen, releases industry-specific models
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Alibaba Cloud logo is displayed near a screen showing the website of its Tongyi Qianwen AI chatbot, in this illustration picture taken June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Chinese technology giant Alibaba (9988.HK) said on Tuesday it has updated its artificial intelligence (AI) model Tongyi Qianwen and released a suite of industry-specific AI models amid an intensifying AI race among tech companies. It also said it has launched eight AI models for the entertainment, finance, healthcare and legal industries. The GPT-3 AI model from Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI contained 175 billion parameters in 2020 and Meta Platform's (META.O) Llama 2 model had 70 billion parameters in 2023. At the conference, Chairman Joe Tsai also said about half of large-language AI models in the China now run on Alibaba Cloud.

Persons: Florence Lo, Tencent, OpenAI, Joe Tsai, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Microsoft, Meta, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hangzhou, China

☆ China's semiconductor state fund invests $2 billion in memory chip firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) - China's state-backed chip investment fund has invested 14.56 billion yuan ($1.99 billion) in a memory chip company called Changxin Xinqiao, records showed. According to company registration website Qichacha, Changxin Xinqiao was founded in 2021 in Hefei city, in the eastern Anhui province. Its general manager is Zhao Lun, who is the general manager of ChangXin Memory Technologies, one of China's leading memory chip companies. Changxin Xinqiao and the Big Fund did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The organization raised 138.7 billion yuan for its first fund, and 204 billion yuan for its second fund.

Persons: Florence Lo, Changxin Xinqiao, Zhao Lun, YMTC, Changxin, Yelin Mo, Roxanne Liu, Brenda Goh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, National Enterprise, Technologies, Big Fund, Memory Technologies, Huawei Technologies Co, Big, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, Rights BEIJING, Changxin, Hefei city, Anhui, United States, Changxin Xinan, Hefei Xinyi, Taiwan, South Korea, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ China EV maker BYD reports record quarterly profit of $1.42 bln in Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BYD electric vehicles are seen at a BYD dealership in Brasilia, Brazil October 24, 2023. Net profit for the third quarter reached 10.41 billion yuan ($1.42 billion), a 82.2% increase from a year earlier, on a 38.5% rise in revenue to 162.2 billion yuan, BYD said in a market filing. It flagged earlier this month that third-quarter net profit could as much as double. That was a smaller increase than the second quarter when profit was up 145%. The third-quarter earnings was within its forecast range of between 9.55 billion yuan and 11.55 billion yuan.

Persons: Adriano Machado, BYD, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Jamie Freed, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, Rights BEIJING, SHANGHAI

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING/SHANGHAI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - China will send Wu Zhaohui, a Vice Minister of Science and Technology, to a global summit on artificial intelligence this week in Britain, two sources familiar with the matter said. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Beijing earlier this month and met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as Beijing seeks to boost ties with the Labour party ahead of a general election likely next year. China's science ministry and foreign ministry, as well as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, did not respond immediately to faxed requests for comment. Wu was appointed to his role in the science ministry in December 2022. Like many countries around the world, China has been caught up in a global craze over generative AI following the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT last year.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Wu Zhaohui, James, Boris Johnson, Tony Blair, Wang Yi, Wu, Xi Jinping, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Laurie Chen, Brenda Goh, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Science, Technology, Labour, Chinese Academy of Sciences, HK, Foreign, Commonwealth, Development, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, SHANGHAI, China, Britain, Beijing, British, London, Hong Kong, United States, Shanghai

☆ Global EV battery supply chain puzzles over China graphite curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Graphite powder, used for battery paste, is pictured in a Volkswagen pilot line for battery cell production in Salzgitter, Germany, May 18, 2022. China dominates the global EV battery supply chain including production of graphite - the single largest component. Graphite companies in the country process both the natural material mined domestically and overseas, as well as synthetic forms. Under the new rules, China will require export permits starting Dec. 1 for high-end synthetic graphite, as well as key forms of natural graphite. NATURAL GRAPHITE HITGlobal companies using natural graphite include Hitachi Chemical, part of Japan's Resonac Holdings Corp (4004.T), South Korea's POSCO Future M (003670.KS) and Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical, which produces natural graphite at two plants in China, according to research firm CRU Group.

