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JAKARTA/HONG KONG, July 27 (Reuters) - TikTok said it has no plans to roll out a cross-border business in Indonesia as a government minister on Thursday expressed concerns over how reported plans for a new e-commerce push by the firm could flood the country with Chinese products. "We have no intent to create our own e-commerce product or become a retailer/wholesaler in Indonesia to compete with Indonesian sellers." The current localised TikTok Shop model "empowers and benefits" local sellers, and TikTok will continue with this approach, she added. The company said that its app has 325 million Southeast Asian users that are active every month while 125 million are in Indonesia. The company has said that there are 2 million small businesses on TikTok Shop in Indonesia.

Persons: TikTok, China's ByteDance, Masduki, Fiki, Temu, Anggini Setiawan, Shou Zi Chew, Stanley Widianto, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Conor Humphries Organizations: Reuters, Indonesia's, Cooperatives, Enterprises, PDD Holdings, U.S, of Communications, TikTok, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, HONG KONG, Indonesia, United States, Indonesian, Europe, TikTok Indonesia, Asia, Jakarta, Hong Kong

☆ China's video game player population rises to a record at end-June
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, July 27 (Reuters) - China's video game player has grown to a record of 668 million, a government-run game industry association said on Thursday, as the world's biggest gaming market returns to growth after a bruising crackdown. "Against the backdrop of a sluggish global gaming market, China's gaming industry is gradually emerging from a trough and showing an upward trend," Zhang Yijun, a director at the CGIGC, told the conference. The crackdown wiped out significant revenue and market value for many domestic gaming giants including Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) and NetEase (9999.HK). However, gaming revenue has yet to return to a pre-crackdown level. "We remain confident about a steady domestic game approval process heading into (the second half of this year)," Yap wrote.

Persons: Zhang Yijun, ”, Alicia Yap, Yap, Josh Ye, Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel Organizations: Industry, Tencent Holdings, HK, Regulators, Citi Bank, Securities, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Shanghai, Hong Kong

☆ Alibaba's cloud unit brings Meta's AI model Llama to its clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Alibaba Cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. “Today, Alibaba Cloud has launched the first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama2 series in China, welcoming all developers to create customised large models on Alibaba Cloud,” Alibaba Cloud said in a statement on Tuesday published on its WeChat account. The U.S. has been actively looking to restrict Chinese companies' access to many U.S.-developed technologies related to AI, particularly in the area of AI semiconductors. Alibaba Cloud did not respond to a request for comment. Alibaba and its peers such as Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) have been aggressively developing their own AI models in recent months.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Llama2, Alibaba, Google's Bard, Josh Ye, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, “, Meta, Tencent Holdings, HK, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, HK, China, U.S, Beijing

☆ China issues temporary rules for generative AI services
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, July 13 (Reuters) - China issued a set of interim measures on Thursday to manage the booming generative artificial intelligence (AI) industry, paving the way for Chinese tech companies to roll out AI services in the country. The success of ChatGPT, a wildly popular chatbot developed by the Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT.O), ignited a generative AI frenzy in China and worldwide. The internet watchdog said that AI services offered in the country need to be in line with China's socialist values. It said that regulators will "formulate corresponding classification and grading regulatory rules or guidelines" based on different generative AI technologies' characteristics and use cases. It also added that industry organisations, firms and research institutes that develop and apply generative AI tech but do not provide it to the public will not be subject to the measures.

Persons: Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar, Kim Coghill Organizations: Cyberspace Administration, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China

☆ China's slow AI roll-out points to its tech sector's new regulatory reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/3] An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. New rules Chinese firms have to comply with range from algorithm vetting to accepting security reviews of data they want to export. They definitely stifle the innovation and slow down the ability of Chinese firms to catch up." A key motivation behind China's reluctance to release AI chatbots is that Beijing fears uncensored chatbots may start influencing societal views in potentially subversive directions, said Mark Natkin, managing director of research firm Marbridge Consulting. "While the U.S. is racing ahead with AI, China is hitting the brakes with more rules."

