China tech giant Tencent's net profit jumps during pandemic

HONG KONG - Chinese internet giant Tencent reported Wednesday a sharp rise in first-quarter net profit after a surge in demand for its online games as the coronavirus pandemic forces people to stay home.

The Shenzhen-based company, one of the largest listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, said net profit rose 29 percent from a year earlier to 28 billion yuan ($3.95 billion).

"During this difficult period, we seek to provide online services that keep people connected, informed, productive, and entertained," chief executive Ma Huateng said in a statement. 

"So far, our businesses have proved resilient and cashflow-generative."

While many companies are being hammered by the economic fallout of the pandemic, tech firms have seen strong demand for their products.

Tencent is one of the world's largest gaming companies and the industry has benefited enormously from the billions of people around the world forced into lockdowns or restricted by social distancing rules. 

Online game revenue grew by 31 percent on year to 37.2 billion yuan, Tencent said.

The company owns hugely popular titles such as "Honour of Kings", "PUBG Mobile" and "Clash of Clans".

"Peacekeeper Elite", a less violent version of "PUBG Mobile" that was released last year to comply with authoritarian China's censors, was also a major success.

Revenues from online advertising and tech products for the finance industry also held up despite the virus, increasing 32 percent and 22 percent respectively in the first quarter, though they continue to face stiff competition from Alibaba.

Tencent's shares closed down 0.32 percent on Wednesday before the results were released. 

But the company has gained more than $42 billion in market value since COVID-19 broke out, Bloomberg News reported, defying a global market rout and a record Chinese economic contraction.

Agence France-Presse

Huawei to launch 5G at Africa Cup of Nations

CAIRO -- Huawei will roll out 5G phone network for the first time during this summer's Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt's minister of communications and information technology said on Sunday.

The Shenzhen-based company will introduce the technology at the 74,000-capacity Cairo International Stadium which is set to host 10 games including the final during the competition.

"Egypt wishes to cooperate with Huawei in the field of artificial intelligence, technology transfer and with 5G," Amr Talaat said.

Huawei is the leading manufacturer of equipment for next-generation 5G mobile signal with almost instantaneous data transfer that will become the nervous system of Europe's economy, in strategic sectors like energy, transport, banking and health care.

However, some Western nations have barred it amid fears Beijing could gain access to sensitive communications and critical infrastructure but Huawei denies all these accusations.

The biennial Cup of Nations takes place between June 21 and July 19 in the north African country.

Defending champions and original hosts Cameroon are in a tricky group alongside Ghana, Benin and Guinea-Bissau.

Egypt was awarded the staging rights in January, following the decision to strip Cameroon of the finals due to delays in preparation.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Shenzhen, China's reform pioneer, leads tech revolution

SHENZHEN, China -- This southern city is the symbol of the transformative reforms launched by China 40 years ago: former fishing villages that morphed into a global manufacturing hub.

Today Shenzhen is again at the heart of a new policy aimed at turning China into a hi-tech innovator and shed its reputation as an assembly line for foreign companies or -- worse -- an imitator.

Modern skyscrapers housing corporations and ambitious startups tower over the mega-city of 13 million people -- among them is Wu Yebin, 35, who runs his own tech firm from his 35th floor office.

His own story mirrors those of countless others who have risen from modest backgrounds following the reforms spearheaded by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, which the Communist Party ratified on Dec. 18, 1978.

The son of poor farmers, Wu arrived in the city in 2005 and over the years he assembled devices similar to Apple's iPad or MacBook, joining Shenzhen's army of people making "shanzhai" -- creative knock-offs of foreign electronics affordable for local population.

"Germany, the United States, Japan, South Korea... All developed countries have done this to develop their manufacturing industry," Wu said. "You have to do that to gain experience."

While this economic model used to be "very popular, it is no longer viable today," he said.

He now leads his own electronics firm, MeegoPad, which boasts an annual turnover of $28 million making products such as miniature PCs.

"We are now very attached to intellectual property and patents," Wu said.

'MADE IN CHINA 2025'

Shenzhen, which lived off fishing and rice paddies, became a testing ground for Deng's reforms when it was designated as the country's first Special Economic Zone in 1980.

It grew into a massive manufacturing center, with factories churning out gadgets, computers and phones for foreign firms, which today include Apple and Samsung.

Today China's own global corporations, such as telecom company Huawei and internet giant Tencent, have made Shenzhen their headquarters and the city of tens of thousands of factories is dubbed the "Silicon Valley of Hardware".

The metropolis is now seeking to reinvent itself as the home of Chinese innovation, in line with Beijing's "Made in China 2025" plan to dominate key hi-tech industries such as robotics, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.

"China is becoming a world leader in this field," Wu said. "Shenzhen is turning into a meeting point for creative engineers from around the world."

Now talent from abroad is flocking to Shenzhen.