Persons: Fabian Bimmer, Sunit Kapur, Zhang Yan, Siyi Liu, Brenda Goh, Satoshi Sugiyama, Heekyong Yang, Seoul ， Paul Lienert, Jing Xu, Dominique Patton, Tony Munroe, David Evans Organizations: Volkswagen, REUTERS, Rights, EV, Qingdao, Reuters, China's Ministry of Commerce, Gotion High Tech, BTR, Material Technology, Hitachi Chemical, Japan's Resonac Holdings Corp, Mitsubishi Chemical, CRU Group, Mitsubishi, Resources, Materials, Thomson Locations: Salzgitter, Germany, Beijing, China, Japan, South Korea, United States, U.S, Shanghai, Ningbo Shanshan, Indonesia, Finland, Japan's, Australia, Mozambique, U.S ., Louisiana, North Carolina, Toyko, Seoul ，, Detroit

☆ China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China spent 1.4 trillion yuan ($191 billion) replacing foreign hardware and software in 2022, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, according to IT research firm First New Voice. Two firms awarded the Harbin tenders were subsidiaries of China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation - both heavily targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Department of Commerce, China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation did not return requests for comment. Despite heavy spending on domestic substitution, however, foreign firms are still dominant suppliers for banking and telecoms database management. Non-Chinese companies held 90% of market share for banking database systems at the end of 2022, according to EqualOcean, a tech consultancy.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Kendra Schaefer, Mo Jianlei, Eric Zheng, Brenda Goh, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Beijing, Reuters, New, Trivium China, Liberation Army, Tech, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BMC, U.S, Cyberspace Security, China Telecommunications Corporation, Qualcomm, U.S . Treasury, Google, Apple, China Electronics Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Microsoft, Adobe, China Tobacco, Microsoft Windows, Chinese Academy of Engineering, European Union Chamber of Commerce, of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S . Department of Commerce, HUAWEI, Huawei, IDC, Financial, Lenovo, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Washington, State, Beijing, Gansu province, Harbin, Xiamen, U.S, American, Shanghai

☆ Shares in China's iFlyTek tumble after reports AI-powered device criticised Mao
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An iFlytek company sign is seen at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai, China March 23, 2021. It has proposed the compilation of a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train Chinese AI models. IFlyTek on Tuesday revealed its latest Spark AI model which the company says can rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT in most key areas. Liu said iFlytek’s model could compete with OpenAI’s GPT-4 early next year. The company also said that it is working with Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) on an AI model training platform which uses Huawei’s flagship AI chips.

Persons: Aly, Mao Zedong, Baijiahao, Mao, iFlyTek, Liu Qingfeng, OpenAI’s, Liu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Appliance, Electronics, REUTERS, Reuters, Communist Party, Huawei Technologies, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, iFlytek

☆ Founder of discount e-shopping firm PDD races up China's rich list
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | 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

Colin Huang, who founded PDD in 2015 and stepped down as CEO in 2020, was the fastest riser in this year's Hurun Rich List, leaping seven places to be ranked China's third richest man with a $37.2 billion fortune. Richard Liu, who founded e-commerce giant JD.com, also saw his wealth, and that of his wife Zhang Zetian, fall by $6.2 billion since last year to $8.26 billion, according to Hurun's list. JD.com's shares fell to a record low earlier this month after banks cut its price targets citing a weaker-than-expected recovery in consumer spending. Hui Ka Yan is currently being investigated over suspected "illegal crimes", Evergrande said last month. Reporting by Casey Hall; editing by Brenda Goh and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Colin Huang, Yin Liqin, Rich, Jack Ma, Alibaba, Richard Liu, Zhang Zetian, Rupert Hoogewerf, PDD's Temu, Zhong Shanshan, Pony Ma, Hurun, Wang Jianlin, Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande, Casey Hall, Brenda Goh Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Rights, PDD Holdings, PDD, HK, Hurun, Dalian Wanda Group, China Evergrande, Thomson Locations: New York, Shanghai, China