Persons: Aly, HONG KONG, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Henry Gao, Ernie Bot, Robin Li, Shi, Mark Natkin, Heatherm Huang, Bard, Microsoft's Bing, Xi Jinping, Baidu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Jamie Freed Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, China, Baidu, HK, Ant Group, Western, Singapore Management University, Microsoft, SenseChat, Nomura, Marbridge Consulting, Huawei Technologies, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG, Beijing, Alibaba, Tencent, Hong Kong, U.S

☆ Analysis: China's slow AI roll-out points to its tech sector's new regulatory reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

That represents a steep 75% discount to the $315 billion valuation in 2020 for what was set to be the world's largest IPO had it not been derailed at the last minute by Chinese regulators. "China needs to resolve the Ant IPO to restore investor confidence," said Wang Qi, chief executive of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment. For the broader technology sector, Ant's fine marks a key step towards the conclusion of China's bruising crackdown on private enterprises, which began with the scrapping of Ant's IPO in late 2020 and subsequently wiped billions off the market value of several companies. "At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely." On Friday, Chinese authorities also announced fines against two Chinese banks, an insurer, and Tencent Holdings' (0700.HK) online payment platform Tenpay.

Persons: Ant, Zhang Zihua, Wang Qi, Jack Ma, Hanyang Wang, Julie Zhu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Scott Murdoch, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill Organizations: Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Beijing Yunyi, MegaTrust Investment, Fidelity, Reuters, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hangzhou, Hangzhou Junhan, Beijing, China

☆ Ant's share repurchase plan values firm around $79 bln, down sharply before crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It marked a sharp fall in the $300 billion-plus value ascribed to the company in mid-2020, before its IPO planned for later that year was pulled. Ant said it had proposed to all of its shareholders to repurchase up to 7.6% of its equity interest at a price that represents a group valuation of approximately 567.1 billion yuan. The repurchase proposal will also provide a liquidity option for the company’s investors," it said. Ant's major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have voluntarily decided not to participate in the repurchase, the company added. "At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely."

Persons: Ant, Hanyang Wang, Jack Ma, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Josh Ye, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong

China's central bank said that financial regulators would fine Ant and its subsidiaries a total of 7.12 billion yuan, require it to stop operations of its crowdfunded medical aid service Xianghubao and compensate users. Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jack Ma, Jeffrey Towson, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Lens Consulting, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), a new government body under the State Council, is now the primary regulator to grant Ant the license, they added. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jeffrey Towson, Jack Ma, China's, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Tenpay, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Lens Consulting, Communist Party, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

☆ China's Alibaba unveils AI image generator to take on Midjourney and DALL-E
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (9988.HK) announced on Friday an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator, initially available to enterprise customers in beta form, as it ramps up its offerings in the fast-growing AI sector. The image generator, Tongyi Wanxiang, will compete with OpenAI's DALL-E and Midjourney Inc's Midjourney, U.S.-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide. Alibaba Cloud, recently formed from a massive overhaul that split the Chinese tech major into six units, has also released a ChatGPT-like text generator, Tongyi Qianwen, which was launched in April. Baidu Inc (9888.HK) and SenseTime Group Inc <0020.HK > also recently unveiled AI image generators, although generative AI services have yet to receive regulatory approval for wide distribution in China. The Tongyi Wanxiang image generator, which roughly translates as "truth from tens of thousands of pictures", was revealed at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday.

Persons: Wanxiang, OpenAI's DALL, Inc's Midjourney, OpenAI's, chatbot, Josh Ye, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Alibaba Group Holdings, HK, McKinsey, Baidu Inc, SenseTime, Artificial Intelligence, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S, China, Shanghai

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holdings (9988.HK) and Huawei Technologies Co on Friday showcased new products, including an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator and an AI model upgrade, as Chinese companies jostle for position in the global AI race. Alibaba Cloud, an Alibaba subsidiary, presented at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai an image generator named Tongyi Wanxiang that will initially be available to enterprise customers in beta form. Also on Friday, Huawei demonstrated the third iteration of its Panggu AI model at the start of its three-day annual developer conference in Dongguan. Alibaba's image generator will compete with OpenAI's DALL-E and Midjourney Inc's Midjourney, U.S.-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide. Alibaba Cloud emerged from a massive overhaul announced in March that split the Chinese tech major into six units.

Persons: OpenAI, OpenAI's DALL, Inc's Midjourney, Alibaba, Josh Ye, Edmund Klamann, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Alibaba Group Holdings, HK, Huawei Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Huawei, McKinsey, Alibaba, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Shanghai, Dongguan, U.S, Shenzhen

☆ Meta takes aim at Twitter with Threads app, millions join
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Welcome to Threads," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji. Others saw the launch of Threads as an opportunity to create a less toxic version of Twitter. Much like Twitter, the app features short text posts that users can like, re-post and reply to, although it does not include any direct message capabilities. Instagram users who sign up for Threads automatically have a badge affixed to their Instagram profile, but can opt to hide it. Zuckerberg, responding to a user who predicted Twitter's demise about an hour after the Threads launch, cautioned patience.