Meng Jie, who is French and in his 30s, left California's Silicon Valley in 2017 to create Maybe, a company that makes smart speakers that help people learn Mandarin.

"Silicon Valley is still way ahead in artificial intelligence. But you can find the electronic or mechanical component you need three times faster in Shenzhen," Meng said.

"It's like going from a road to a motorway," he said.

Pointing to the skyscrapers outside his office, he said: "People see Silicon Valley as the tech Mecca. They underestimate Shenzhen a lot because they don't know what's happening here."

"This place was just sand and water 20 years ago. In 10 years, Shenzhen will be a very important world city. It will be the capital of innovation," he said.

US FEARS

Some of China's hi-tech ambitions are running into suspicions about its intentions abroad, with the United States and others fearing that they pose security and espionage risks.

Telecommunications equipment giant Huawei's own global expansion has faced setbacks, with some of its services rejected in certain Western countries and its chief financial officer detained in Canada on a US extradition request over alleged Iran sanctions violations.

But those who have witnessed Shenzhen's rise marvel at its evolution from hi-tech copycat to creator.

Shenzhen is "really nice fertile ground for innovation," said Duncan Turner, managing director of HAX, an incubator for startups based in the city.

"The Chinese government sets up clear plans for innovation in particular sectors that they want to invest in," Turner said.

If a company matches those plans, "you've got a nice path for development and onward funding," he said.

Turner, who moved to Shenzhen in 2009, said the biggest change he has see in the past decade is how young people who used to make fakes are "becoming incredibly inventive, entrepreneurial R&D (research and development) experts that are leading the way of technology in certain areas".

Improved higher education has created a new generation of engineers, such as Zhang Zhaohui, chief executive of Youibot, which set up his company in HAX's incubator to make the first autonomous maintenance robot for buses.

"Shenzhen has huge potential," Zhang, 26, predicted. "The city could very quickly catch up to Silicon Valley."


source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA star Jeremy Lin says 'surprised' by Chinese fans support

Jeremy Lin, the NBA's first Chinese-American player, said Sunday he was "surprised" by Chinese fans support as he and his team Charlotte Hornets beat Los Angeles Clippers in a preseason game in Shenzhen.

The 27-year-old, whose ancestry is from Taiwan and China, in July signed with Hornets in a free agent deal worth $4.3 million over two years.

He had previously spent two NBA seasons with Houston after leaving the Knicks and last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Playing an NBA game in China for the first time, he said he felt "thankful" for Chinese fan support after his side won the match 106-94.

"I feel thankful and blessed...It's the first time for me to play professional basketball in China," he told reporters in Putonghua at a press conference following the sold-out game attended by 17,400 at the Shenzhen Universiade Centre.

"I am surprised that fans treated me so well...no matter in the hotel or when I was walking around, they'd bring up posters and the jerseys," he said.


In 28 minutes of play, he scored 16 points.

Lin inspired "Linsanity" in 2012 when he came off the bench to spark a win streak by the injury-riddled New York Knicks.

It is also the first time an NBA game was played in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong.

Fans, who cheered and shouted his Chinese name "Lin Shuhao" throughout the match, said they were "thrilled" by the atmosphere and have been paying more attention to the Hornets because of Lin.

"The match was terrific. Jeremy Lin was terrific, he repeatedly hit three-pointers. I came here to watch him. He'd made me watch Hornets games more." Tu Chingbuo, a 26-year-old spectator who lives in Shenzhen, told AFP.

"I like Jeremy Lin because he is Chinese. It doesn't matter who wins when it's a good match," 35-year-old Zhang Danfeng , also from Shenzhen, told AFP.

Clippers's all-star Blake Griffin scored 13 points and JJ Redick snapped up 23 points. Guards Chris Paul and Austin Rivers pulled out due to injuries.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

China stocks rebound sharply after Beijing slaps curbs on selling

BEIJING/SHANGHAI - Chinese stocks rebounded around 6 percent on Thursday, as Beijing's increasingly frantic attempts to arrest a sell-off that has roiled global financial markets finally appeared to gain some traction.

In the most drastic step yet to prop up the market, China's securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling. The banking regulator said separately it would allow lenders to roll over loans backed by stocks.

By the close of trading, the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen had raced up 6.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index bounced 5.8 percent for its biggest daily percentage gain in six years.

China's malfunctioning stock markets remained semi-frozen, however, with the shares of around 1,500 listed companies - or around $2.8 trillion of stock - suspended, and some analysts said it was too early to call the endgame.

"The market sees some positive signs today," said Du Changchun, analyst at Northeast Securities in Shanghai. "But it is far from calling it a victory for the rescuers as more than half of listed companies are not trading."

More than 25 percent has been knocked off the value of Chinese shares since mid-June, and for some global investors the fear that China's market turmoil will destabilize the financial system is now a bigger risk than the crisis in Greece.