☆ China's Great Wall Motor is first EV maker to respond to EU anti-subsidy probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Haval cars produced by Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors are on display for sale at a dealership in Artyom near Vladivostok, Russia, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's Great Wall Motor said it had formally submitted responses to the European Commission's anti-subsidy investigation of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), while calling for a fair and open trade environment. Great Wall, which provided its answers to the European Commission on Oct. 11, was the first automaker to have done so, he added. Great Wall Motor plans to build a plant in Europe and Germany was one of the candidates for the site, the German publication Automobilwoche said in May. Great Wall Motor ranked eighth in terms of sales of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars in China during the first nine months of the year, industry figures show.

Persons: Tatiana Meel, Mu Feng, Mu, Automobilwoche, Ursula von der Leyen, EVs, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: automaker Great Wall, REUTERS, Rights, Weibo, European Commission, Great, European, EV, BMW, Renault, World Trade Organization, HK, Wall Motor, Thomson Locations: Artyom, Vladivostok, Russia, China, EU, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, Germany, Brussels, China . China

SHANGHAI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - E-commerce giant Alibaba Group (9988.HK) said it will be offering huge discounts as it gears up for its annual Singles Day shopping extravaganza - an indication that Chinese consumer confidence remains at a low ebb. The event - which begins on Tuesday and despite its name now stretches over several weeks - will offer over 80 million products at their lowest prices this year, it said in a statement. Tmall will also compare prices on products in real time with other e-commerce platforms in China and tag products with the lowest price, it said. Alibaba did not disclose how much in subsidies and coupons it plans to offer in total this year but added that Taobao and Tmall had committed an "unprecedented" amount of investment. The company last year did not announce the sales tally for the event for the first time, saying only that the total amount was in line with 2021.

Persons: Alibaba, Tmall, Xi Jinping, Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Alibaba, HK, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China

People look at the new iPhone 15 Pro as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China at an Apple store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. Analysts say the iPhone 15 has not been selling as well in China as its predecessor. Counterpoint Research said last week that iPhone 15 sales in China were down 4.5% versus the iPhone 14 in the first 17 days after its market launch. The 512 GB iPhone 15 Pro Max, which has a 11,999 yuan price tag in Apple's store, can be bought for 10,698 yuan on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao. The e-commerce platform iPhone 15 discounts were first reported by The Economic Observer weekly newspaper on Monday.

Persons: Aly, Alibaba, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Alexander Smith Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Rights, PDD Holdings, HK, Counterpoint Research, Reuters, Economic Observer, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, Rights BEIJING

☆ Analysts' comments on China's export permits for some graphite products
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is what analysts are saying about the measure:IVAN LAM, SENIOR ANALYST, COUNTERPOINT RESEARCH:"In addition to China, other countries and regions also implement graphite export controls. Graphite has a wide range of applications in industry, and the demand for its use is growing. KANG DONG-JIN, ANALYST AT HYUNDAI SECURITIES IN SEOUL:"It's not that China would suddenly stop export graphite, but it would be more intensely regulated and reviewed. It is still unclear how far China would take this graphite export curb, which would determine the supply chains. "With this new graphite export curb, South Korean firms - or South Korea in general, which heavily rely on China for graphite imports, would need to seek alternatives, such as mines from the United States or Australia, but it would likely increase cost burden for many."

Persons: Aly, IVAN LAM, CHRISTOPHER RICHTER, you've, KANG DONG, JIN, Brenda Goh, Daniel Leussink, Heekyong Yang, Miyoung Kim, Nivedita Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, EU, Thomson Locations: Port, Shanghai, China, Rights SINGAPORE, Russia, Ukraine, TOKYO, SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Australia, Tokyo, Seoul

