Huawei tops $100 billion revenues
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What: Despite troubles that began with an August ban of its equipment by the US government, Huawei revenue grew 19.5% year-on-year to RMB 721.2 billion (around $107.3 billion) in 2018. Net profits surged 25.1% year-on-year to RMB 59.3 billion.
5G influences: The company’s sales revenue from its consumer business grew 45.1% during the year to RMB 348.9 billion. As a result of a US-led boycott of its 5G equipment over security concerns, Huawei’s carrier business weakened 1.9% to RMB 294 billion, compared with a 2.5% increase the year before.
R&D power: Huawei invested RMB 101.5 billion, or 14.1% of its sales revenue, in research and development, ranking fifth globally in “The 2018 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard,” the report said. The Shenzhen-based firm owned 87,805 patents as of end-2018, of which 11,152 were granted in the US.
- Wei Sheng
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Shots
Concentrated daily news
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Alibaba’s online marketplace Taobao announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Guazi and Souche, two major online used-car marketplaces. Guazi will add to its existing store on Alibaba’s auction platform paimai.taobao.com, by opening a Taobao store. With the Souche tie-up, the two parties will join resources for the launch of an online used-car shopping mall.
Following controversial comments by the CEO of Meituan about Alibaba founder Jack Ma having “an integrity problem,” the two Chinese internet giants are engaging once again in a public spat, with Alibaba leaders accusing the Meituan executive of defamation.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued three virtual bank licenses to companies backed by Chinese tech giants: a joint venture between Bank of China and JD.com’s finance arm, JD Digits; a company jointly established by Chinese insurance company ZhongAn and realtor Sinolink; and a joint venture between the finance unit of online travel agency Ctrip, Standard Chartered, Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), and its parent PCCW. The companies intend to launch operations in six to nine months, according to HKMA.
Alibaba has invested $171 million in the popular mobile content startup Qutoutiao, entering into a convertible loan agreement that gives the tech giant 4% of shares upon full conversion.
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Drips
Small drops to get smart on China's tech world
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- Minors online: According to an official survey, more than 90% of Chinese minors are online. (TechNode)
- Youth mode: Chinese regulators want to limit the time spent by youths on short-video apps. (Bloomberg)
- AI arrests: Police in China have arrested more than 10,000 criminals thanks to facial recognition technology provided by Guangzhou-based startup Cloudwalk. (SCMP)
- Unfolding suspense: Xiaomi has released another teaser of its foldable phone. (TechCrunch)
- 996 protests: A Github post calling out two e-commerce companies—JD and Youzan—for embracing the gruelling “996” work schedule has received widespread support on the open development platform. (SCMP)
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