Krypton Evening News: More than 1,700 overseas brands have opened their first stores in China on Tmall before Double 11; Xiangxue Pharmaceutical has reached a cooperation with Huawei Cloud to launch a large model of intelligent TCM diagnosis and treatment; China's first independent manufacturing chain for superconducting quantum computers has started to be upgraded and expanded.
Big Companies:
Apple Might Abandon Its Annual Product Update Strategy
It is reported that Apple Inc. might abandon its annual product upgrade strategy. Mark Gurman, a well-known journalist from Bloomberg, wrote that although this process of Apple has many benefits, this release strategy has begun to show loopholes. "It seems that Apple must adopt a more flexible approach and release products when they are ready, and not release them if they are not ready." (Caixin)
Over 1,700 Overseas Brands Opened Their First Stores in China on Tmall Before Double 11
36Kr learned that the latest store opening data of Tmall shows that the number of new entering brands in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 70% compared with the previous quarter. Among them, the number of brands entering in September was the highest, with a 239% increase compared with August. Overseas brands are also continuously increasing their investment in the Chinese market. In the first three quarters, more than 1,700 overseas merchants opened their first stores in China on Tmall Global.
Hon Hai and NVIDIA Are Building the World's Largest GB200 Factory in Mexico
Executives of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., the parent company of Foxconn, revealed on Tuesday (October 8) that the company is building the world's largest NVIDIA GB200 manufacturing plant in Mexico to help alleviate the huge demand for NVIDIA's Blackwell platform. (Caixin)
Haier Consumer Finance Company Increases Its Capital to 2.09 Billion Yuan
36Kr learned that the App Aiqicha shows that recently, Haier Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and its registered capital has increased from 1.5 billion yuan to 2.09 billion yuan. The company was established in December 2014, with Li Zhanguo as its legal representative. Its business scope includes issuing personal consumer loans, receiving deposits from domestic subsidiaries and domestic shareholders of the shareholders, borrowing from domestic financial institutions, and issuing financial bonds with approval. It is jointly held by Haier Group Corporation, Beijing Red Star Macalline International Furniture and Building Materials Plaza Co., Ltd., and Haier Group Finance Co., Ltd.
It is reported that LG Electronics released its performance report on October 8. It is preliminarily verified that the company's operating profit in the third quarter (calculated based on the consolidated financial statements) decreased by 20.9% year-on-year to 751.1 billion won (approximately 3.93 billion yuan). The sales amount was 22.1769 trillion won, an increase of 10.7% year-on-year, and it has continued to grow for four consecutive quarters, setting the highest record in the same period in history. (Jiemian)
TCL China Star's Optoelectronic Display Company Increases Its Capital by 500 Million Yuan
36Kr learned that the App Aiqicha shows that recently, Huizhou China Star Optoelectronics Display Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes, and its registered capital has increased from 1.51 billion yuan to 2.01 billion yuan. The company was established in October 2016, with Zhang Caili as its legal representative. Its business scope includes the manufacturing and sales of semiconductor lighting devices, the manufacturing and sales of audio equipment, and the integration of intelligent control systems. It is wholly owned by TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.
36Kr learned that the App Aiqicha shows that recently, Tonghao (Guangzhou) Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with Shen Fengmin as its legal representative, and a registered capital of approximately 140 million yuan. Its business scope includes the manufacturing of Internet of Things devices, the manufacturing of urban rail transit equipment, the manufacturing of electrical signal equipment and devices, and construction project construction. Shareholder information shows that the company is jointly held by China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation Limited, Guangzhou Railway Technology Development Co., Ltd., and China Railway Signal & Communication Shanghai Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.
