Krypton Evening News: Bank of China, Yizhuang Guotou and others have established a science and innovation equity investment fund with a contribution of 2 billion yuan; Unilever plans to sell its food brand with an annual sales of about 1 billion euros; The cross-provincial mutual aid function of the national medical insurance personal accounts has been officially launched.
Big Companies:
On December 2, Fliggy and Xinjiang Airport Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Urumqi. The two sides will conduct in-depth cooperation in product innovation, membership, marketing, and service experience to jointly promote the high-quality development of Xinjiang's civil aviation and tourism market. According to the agreement, Fliggy and Xinjiang Airport Group will jointly create innovative products such as air-rail and air-bus intermodal transportation, as well as "air ticket + hotel" and "air ticket + entertainment" under the "Big Transportation +" model, providing consumers with more diverse travel options in Xinjiang. The two sides will also cooperate in marketing and membership system construction to attract more people to Xinjiang and enable them to have an in-depth experience of the region.
Bilibili and Others Establish a New Network Technology Company
36Kr learned that Tianyancha App shows that recently, Shanghai Pikesoso Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established, with Shao Bo as the legal representative and a registered capital of 300,000 Chinese yuan. Its business scope includes social and economic consulting services, organizing cultural and artistic exchange activities, information consulting services, retail and wholesale of computer software and hardware and auxiliary equipment, sales of electronic products, Internet sales, and development of animation and games. Shareholder information shows that the company is jointly held by Bilibili's affiliated company Shanghai Hedian Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Shao Bo.
36Kr learned that Aiqicha App shows that recently, Beijing Yizhuang Zhongying Fuyao Science and Technology Innovation Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) was established with a contribution of 2 billion yuan. Its business scope includes engaging in equity investment, investment management, and asset management activities through private equity funds. Partner information shows that this partnership is jointly held by BOC Financial Assets Investment Co., Ltd. under Bank of China Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yizhuang International Investment Development Co., Ltd., etc.
Unilever Plans to Sell Food Brands with an Annual Sales of Approximately 1 Billion Euros
Unilever's CEO, Alan Jope, said in an interview on Monday that the company is seeking to sell several of its food brands, with a total sales volume of approximately 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion). Jope did not specify which brands Unilever hopes to sell, which is part of its earlier announced plan to streamline its food business. (Sina Finance)
36Kr learned that recently, Baidu Netdisk has officially passed the China Cybersecurity Review Technology and Certification Center (CCRC) certification and has been awarded the Personal Information Protection Certification (PIP). This is the only national-level certification in China's personal information protection field that is in line with the Personal Information Protection Law. Baidu Netdisk is also the first PIP-certified product in the personal cloud disk field. Currently, Baidu Netdisk has over 1 billion registered users, and the total user usage space exceeds 100 billion GB.
Roborock Increases Its Registered Capital to Approximately 180 Million Yuan
36Kr learned that Aiqicha App shows that recently, Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd. has undergone industrial and commercial changes. Its business scope has added the development and sales of artificial intelligence application software, basic artificial intelligence software, theoretical and algorithmic artificial intelligence software, software development, and the research and development of intelligent robots. At the same time, the registered capital has increased from approximately 130 million yuan to approximately 180 million yuan. Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd. was established in July 2014, with Chang Jing as the legal representative, and is jointly held by Chang Jing, Tianjin Jinmi Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited, etc.
36Kr learned that on November 29, the Transport Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced that it has issued the first pioneer license for autonomous driving vehicles in accordance with the Road Traffic (Autonomous Vehicles) Regulations. According to the documents of the Islands District Council of Hong Kong, Luobo Kuaipao earlier submitted an application to the Transport Department for autonomous vehicle testing and pioneer use, and the first stage of testing will be launched before the end of this year. On December 2, Luobo Kuaipao officially responded that the license issued by the Hong Kong Transport Department is the first autonomous driving test license for right-hand drive and left-hand traffic areas obtained by Luobo Kuaipao, which will become an important part of Luobo Kuaipao's globalization. In addition, on December 4, Baidu Apollo will also release version 10.0 of the autonomous driving open platform in Hong Kong for global users.