Persons: Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Representative Alexandria Ocasio, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Cortez, Zuckerberg, Musk, hasn't, Instagram, Ryan Detert, Jack Dorsey, Dorsey, Katie Paul, Sheila Dang, Jamie Freed, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Chavi Mehta, Bansari, David Gregorio, Christopher Cushing, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: YORK, Wednesday, Democratic U.S, Representative, Twitter, Spiderman, Meta, TWITTER, Brands, Billboard, HBO, NPR, Netflix, Thomson Locations: Cortez, Las Vegas, Instagram

☆ China releases its first open-source computer operating system
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, July 6 (Reuters) - China has released its first homegrown open-source desktop operating system, named OpenKylin, state media said, as the country steps up efforts to cut reliance on U.S. technology. China's massive market for operating systems was worth 15.5 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) last year, state media said, citing an industry report. Developing an operating system independent of U.S. technology has been an important goal for China's tech industry in recent years, with many companies and organisations having contributed to the development of the OpenKylin system. More than a dozen Chinese companies are trying to develop operating systems that could replace Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS operating systems. One such company, UnionTech Software Technology Co Ltd, has been developing what it calls the "Unity operating system".

Persons: Josh Ye, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: China Industrial Control Systems, UnionTech Software Technology Co, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China

SEOUL, June 30 (Reuters) - A South Korean chip executive imprisoned over industrial espionage charges rejected allegations he had sought to build a copycat chip factory in China with sensitive information developed by Samsung Electronics. Choi is in custody at a detention centre in Suwon, a city south of Seoul where Samsung has its headquarters. Neither Foxconn or companies contracted build the Samsung plant were accused of any wrongdoing. A NAND flash chip is a storage chip that retains data even when a device is turned off, unlike a DRAM chip which loses data when the power is off. "What we were planning to build was a R&D fab and there is no R&D fab at (Samsung's) Xian plant.

Persons: Choi Jinseog, Choi, Taiwan's Foxconn, aren't, Foxconn, Kim Pilsung, XIAN Choi, Roh Hwa, Kim, Heekyong Yang, Josh Ye, Ben Blanchard, Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Organizations: Samsung Electronics, Reuters, Prosecutors, Samsung, Hai Precision Industry Co, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, China, KS, Xian , China, Suwon, Seoul, Xian, Qingdao, South, Hong Kong, Taipei

☆ Chinese payment giants revive effort to accept foreign credit cards
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, June 28 (Reuters) - Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) and Ant Group said that they would allow users to link international credit cards to their platforms, an issue that has long plagued foreign visitors as the country’s payment system has kept credit cards out for years. Foreign visitors often find themselves unable to pay for things in China where many shops and restaurants now only accept mobile payment rather than credit cards or cash. Tencent and Ant had formed partnerships with Visa and Mastercard in 2019 to make foreign cards usable on their platforms. Under the new setup, international travelers can set up their foreign cards on these apps with a few simple steps. While China’s mobile payment networks have been closed off to foreign-issued credit cards, domestically issued credit cards under Visa and Mastercard have long been supported.

Persons: Alipay, Ant, ” Tencent, Josh Ye, Kim Coghill Organizations: Tencent Holdings, HK, Ant Group, Visa Inc, Mastercard, Ant, Visa, Overseas, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, ecommerce, Hong Kong, Macau

The announcement did not name Choi and gave only limited details, although some media subsequently identified Choi and his links with Foxconn. The unreleased 18-page indictment, reviewed by Reuters, provides details in the case against Choi, including how he is alleged to have stolen Samsung's trade secrets and details about the planned Foxconn plant. Choi's Singapore-based consultancy Jin Semiconductor won the contract with Foxconn around August 2018, according to the indictment. According to the indictment, the new Foxconn plant had planned capacity of 100,000 wafers per month using 20-nanometre DRAM memory chip technology. However, Foxconn ended the contract just a year later and only paid salaries related to the project, the lawyer said.

