The new antitrust rules for China’s digital payment market could trigger a regulatory review of Ant Group and Tencent based on market share.
Alibaba
Jack Ma resurfaces amid regulatory clampdown
The Alibaba and Ant Group founder, Jack Ma, made his first public appearance in months at a video conference with rural teachers.
Pinduoduo blasted for user privacy breach, Luckin franchises: Retailheads
Pinduoduo is under fire again for deleting pictures from a user’s photo album without consent. Luckin opens up to franchises in lower-tier cities.
WeChat doubled mini program GMV in 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of e-commerce on WeChat and powered growth, as confined shoppers spent more time browsing on the app.
China Tech Investor: From Alibaba & Ant to Xiaomi: Looking back at 2020, forward to 2021
James and Elliott review the winners and losers of 2020, what they got right and what they got wrong, as well as the lessons they learned.
Insights | Why ‘996’ just won’t go away
996 is still a problem in China’s tech industry. It’s brutal to employees, and it’s questionable whether overtime work pays off even for companies.
Why analysts don’t trust GMV, and why they use it anyway
Every penny a customer commits to pay on a platform is counted as part of GMV, whether or not they pay, or later get the money refunded.
Ele.me faces backlash, Luckin coup: Retailheads
Ele.me is criticized for its treatment of the family of a deliveryman who died on the job. The US may ban American investors from Alibaba and Tencent.
Ele.me driver self-immolates to protest wage dispute
A short video showing individuals putting out the flames engulfing a deliveryman working for Ele.me in Jiangsu province went viral on Chinese social media.
Pinduoduo faces probe after worker death, e-commerce giants fined: Retailheads
The death of a Pinduoduo employee reignited discussions about overtime work at Chinese tech giants. A Chinese regulator slapped fines on e-commerce firms.