8:01 AM | Trump claims that the US wants 50% ownership of TikTok; Zhang Xuefeng says he will give the company a 20 million yuan year-end bonus; HYCAN Motors becomes a person subject to enforcement for trust-breaking.
Listing in Progress
51job
It is reported that 51job is expected to be listed in Hong Kong as soon as the first half of this year. Up to now, the cumulative user group of 51job exceeds 200 million. (IPO Early Know)
Oyo
36Kr learned that, it is reported that sources disclosed that the hotel industry startup Oyo is preparing to submit a draft prospectus before the first quarter.
TOP3 Big News
Trump: TikTok Is Back, But the US Wants 50% Ownership
It is reported that on January 19 local time, US President-elect Trump praised the restoration of TikTok in the US at a rally held in Washington on the eve of his inauguration. "From today, TikTok is back," Trump said. "We won on TikTok, and the Republican Party has never won the votes of young people," he added, "so I like TikTok." At around 9:00 local time on the 19th, TikTok issued a statement saying that the company has reached an agreement with an Internet service provider and is restoring related services. Currently, the TikTok app has resumed normal use, and the TikTok website has also returned to normal. TikTok stated that it will work with Trump to find a long-term solution to maintain TikTok's availability in the US.
But he also set conditions for TikTok to continue operating in the US. He claimed that he hopes the US will have a 50% ownership in the joint venture, "By doing this, we save TikTok." "Without the US' permission, there is no TikTok; with our permission, it is worth hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars." (Observer.com)
Zhang Xuefeng said that he gave a total of 20 million yuan as year-end bonuses to 350 employees of the company, with an average of nearly 57,000 yuan per person.
Recently, Zhang Xuefeng revealed in a live stream that his company has around 350 employees, and a total of 20 million yuan was given as year-end bonuses and performance bonuses. "This is not the salary. The salary has already been paid. (The 20 million yuan) is for the year-end bonuses and performance bonuses." Based on this calculation, the year-end bonuses and performance bonuses for each employee of Zhang Xuefeng's company were nearly 57,000 yuan on average. Previously, a teacher from Fengxue Future posted a video on social media saying that Zhang Xuefeng's company has a total of 23 days off for the Spring Festival holiday! Later, Zhang Xuefeng responded in the live stream: He made a mistake in reading the dates for the company's Spring Festival holiday, which is 23 days. He also said that since the words have been spoken, it's not easy to change, so they will simply have a 23-day holiday. (Caijing.com)
HYCAN Motors Becomes a Dishonest Person Subject to Enforcement, Refusing to Fulfill a Case Payment of 2.12 Million Yuan
The China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network shows that on January 16, HYCAN Motors Technology Co., Ltd. was listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement by the Nansha District People's Court of Guangzhou City because the person subject to enforcement refused to fulfill the enforcement settlement agreement without justifiable reasons. The case payment is 2,120,556 yuan, and the fulfillment situation is that none of it has been fulfilled.
In June 2024, a video of HYCAN Motors employees pulling banners to defend their rights and demanding the return of their investment funds attracted attention online. The company has forced more than 50 employees to make follow-up investments, involving an amount of over 100 million yuan. The company once promised that employees could get their investment funds back when they left the company, but due to financial problems, HYCAN failed to fulfill this promise. In addition to being unable to return the follow-up investment funds of employees, HYCAN also failed to pay employees' wages on time due to a shortage of funds. In November of the same year, it was exposed that HYCAN Motors had laid off all employees of its Shanghai branch and owed compensation to the laid-off employees.
On January 10, 2025, GAC Group issued an announcement that it will provide a special shareholder loan with the shareholders of its participating company, HYCAN Motors Technology Co., Ltd., in proportion to their shares, to be used to pay employees' wages and economic compensation, and GAC Aion will be entrusted to undertake the after-sales service business of HYCAN Motors products. (Sina Technology)
Big Companies/Big Events
Donald Trump officially sworn in as the 47th President of the United States
At 12:00 noon local time on January 20, 1:00 am Beijing time on January 21, Donald Trump officially became the 47th President of the United States, and he will then give an inaugural address. The swearing-in ceremony on that day was presided over by Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court, and Trump completed the oath under Roberts' leadership.
The elected Vice President of the United States, Pence, also officially sworn in as the Vice President of the United States on the same day. (CCTV News)
The 12306 test speed-up package claims the same effect with or without additional payment, and 12306 has not cooperated with any third-party platform
According to CCTV News, during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2025, 12306 is facing huge pressure on ticket purchasing. Shan Xinghua, the chief researcher at the China Academy of Railway Sciences, said that 12306 has not cooperated with any third-party platform, and the official ticket purchasing channels are only the 12306 official website, App, and Alipay mini program.