Hyundai Motor Will Sell 142 Million Shares of Its Indian Subsidiary
Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory filing on October 8 that it will sell 142 million shares of Hyundai Motor India to be used for the latter's IPO. Hyundai Motor said it will still hold 670 million shares, or 82.5%, of Hyundai Motor India after the sale. Hyundai Motor said the indicative range for the initial public offering pricing has not been finally determined. (Jiemian)
New Products:
36Kr learned that recently, the Huangpu District Health Bureau, Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, and Huawei Cloud reached a cooperation and officially signed an agreement to jointly launch a smart Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis and treatment large model. It is introduced that the smart TCM diagnosis and treatment large model is developed by Xiangxue Pharmaceutical, integrating the industrial and R & D advantages of Xiangxue TCM with the technical advantages of Huawei Cloud's Pangu large model. This project is the first landing project of Huawei Cloud's Pangu large model in Guangzhou.
Vodafone Will Collaborate with Google to Promote AI Mobile Phones and Services
Vodafone Group, the British mobile communications giant, will collaborate with Google to provide cloud services, generative artificial intelligence tools, and cybersecurity services to its customers in Europe and Africa. Vodafone said in a statement on Tuesday that in the 10-year extension of the existing partnership, Vodafone will promote Google's cloud storage subscription service, including Google One AI Premium, which provides access to Google's Gemini chatbot. The UK-based operator will also show customers how to use the artificial intelligence features of the latest Pixel devices in stores. (Sina Finance)
Investment and Financing:
"Xiushi Bio" Receives Nearly 100 Million Yuan in Investment
36Kr learned that recently, Xiushi Biomedical (Nantong) Co., Ltd. announced that it has completed a nearly 100 million yuan Pre-A round of financing. This round of financing is led by Chuangjing Capital, with Huatai Zijin, Jinyumaowu, and Xiaofanzhuo Ventures participating. This round of financing is exclusively financially advised by Groad Capital. The funds from this round of financing will be mainly used to continuously increase the construction of the company's unique innovative polypeptide biosynthesis technology platform and the research and development of a diverse pipeline, complete and expand the construction of a compliant polypeptide drug production line, and accelerate the pace of the commercialization of the company's advantageous technologies and products at home and abroad.
Today's Views:
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. stated that as global electric vehicle sales slow down, it will take several years to gradually develop its nascent automotive department, while its business of manufacturing and selling artificial intelligence servers using NVIDIA chips is booming and growing rapidly. Kuan Jun, the head of Hon Hai's electric vehicle business, said in an interview that the company is cautiously advancing the electric vehicle business, believing that the business environment is highly uncertain, and if it acts too quickly, it may encounter unexpected situations. He said: "We hope to be very wise in terms of investment and development." He said that it may take about five years to fully utilize the production line of its factory in Ohio. (Sina Finance)
Other News Worth Noting:
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics Has Been Announced
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on October 8 local time that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton in recognition of their fundamental discoveries and inventions in using artificial neural networks for machine learning. (CCTV News)
It is learned from the industry that the Securities Association of China has recently initiated a research on the risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing in the securities industry, aiming to comprehensively understand the level of money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the securities industry, gather the strength of the industry, condense the consensus of ideas, and improve the level of anti-money laundering performance. The research content covers four major sections: "External Threats", "Inherent Risks", "Effectiveness of Control Measures", and "Self-Assessment Situation". The assessment time range is limited to the year 2023. (China Securities Journal)
It was learned from the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center and the Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Computing Chips that recently, China's first superconducting quantum computer manufacturing chain has initiated an upgrade and expansion. The core links of the superconducting quantum computer manufacturing, such as the independent quantum chip production and the assembly of the entire machine, will be further enhanced, and China's independent manufacturing capacity of superconducting quantum computers will be strengthened. (CCTV News)
In the six months ending in September, the number of bankruptcies of Japanese companies reached the highest level since 2013, and companies are increasingly being impacted by rising costs. Data shows that about 4,990 companies went bankrupt during the same period, an increase of 18.6% compared with the previous year; the surge in the number of bankruptcies partly reflects the impact of rising prices, especially for small companies. The report shows that 472 of the 4,990 companies said inflation was the main reason for their bankruptcy. Japan's key price indicator has not been lower than the Bank of Japan's 2% target for more than two years, as the depreciation of the yen has pushed up the import costs of various goods from food to energy. (Sina Finance)