☆ Analysis: US chip curbs give Huawei a chance to fill the Nvidia void in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Huawei's Ascend AI chips are comparable to Nvidia's in terms of raw computing power, analysts and some AI firms such as China's iFlyTek (002230.SZ) say, but they still lag behind in performance. "This U.S. move, in my opinion, is actually giving Huawei's Ascend chips a huge gift," Jiang said in a post on his social media Weibo account. Huawei and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Huawei's partners in China so far include iFlyTek, a leading Chinese AI software company which is using the Ascend 910 to train its AI models. Other partners include state-owned software firms Tsinghua Tongfang and Digital China.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Jiang Yifan, Jiang, CANN, Woz Ahmed, Ahmed, Meng Wanzhou, IFlyTek, Jiang Tao, Charlie Chai, 86Research, Xi Jinping, Chai, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh Organizations: Huawei Technologies, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Nvidia, Huawei, Securities, Tsinghua, Digital, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, HONG KONG, China, United States, U.S, Digital China

☆ EV battery firm CATL's Sept China market share slumps, bodes ill for Q3 results
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People walk past the booth of the battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai, China April 18, 2023. CATL reports quarterly results on Thursday, and investors will be on the look out for the extent the world's largest EV battery maker bore the brunt of the EV sales slowdown in China and rising pressure from automakers to cut battery prices. "This... is an incentive for CATL to offer some price cuts to secure its market share." CATL's setback also comes amid weakening EV sales in China that stoked an intense price war among automakers and a subsequent cost reduction pressure on battery firms and other suppliers. Shares in Shenzhen-listed CATL dropped 15% so far this year, lagging a 6% drop in broader market (.CSI300).

Persons: Aly, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Miyoung Kim Organizations: Amperex Technology, ., Auto, REUTERS, Rights, Electric, EV, Citi, China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, HK, LSEG, Ford, Thomson Locations: Auto Shanghai, Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Michigan, U.S, Shenzhen

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition unveiled in July a strategy toward de-risking Germany's economic relationship with China, calling Beijing a "partner, competitor and systemic rival". German investment in Asia excluding China is rising as a share of overall investment. "No company is going to say that it will leave China," said Sandra Ebner, senior economist at Union Investment, Germany's second-largest fund manager. "But what companies are increasingly doing is to produce in China for China and to position themselves around China for the remaining Asian or global market." In July, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck travelled to India with a delegation of executives to discuss opportunities for German companies.

Persons: Thomas Nuernberger, Nuernberger, Olaf Scholz's, Volker Treier, Munk, Ferdinand Munk, Scholz, Angela Merkel's, Martin Brudermueller, Max Zenglein, Juergen Matthes, Markus Horn, Matthias Bianchi, Joe Biden, Wolfgang Niedermark, Jan Roennfeld, Roennfeld, Sandra Ebner, BDI's Niedermark, Robert Habeck, Christoph Steitz, Sarah Marsh, Maria Martinez, Aditya Kalra, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Xinghui, Orathai, Brenda Goh Organizations: Reuters, Commerce and Industry, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Benz, BASF, IW Institute, Big, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Economic Institute, Horn, German Association of, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Union Investment, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, BERLIN, Berlin, Beijing, China, Taiwan, India, Asia, Germany, Europe, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, South China, European, Thailand, United States, Mexico, Indonesian, Eastern Germany, Malaysia, Frankfurt, New Delhi, Xinghui Kok, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai

☆ Beijing takes 'golden share' in a Tencent subsidiary, records show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A man rides an electric bike past the Tencent headquarters in Nanshan district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 2, 2022. Tencent, the world's largest video game company and the operator of the WeChat messaging platform, declined to comment. Shenzhen Yayue Technology, whose business involves information technology and internet services, was previously 100% owned by a Tencent subsidiary before the stake change took place on Wednesday, according to Qichacha. The Financial Times first reported Beijing's plan to acquire a golden share in a Tencent subsidiary earlier this year. In the case of ByteDance, the Chinese government took a board seat in Beijing ByteDance Technology with its 1% stake.