The ticket-grabbing software and inducing behaviors of third-party platforms increase the system pressure, and the success rate of ticket grabbing with additional payment has not improved. 12306 copes with the challenges through technical optimization and risk control systems, such as rejecting abnormal login requests, launched the pre-fill optimization function for ticket purchasing information, alternate ticket purchasing, etc., to improve the ticket purchasing efficiency. At the same time, 12306 also offers discounted ticket prices for unpopular trips to alleviate the pressure of the Spring Festival travel rush.
Regarding the ticket-grabbing services provided by third-party platforms, Shan Xinghua said that in fact, the success rate is not guaranteed. We have conducted tests before, and the final effect is the same with or without additional payment. (CCTV News)
HONOR China Region CMO to Resign, HONOR Global CMO Guo Rui to Also Serve as China Region CMO
On January 20, according to an internal announcement of HONOR, Jiang Hairong, the CMO of HONOR China Region, will resign from his position. Jiang Hairong has worked at Huawei and HONOR for more than 20 years, holding positions in R & D, marketing, etc. He has previously submitted an electronic resignation flow internally. It is learned from informed sources that Guo Rui, the global CMO of HONOR, will temporarily also serve as the CMO of the China region. (China Business News, CaiLianShe)
National Subsidy: From January 20, the maximum subsidy for buying a mobile phone is 500.
From January 20, you can enjoy national subsidies when purchasing mobile phones, tablet computers, smart watches, and other products. The implementation plan for the new purchase subsidy is as follows: The unit price of the electronic products such as mobile phones purchased cannot exceed 6,000 yuan; otherwise, there will be no subsidy. A subsidy of 15% of the product's sales price is given, and this refers to the final selling price. If the marked price of the mobile phone to be purchased is 8,000 yuan, but the discounted price given by the manufacturer and the merchant is 6,000 yuan, you can still enjoy the subsidy. The subsidy for each item does not exceed 500 yuan. For mobile phones with an original price of not less than 3,333 yuan, you can get a full subsidy of 500 yuan. Instant discount upon payment for convenient operation.
Many consumers are worried about the behavior of merchants raising prices first and then providing subsidies. In response, the relevant departments also stated that they will conduct strict investigations. For all kinds of behaviors that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the activity qualifications of the suspected subjects will be cancelled immediately after discovery. (CCTV News)
Didi App Version 7.0 Launched, Adding Overseas Taxi Booking Service for Domestic Users
36Kr has learned that Didi announced the upgrade of the Didi Chuxing App to Version 7.0, and launched a trial of the "Overseas Travel" feature, supporting a Chinese interface, online payment, and Chinese customer service to facilitate users' local taxi bookings. As of now, the first phase of Didi's overseas travel trial service covers more than 80 popular tourist cities in countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries jointly building the "Belt and Road Initiative".
Trump Says Apple Committed to Making Significant Investments in the US
On January 19 local time, US President-elect Trump said in a speech at a pre-inauguration rally that he had a conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook, and the latter promised that Apple will make significant investments in the United States. (Jiemian News)
Jensen Huang said NVIDIA has nearly 4,000 employees in China, with the lowest turnover rate globally
Jensen Huang said in his speech at the annual meeting in Beijing that many people do not know that NVIDIA has been in China for 25 years. It has nearly 4,000 employees in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The employee turnover rate in China is the lowest globally, with an annual turnover rate of only 0.9%. (China Business News)
Elon Musk Targets US TikTok Users: X Platform Launches Short Video Feed
It is understood that while TikTok resumed its services in the United States, the X platform announced the launch of a short video feed service. The company stated that it is launching a new "immersive video home" for US users. In the updated software, US users will see a new video tab at the bottom menu bar of the application, and clicking on it will lead to the short video feed. Like short video apps such as TikTok, users can swipe up the screen to browse other short videos recommended by the system. (Caixin)
US startup AI company Perplexity proposes to merge with TikTok's US business
After a brief service suspension, the short-video social media platform TikTok resumed its services in the US on the 19th. However, it is reported that earlier on the 18th, before TikTok suspended its services, the US artificial intelligence startup Perplexity submitted an acquisition proposal to TikTok's parent company ByteDance. According to the US financial portal website Investor’s Business Daily, the proposal suggests merging Perplexity, TikTok in the US, and new capital partners into a new entity. This merger plan allows the majority of ByteDance's existing investors to retain their equity. (The Paper)
Trump's Wife Releases Virtual Currency MELANIA
Trump's wife Melania stated on social media that people can now buy the Melania Coin (MELANIA). Trump reposted this information. Previously, he had issued his own exclusive cryptocurrency TRUMP, and the value of this currency dropped after his wife announced the release of MELANIA. (Sina Finance)
Alibaba's AliExpress Accelerates Expansion in African Market, Supports Local Currency Payments in Multiple African Countries
36Kr has learned that AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba, recently announced that after supporting mobile payment methods such as M-Pesa in Kenya and Opay and Verve bank cards in Nigeria last year, it will further expand the local currency payment scope in the African market in February this year. This local currency payment will expand to cover multiple countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, and Uganda, providing more convenient and secure online shopping experiences for local consumers.