"We are inclined to believe that Beijing will escalate policy responses until they start working," said economists at Credit Suisse in a research note.

"If market conditions do not stabilize, we expect a statement of 'whatever it takes' from the Chinese government, given that social stability is at stake and financial systemic risks are evident."

The United States has voiced worries the stock market crash could get in the way of Beijing's economic reform agenda.

"NATIONAL TEAM"

The plunge in China's previously booming stock markets, which had more than doubled in the year to mid-June, is a major headache for President Xi Jinping and China's top leaders, who are already grappling with slowing growth.

Beijing, which had made handing a larger role to market forces a centerpiece of its economic reforms, has responded with a battery of support measures, including an interest rate cut, suspension of initial public offerings and enlisting brokerages to buy stocks, backed by cash from the central bank.

"The government will be able to stabilize the market because they have a lot of tools in the toolbox," said Christopher Moltke-Leth, head of institutional client trading at Saxo Capital Markets.

"But it is concerning that the Chinese government doesn't allow market forces to work, and that’s something China must change over time."

The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the Communist Party's official newspaper, invoked the "national team" in an editorial rallying support behind the authorities' efforts to arrest the slide.

"While there are disaster victims everywhere in China’s stock market, the other scene is that the 'national team' is truly taking action," the paper said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on its website late on Wednesday that holders of more than 5 percent of a company's stock would be barred from selling for the next six months.

The CSRC, which warned on Wednesday of "panic sentiment" gripping a market dominated by ordinary retail investors, said it would deal severely with any shareholders who violated the restriction.

The prohibition is unlikely to have much impact on foreign investors. No Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII), one of the main channels of foreign investment in China, holds more than 5 percent of a Shanghai or Shenzhen listed company. Foreign investors with more than a 5 percent stake in Chinese firms are all strategic investors.

"BIG FIST"

As the daily barrage of official measures to prop up the market continued, the banking and insurance regulators announced a series of moves to ease margin lending requirements and terms on stock-backed loans.

In the latest salvo against short sellers, who bet on falling prices, official news agency Xinhua said police were investigating suspected "malicious" selling of shares. The probe showed that the authorities would "punch back" with a "big fist" against illegal activities, Xinhua said on its microblog.

China's stock market is still smaller than those of many developed countries relative to GDP, and equity financing only accounts for a small portion of companies' capital funding.

"Even if the sell-off in Chinese mainland equities continues for a while, we doubt it will have a major adverse effect on China's economy," David Rees, economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

Nevertheless, commodities that are sensitive to the outlook for the world's second-biggest economy have been hit, with copper prices touching a six-year low on Wednesday and iron ore tumbling to a 10-year low.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Copycat Apple Watches already out in China

SHENZHEN/HONG KONG - Lining the glass display cases of Shenzhen's giant tech malls, knock-off versions of Apple Inc's smartwatch were on sale at many stalls, with some Chinese consumers eager to snap them up for a fraction of the cost of the original.

"It came on sale in mid-March and has been constantly out of stock," said one imitation Apple Watch seller who declined to give his name. "On average we sell around 40 a day. Some customers just came and bought five or more at a time."

The mimic Watches, built on Google Inc's operating system, don't need a separate smartphone to work, said one merchant. At her store, one was retailing for 360 yuan ($58) - around one eighth of the cost of Apple's cheaper Watch models.

One version used a SIM card, could make calls, send messages, browse the Internet and take pictures, she said.

On Friday, Apple, the world's most valuable technology company, started previewing the Apple Watch, its first new gadget line since former CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011. Customers in China and elsewhere will be able to buy it from April 24.

In Hong Kong, the official Apple Store preview of the Watch was quiet. No queues stretched down the street as they normally do for Apple product launches. A handful of people waited at the door, outnumbered by Apple staff whose cheers lasted a handful of seconds.

Most of the shoppers from mainland China, who commonly cross the border to pick up the latest Apple must-have, were there for other gadgets.

"I'm here to buy an iPad," said a shopper from the southwestern city of Chongqing, who gave her surname as Jian and said she didn't know the previews launched that day.

"I will take a look at the Watch later ... none of my friends have talked about the Watch back home."

But the technology bazaars in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen were chaotic on Thursday. Merchants hawked their goods to Chinese and foreign shoppers, showing off different smartwatches' various colours and models.

Some weren't impressed with the imitation Apple Watches.

"I really want to buy the original one," said Vikram Jan an Indian businessman from New Delhi shopping in Shenzhen. "The fake one is really bad."

Though the knock-offs have their admirers, some merchants are doubtful about the impact on genuine Apple Watch sales.

"You know some want the real thing and some just want to go for the cheaper option," said the woman selling knock-off watches. "There are all kinds of customers and people who want the cheaper one would still buy our product."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com