Persons: David Kirton, Ma, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh Organizations: REUTERS, Tencent Holdings, HK, Shenzhen Yayue Technology, Oc, China Internet Investment Fund, Alibaba, Reuters, Financial Times, Beijing ByteDance Technology, Thomson Locations: Nanshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, HONG KONG, Shenzhen Yayue, TikTok, Beijing

Domestic equipment manufacturers, such as toolmaker Naura (002371.SZ) and etching equipment maker AMEC, are winning a much higher proportion of tenders from Chinese foundries than in previous years, as chipmakers race to replace foreign-made equipment with domestically made alternatives, research showed. "There is definitely huge progress happening in the Chinese semiconductor equipment space, as reflected in the strong revenue growth metrics," he said. The Huatai Securities report revealed that for the first eight months of 2023, only one tender for lithography equipment was awarded to a Chinese company, out of many bids. "Local players still lack capability to supply a full set of equipment, such as EUV," said Nori Chiou, investment director at White Oak Capital, saying Chinese manufacturers are focused on covering mature node equipment. "It’s a long way to go to see advanced semiconductor equipment made in China."

Persons: Florence Lo, Xi Jinping, Biden, Hua Hong, SMIC, Nori, Fanny Potkin, Yelin, Ellen Zhang, Brenda Goh, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Companies, Huatai Securities, Beijing, Reuters, HK, Hua Hong Semiconductor, CINNO Research, Analysts, Materials Inc, Lam Research Corp, U.S, Huawei Technologies, White Oak, Thomson Locations: China, SINGAPORE, BEIJING, Japan, Netherlands, U.S, ASML, Singapore, Yelin Mo, Beijing

☆ Exclusive: China's Nio considers tapping dealers to boost EV sales in Europe - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the company has started assessing dealers in key European markets, two of the sources said, after the company's president last month said sales in Europe were not meeting expectations. One person said Nio had found that Europe had its "peculiarities", without elaborating, and that the company was planning to expand into more European countries. Its Firefly project, however, is evaluating its channel model for Europe, including direct sales, agency or dealers. Nio, which ranks ninth by sales volume among manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars in China, does not break down its sales in Europe. Nio does not use dealers in China but instead relies on a direct sales model similar to one pioneered by Tesla (TSLA.O).

Persons: Annegret, Nio, Qin Lihong, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, European Commission, Tesla, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, HK, Europe, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, BYD, Nio, France, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, China, Southeast Asia

Washington on Tuesday said it plans to halt shipments to China of more advanced artificial intelligence chips designed by Nvidia and others. It also restricted a broader swathe of advanced chips and chipmaking tools to a greater number of countries including Iran and Russia, and blacklisted Chinese chip designers Moore Threads and Biren. China's CSI Semiconductor Index (.CSI931865) dropped 1.4% on Wednesday following the announcement, while the STAR Chip Index (.STARCHIP) lost 1.2%. AI stocks were further hit after the U.S. announced further controls on Nvidia chip exports to China, UBS wrote in a note to clients. Moore Threads said it was communicating with all parties involved and evaluating the impact.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Mark Schiefelbein, Biden, Moore, Yang Wang, Charlie Chai, Xi Jinping, Biren, Shen Yiming, Bernadette Baum, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Treasury, Rights, Washington, Nvidia, CSI Semiconductor, U.S, UBS, Biren, Thomson Locations: United States, Diaoyutai, Beijing, China, Rights SHANGHAI, BEIJING, U.S, Iran, Russia

The logo of Baidu's AI chatbot Ernie Bot is displayed near a screen showing the Baidu logo, in this illustration picture taken June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Chinese technology giant Baidu (9888.HK) on Tuesday unveiled the newest version of its generative artificial intelligence (AI) model, Ernie 4.0, saying its capabilities were on par with those of ChatGPT maker OpenAI's pioneering GPT-4 model. He also showed Ernie 4.0 creating advertising posters and videos. Baidu, owner of China's largest internet search engine, is at the forefront of AI models in China amid a global craze over the technology sparked by the introduction of ChatGPT last year. In August, Baidu was among a number of firms to receive government approval to release AI products to the public.

Persons: Ernie Bot, Florence Lo, Ernie, Robin Li, ChatGPT, Baidu, Yelin Mo, Eduardo Baptista, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Baidu, REUTERS, Rights, HK, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, Beijing, China, United States

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