Persons: Kim Hong, Choi Jinseog, Taiwan's Foxconn, Choi, Kim Pilsung, Cho Young, sik, Samoo, Choi's, Chung Chan, Kim, Foxconn, Cho, HanmiGlobal, Chung, Lee Jong, Lee, Jin Semiconductor's, Yoon Suk, 1,294.4600, Heekyong Yang, Ben Blanchard, Chen Lin, Josh Ye, Miyoung Kim, Lincoln Organizations: Samsung Electronics, REUTERS, Samsung, South, Prosecutors, Reuters, Jin Semiconductor, Foxconn, Samoo Architects & Engineers, Google, SK Hynix, Samsung's, Sangmyung University, Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, South Korean, Thomson Locations: Suwon, South Korea, SEOUL, China, Choi's Singapore, Xian , China, HanmiGlobal, South, CHINA, United States, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong

☆ China's Baidu says its new AI beat ChatGPT on some metrics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Baidu said in a statement on Tuesday that Ernie 3.5, the latest version of its Ernie AI model, had surpassed "ChatGPT in comprehensive ability scores" and outperformed "GPT-4 in several Chinese capabilities". The Baidu announcement comes amid a global AI buzz kicked off by ChatGPT that has spread to China, prompting a flurry of domestic companies to announce rival products. Baidu was the first big Chinese tech company to debut a AI product to rival ChatGPT when it unveiled its language AI Ernie Bot in March. Ernie Bot, built on Baidu's older Ernie 3.0 AI model, has been in invite-only tests for the past three months. Other big Chinese tech firms, including Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), have all since revealed their respective AI models.

Persons: China's, Baidu, Ernie, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Ernie Bot, Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Baidu Inc, HK, Microsoft, China Science Daily, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent Holdings, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, China

The CEO role will be handed over to Eddie Yongming Wu, chairman of Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group, while Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai will take over Zhang as chairman. "The idea or expectation that one person could manage the business' crown jewel Cloud and at the same time manage the entire Alibaba Group is an unreasonable expectation." "It would be inappropriate for me to continue serving as chairman and CEO of both companies at the same time during the spin-off process." Alibaba thanked Zhang for his "extraordinary leadership in navigating unprecedented uncertainties affecting the company's business over the past few years." Wu, who co-founded Alibaba alongside Ma and Tsai over two decades ago, will continue to concurrently serve as chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba said.

Persons: Zhang, Joseph Tsai, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Alibaba's, Daniel, Brian Wong, Jack Ma, Joe, Eddie, Eric Chen, Wu, Ma, Tsai, Alipay, Jacob Cooke, Cooke, China's, J, Michael Evans, Abinaya, Brenda Goh, Scott Murdoch, Anne Marie Roantree, Josh Ye, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Alibaba, HK, Tmall, Reuters, Cloud Intelligence Group, Analysts, Alibaba Health, Technologies, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Japan, Spain, Australia, Thailand, Tokyo, Taobao, Bengaluru, Sydney

Where can a Chinese buyer purchase top-end Nvidia (NVDA.O) AI chips in the wake of U.S. sanctions? A model similar to OpenAI's GPT would require more than 30,000 Nvidia A100 cards, according to research firm TrendForce. Nvidia's more advanced H100 chips, only on the market since March, appear much harder to come by. He added the premiums currently commanded by Chinese vendors for A100 and H100 chips could collapse in the future as many of the Chinese AI startups that were driving purchases would eventually withdraw from the market. ($1 = 7.8307 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Josh Ye in Hong Kong, David Kirton in Shenzhen and Chen Lin in Singapore; Additional reporting by Fanny Potkin in Singapore; Editing by Brenda Goh and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden's, OpenAI's, Ivan Lau, Hong, ByteDance, Vinci Chow, Charlie Chai, Josh Ye, David Kirton, Chen Lin, Fanny Potkin, Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Nvidia, SEG, Reuters, supercomputing, HK, U.S . Department of Commerce, China's, Information, Tencent Holdings, Taobao, Chinese University of Hong, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, SHENZHEN, China, U.S, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ Family and friends mourn murdered model in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - Family and friends of Abby Choi, a Hong Kong model who was murdered in a gruesome case in February, gathered at a memorial hall in the city on Sunday to pay their final respects. The vigil took place at Po Fook Memorial Hall in the Tai Wai area of Sha Tin district, adhering to Buddhist traditions. The murder of the 28-year-old influencer shocked the world after parts of her remains were found in a village house in Hong Kong. A funeral ceremony on Monday morning will be followed by a cremation at a monastery on the city's Lantau Island. Reporting by Joyce Zhou, Josh Ye in Hong Kong Editing by Frances Kerry, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abby Choi, Joyce Zhou, Josh Ye, Frances Kerry, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Fook, Tai, Sha Tin

