Krypton Evening News | Xiaomi will launch a physical store in Japan to promote the Internet of Things functionality; Sichuan Science and Technology Innovation Investment Company was registered and established with a registered capital of 12 billion yuan; The policy of re-lending for indemnificatory housing is steadily advancing, and the acquisition of existing housing projects in more than 10 cities has been implemented.
Big Companies:
The parent company of 7-Eleven plans to open 500 new stores in the US and Canada by 2027
On December 18, Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven convenience stores, confirmed that the company plans to open 500 new convenience stores in the United States and Canada by 2027. This is part of the company's strategy to open 100,000 stores globally by 2030. Currently, Seven & i Holdings has more than 15,000 convenience stores in North America, but the company said in October that it will close 444 underperforming stores in the region. (Jiemian)
The president of Xiaomi Japan: Will launch physical stores in Japan to promote IoT functions
According to Kyodo News, Akira Ohnuma, the president of Xiaomi Japan, said in a recent interview that building its own sales network "is the key to the Japanese market" and plans to launch physical stores, aiming to directly introduce the connection function through smartphones to consumers. Akira Ohnuma said that the physical stores aimed at accelerating the sales speed will refer to the "Mi Home" stores in mainland China and Hong Kong, China. Data from research firm IDC shows that Xiaomi's mobile phone shipments in Japan in the second quarter of this year were approximately 490,000 units, about 5.6 times that of the same period last year, second only to Apple, Sharp, and Google, ranking fourth, and the market share increased from 1% to 7%. (Jiemian)
36Kr learned that Tianyancha App shows that recently, Sichuan Science and Technology Innovation Investment Co., Ltd. was established, with Chen Qinghong as the legal representative and a registered capital of 12 billion yuan. The business scope includes investing activities with its own funds and enterprise management consulting. Shareholder information shows that the company is wholly owned by Sichuan Development (Holding) Co., Ltd. According to media reports, on December 18, the establishment and unveiling ceremony of Sichuan Science and Technology Innovation Investment Co., Ltd. was held in Chengdu. Sichuan Science and Technology Innovation Investment Group is a science and technology innovation investment platform integrated and established by Sichuan Development (Holding) Co. under the guidance of the Sichuan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, based on high-quality science and technology innovation resources such as the science and technology innovation fund cluster.
36Kr learned that recently, PlusAI Technology successfully completed the industry's first warehouse-to-warehouse fully unmanned operation test. This fully unmanned test started from a large e-commerce logistics park in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, passed through a complex urban area and a multi-lane highway, and finally safely arrived at a large warehouse center in the freight airport.
36Kr learned that Tianyancha App shows that recently, Laiyang Cosco Shipping Supply Chain Co., Ltd. was established, with Lyu Xiaochun as the legal representative and a registered capital of approximately 110 million yuan. The business scope includes the sales of chemical products, the sales of special chemical products, loading and unloading, and general cargo storage services. Shareholder information shows that the company is held by Qingdao Ocean Shipping Supply Co., Ltd. and Cosco Shipping Logistics Supply Chain Co., Ltd. with a 65% and 35% stake respectively.
Zhang Yiming, the founder of Douyin, enters the private equity industry
Cool River Venture HK Limited, founded by Zhang Yiming, the founder of Douyin, obtained the Type 9 license, namely the asset management license, issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in November. The license takes effect on November 21. After obtaining this license, the company can carry out asset management service business in Hong Kong. Previously, many founders of Internet companies have gone to Hong Kong to obtain asset management licenses. For example, in November 2023, GURRYSHARK Fund Management Company Limited obtained the Hong Kong Type 9 license. This institution is owned by the founder of a leading Internet company and prefers to invest in the technology field. (China Securities Journal)
The Japanese private company "ispace" plans to launch a lunar probe again next year
The Japanese private company "ispace" (ispace) stated that it will launch a lunar probe again in mid-January 2025. This launch will challenge landing in the Cold Sea of the Moon. In 2023, the company's lunar probe was launched and attempted to land on the Moon, but later the probe lost contact, and the company judged that the probe might have crashed. (Cailian Press)
Investment and Financing:
"Zhongke Ruiyi" completed Series A+ financing
36Kr learned that according to the official WeChat account of Zhongke Ruiyi, recently, Zhongke Ruiyi announced the completion of a tens of millions of yuan Series A+ financing led by Guoxin Fund. The funds raised will be mainly used for product research and development, clinical trials, product registration, and market promotion.