Investment and Financing:
Korean e-commerce platform ABLY said on December 2 local time that its parent company, ABLY Group, has received a 100 billion won (approximately 510 million yuan) investment from Alibaba. The statement said that through this investment, Alibaba will acquire a 5% stake in ABLY Group. ABLY stated that after the investment is completed, its enterprise value will increase to 3 trillion won, entering the list of "unicorn" enterprises. ABLY plans to use this investment from Alibaba as a starting point to continue to obtain a 100 billion won investment from Silicon Valley and overseas sovereign wealth funds. (Jiemian)
"Yingzhi Technology" Obtains a Ten-Million-Level Series A Financing
36Kr learned that Yingzhi Technology Co., Ltd. has obtained a ten-million-level Series A financing, which was jointly completed by Xunfei Ecological Investment and Inner Mongolia Baosheng Asset. In the future, the coffee large model is another major focus of Yingzhi Technology. It is introduced that Yingzhi Technology is an artificial intelligence application developer dedicated to the research and development and promotion of humanoid robots, AI companion robots, intelligent cultural and creative products, and products related to the big health industry.
"Titanium Tiger Robot" Completes Pre-A+ and Pre-A++ Rounds of Financing
36Kr learned that recently, "Titanium Tiger Robot" announced that the company has continuously completed the Pre-A+ and Pre-A++ rounds of financing, and the old shareholder Matrix Partners China has followed up on both rounds. With the successful completion of this round of financing, Titanium Tiger Robot will continue to increase R&D investment, optimize product performance, reduce costs, and expand market influence.
Today's Views:
36Kr learned that a few days ago, Ye Guofu, the founder, chairman of the board, and CEO of Miniso Group, met with Yu Donglai, the founder and chairman of Pangdonglai for the first time. During the exchange, Yu Donglai said that it is not difficult to build a Chinese Costco. "First, the team is willing to work, feels happy at work and can earn money; second, the quality, function, and aesthetics of the products should be well done." He always believes that in the retail industry, when employees are happy, customers' feelings will be better. For products, quality should always be placed first, while learning from brands such as Sam's Club and Costco. It is not just about simply making products, but also about reflecting the taste of life.
EY: The Global IPO Activity Remains Slow in 2024, and the IPO Market Is Expected to Improve in 2025
36Kr learned that EY released the "2024 China Mainland and Hong Kong IPO Market Report and Outlook". The report shows that the proportion of IPO activities in China mainland and Hong Kong continues to decline in 2024. According to the forecast data as of the end of November, the percentage of IPO quantity and fundraising amount in the A-share and Hong Kong markets in the global total has dropped to 14% and 16%, respectively. The report points out that the global IPO activity remains slow in 2024. It is expected that a total of 1,162 companies will be listed globally throughout the year, raising $117.3 billion. Compared with the same period last year, the number of IPOs and the amount of fundraising have decreased by 14% and 7%, respectively. As the global economic slowdown gradually eases and the backlog of exit needs in the private equity market will provide support for the recovery of the IPO market, it is expected that the IPO market will improve in 2025.
Other News Worth Noting:
On December 2, the National Healthcare Security Administration officially launched the cross-provincial mutual aid function of the national medical insurance personal account in Suzhou, Jiangsu. It is introduced that under the overall planning and promotion of the National Healthcare Security Administration, currently, 31 coordinated areas in 9 provinces (cities) including Jiangsu and Hebei have officially launched the cross-provincial mutual aid function of the medical insurance personal account, breaking the original regional restrictions of the personal account and further expanding its scope of use. This will play a positive role in promoting the protection level of the majority of insured people and their families, as well as the rational allocation of resources. (People's Daily)
36Kr learned that according to the WeChat official account of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, recently, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and the National Development and Reform Commission have jointly introduced policy measures to promote the high-quality development of central enterprise venture capital funds, supporting central enterprises to initiate the establishment of venture capital funds, with a focus on early-stage, small-scale, long-term, and hard-tech investments. Efforts will be made to increase the input of innovative capital and raise more funds for hard-tech. Support central enterprises to initiate the establishment of venture capital funds such as concept verification funds, seed funds, and angel funds that are needed for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and the growth of scientific and technological innovation enterprises, focusing on major strategies, key areas, and important technologies. Support state-owned capital operation companies and other eligible enterprises to initiate the establishment of venture capital mother funds, giving full play to the amplification investment function of mother and child funds. Through market-oriented methods, actively attract commercial insurance funds and social security funds to jointly participate, leading various long-term capitals to focus on scientific and technological attributes, technical value, and emerging fields for effective investment, and driving the formation of a venture capital capital cluster.
Affected by the long-term increase in production costs such as the depreciation of the yen and the high price of feed, the survey in October this year shows that the number of dairy farmers in Japan has dropped below 10,000 for the first time since the survey began in 2005, to 9,960. According to a survey by the Japan Central Dairy Farmers Association, more than 80% of Japanese dairy farmers said that the current business environment is not good, and about half of the dairy farmers said they are considering quitting the agricultural industry. (CCTV News)