☆ Baidu wins commercial licence for driverless taxis in Shenzhen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, June 16 (Reuters) - China's tech firm Baidu Inc said on Friday that it has obtained a commercial licence from regulators for its driverless ride-hailing service in parts of Shenzhen, the country's tech hub. Its fleet of driverless robotaxis, under the brand Apollo Go, will be allowed to operate and collect fares from passengers across an area of 188 square km (116.82 square miles) in Shenzhen, the company said. Baidu first brought self-driving cars to Shenzhen in 2022 but its cars then were not allowed to go on the roads without human supervisors onboard. Baidu has obtained licences from three other Chinese cities including Wuhan, Chongqing and Beijing to offer fully driverless service there. Baidu also said it plans to put an additional 200 fully driverless robotaxis on the road this year.

Persons: Baidu, Josh Ye, Jason Neely, Louise Heavens Organizations: Baidu Inc, Baidu, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chongqing, Beijing

☆ Versions of Hong Kong protest anthem no longer available on iTunes and Spotify
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jessie Pang | Thomson Reuters | Jessie Pang Joined Reuters In After An Internship. She Covers Hong Kong With A Focus On Politics | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, June 14 (Reuters) - Various versions of the pro-democracy protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" were unavailable on Apple’s iTunes Store, Spotify, Facebook and Instagram’s Reels on Wednesday after the government sought an injunction banning the song outright. “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has a duty and obligation to safeguard national security, and we should do it proactively and also preventively,” Lee said. "Glory to Hong Kong", including its various versions, dominated the top ten in Apple’s Hong Kong iTunes Store chart as people rushed to buy the song after the government announced its bid to ban it. "Glory to Hong Kong" has been played mistakenly instead of the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers". Hong Kong's security chief said in December Google had refused to change its search results to display China's national anthem instead of "Glory to Hong Kong" when users searched for Hong Kong's national anthem, expressing "great regret" at the decision.

Persons: Hong, ThomasDGX, John Lee, ” Lee, Sarah Brooks, Hong Kong, HongKongers ”, Jessie Pang, Josh Ye, Nick Macfie Organizations: iTunes, Spotify, Facebook, Reuters, Rugby Sevens, “ Hong, Amnesty, High Court, Hong Kong iTunes, Apple, Google, Volunteers, Asia Rugby Association, Hong, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, “, “ Hong Kong, Hong, British

MiniMax was founded in 2021 by some former employees of SenseTime (0020.HK), including Yan Junjie - a former vice president at the Chinese AI firm, two other people said. Wang Huiwen, co-founder of on-demand service giant Meituan (3690.HK), said he has founded a new AI company called Beijing Lightyear Technology with $50 million from investors. Google China's former chief, Kai-Fu Lee, has unveiled his new startup - Project AI 2.0. Wang Xiaochuan, founder of China's No.2 search engine Sogou, said in April that he had founded Baichuan Intelligence with a startup capital of $50 million. Its other early investors include China's Yunqi Partners and Future Capital, statements from the venture capital funds show.

Persons: MiniMax, Yan Junjie, Wang Huiwen, Kai, Fu Lee, Wang Xiaochuan, China's, MiHoYo, Charlie Chai, ERNIE Bot, Chai, Roxanne Liu, Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Microsoft, HK, Huawei, Baidu, Beijing Lightyear Technology, Google, Baichuan Intelligence, China's Yunqi Partners, Future, 86Research, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, HONG KONG, China, Beijing, miHoYo, Hong Kong

☆ China's Douyin says has held early talks with Wanda on payments unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - ByteDance's short video app Douyin said on Wednesday that it has held preliminary talks with Dalian Wanda Group over the conglomerate's payments unit. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Wanda was in talks with prospective buyers include China's ByteDance to sell its digital payments licence for about 1 billion yuan ($144 million). A spokesperson for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, declined to provide further comment beyond acknowledging the preliminary talks. Wanda bought its payments licence in 2014 from 99Bill in a deal that allowed visitors to Wanda's venues, from department stores to cinemas, to pay online. ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Ye and Clare Jim in Hong KongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wanda, Wang Jianlin, ByteDance, Josh Ye, Clare Jim Organizations: Dalian Wanda Group, Bloomberg, Douyin, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, 99Bill

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