"Shanji Technology" received tens of millions of yuan in Series A+ financing from Oasis Capital
36Kr learned that the smart hardware brand "Shanji Technology" announced that it has received tens of millions of yuan in Series A+ financing exclusively invested by Oasis Capital, with Yuewei Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. So far, Shanji has completed a cumulative Series A financing of over 100 million yuan within one month. On December 19, Shanji will also hold a new product launch conference for AI glasses in Shenzhen to officially launch the first mass-produced AI glasses in China.
On December 18, the alcohol hydrogen technology under the Remote New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group announced the completion of the Pre-A+ round of financing. This round of financing introduced several strategic investors, with a financing amount of 135 million US dollars, and a post-investment valuation of over 1.5 billion US dollars.
"Pilton" completed a Series A financing of 30 million yuan
36Kr learned that the pet smart cabin brand "Pilton" has completed a Series A financing of 30 million yuan. This round is led by Anji Industrial Fund, and the old shareholders Bohuiyuan Venture Capital and Zhichong Technology followed the investment. Qianyou Venture Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round. This financing will focus on the research and development of intelligent products.
New Products:
36Kr learned that on December 18, Xiaoyuan Learning and Practice Machine released the industry's first color ink screen enlightenment education hardware - Xiaoyuan Learning and Practice Machine Color Ink Version. According to the introduction, this product uses a color ink screen with eye protection effects and is equipped with a Zebra AI Learning-based age-segmented enlightenment system, covering the entire scene of enlightenment education; at the same time, the product is also equipped with more than 3,000 Chinese and English classic IP enlightenment picture books and audio resources such as Oxford Reading Tree, Red Rocket, Disney, and PAW Patrol, which can be used by users for free.
Today's Views:
International Energy Agency: Global coal demand will continue to reach new highs before 2027
Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that global coal demand will set new records every year until at least 2027, overturning the previous estimate that coal demand peaked last year, highlighting the challenges in limiting carbon emissions that cause global warming. The IEA's latest forecast shows that by 2027, coal demand will rise to nearly 8.9 billion tons, about 1% higher than the level in 2024. This overturns last year's estimate that coal demand will steadily decline at the beginning of this decade. The actual situation may exceed the current estimate, as coal demand has consistently exceeded the IEA's predictions in recent years. (Sina Finance)
Other News Worth Noting:
36Kr learned that the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Several Measures for Shenzhen to Build an AI Pioneer City". It is mentioned that the support for basic research and technological breakthroughs will be strengthened. Up to 300 million yuan will be invested annually, focusing on frontier directions such as the mathematical principles, basic architectures, and core algorithms of artificial intelligence, as well as key areas such as embodied intelligence, autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence chips, to carry out basic research and technological breakthroughs. For major basic research projects, key projects, and general projects, the funding will be up to 10 million yuan, 3 million yuan, and 600,000 yuan respectively. For major scientific and technological projects and "揭榜挂帅" projects in artificial intelligence, up to 50% of the project investment will be given, with a maximum funding of 30 million yuan.
The policy of re-lending for indemnificatory housing is steadily advancing. The re-lending for indemnificatory housing is applied for and issued quarterly, with a time lag of one to two quarters from the actual progress of bank loans. The reporter learned that the acquisition of existing housing requires many links such as investigating demand, collecting housing sources, clarifying the acquisition method, selecting the acquisition subject, and negotiating with real estate enterprises, and it takes a certain amount of time for actual implementation. Recently, the acquisition of existing housing projects in more than 10 cities such as Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Changchun, Jinhua, Baoding, Leshan, and Hefei has been implemented, raising tens of thousands of sets of indemnificatory housing. (Shanghai Securities News)
According to the British "Daily Telegraph" report on the 17th local time, the well-known American entrepreneur Elon Musk supports the Reform UK Party and discussed with the party leader Nigel Farage to provide a large donation to the party to defeat the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The report said that Farage met with Musk at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, USA, on the 16th local time to "discuss funding issues". It is speculated that Musk may donate up to 100 million US dollars (78 million pounds). (Cailian Press)