The presale box office of the 2025 Spring Festival movie season has exceeded 200 million yuan
36Kr has learned that according to Dengta Professional Edition, as of 8:54 on January 20, the total presale box office of the 2025 Spring Festival movie season (January 28 - February 4) has exceeded 200 million yuan, setting a new record for the fastest presale box office of the Spring Festival movie season in Chinese film history to exceed 200 million yuan.
Before the Spring Festival, financial "impostors" appear, and fund companies frequently issue warnings
Near the Spring Festival, fund companies have intensively issued announcements, stating that they have been fraudulently impersonated by lawbreakers in the name of the company, and reminding investors to beware of "impostors". From the latest fraud techniques, the fraud tactics of the "impostors" have been upgraded, using a large number of professional terms in the fraud process, making them more confusing. Industry insiders said that despite the variations, investors can identify fraud patterns by judging from the qualifications of sales personnel, the product filing situation, the collection account, and other aspects. (Shanghai Securities News)
Insider: ByteDance Hasn't Reached Any Agreement with the US
36Kr learned that on January 20, TikTok gradually resumed its services. A person close to ByteDance said that ByteDance has not reached any agreement with the US government. It is only that the US side has decided not to enforce the "sell or ban" act for the time being, so TikTok has resumed operations. Previously, US President-elect Trump said on January 19 local time that he planned to set up a joint venture with TikTok, in which the US would own 50% of the shares.
China's "Artificial Sun" Achieves Another Breakthrough, Dawn of Commercialization of Controlled Nuclear Fusion Emerges
On January 20, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as China's "Artificial Sun," set a new world record by achieving a "high-quality combustion" at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,000 seconds for the first time. On January 14, the large-scale scientific research team of the Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully developed the high-intensity linear plasma device "Chixiao," making China the second country in the world after the Netherlands to possess such a device. According to a research report by CITIC Securities, nuclear fusion is expected to become the ultimate energy source in the field of civil power generation. With the basic technical path cleared and continuous increased investment from various countries, the commercialization pace of fusion reactors is expected to exceed market expectations. It is estimated that the global market size of nuclear fusion devices is expected to reach 2.26 trillion yuan from 2030 to 2035. (Shanghai Securities News)
Barclays Appoints Goldman Sachs' Paul Johnson as Head of Equity for Asia-Pacific Region
It is reported that a Barclays spokesperson confirmed that the bank has hired Goldman Sachs' Paul Johnson (Paul Johnson) as the head of equity for the Asia-Pacific region. The latter's task is to expand businesses such as derivative products, equity-linked financing, electronic trading, and will also be responsible for institutional brokerage business. (Jiemian News)
Mercedes-Benz CEO: The EU Should Encourage Chinese Automakers to Build Factories in Europe
On January 20, news came that Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, said in a recent media interview that the EU should encourage more Chinese automakers to set up factories in Europe. He stated that decades ago, China invited European automakers to invest in China to enter the Chinese market, and "this approach can be part of the solution to the current trade disputes." Källenius mentioned: "No one denies that a fair competition environment is a legitimate topic of discussion. The question is what tools you use? Don't accelerate protectionism; we might lose a lot of benefits as a result." (Jiemian News)
The Japanese government will establish semiconductor talent training bases in 7 domestic universities
According to the news on January 20, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan will establish training bases for talents related to semiconductor design and production in 7 domestic universities in Japan. Each university as a base will select talents through public recruitment within the 2025 fiscal year. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan will provide each of the 7 schools with a subsidy of nearly 100 million yen per year. (Jiemian News)
Lingkong Tianxing Releases "Yunxing" Supersonic Aircraft
36Kr has learned that Sichuan Lingkong Tianxing Technology Co., Ltd. announced the release of the next-generation supersonic aircraft verification aircraft "Sky-Leaping Stone Monkey", and simultaneously released the next-generation engine "Somersault Cloud 400S". Previously, the company successfully completed the test flight of the "Yunxing" series supersonic aircraft verification aircraft on October 27, 2024, and evaluated key technologies such as aerodynamics, heat protection, and control; on December 17, 2024, the company successfully tested the Somersault Cloud high-speed ramjet engine (JINDOU400), achieving a flight speed of 4 times the speed of sound at an altitude of more than 20 kilometers, with a thrust of more than 400 kilograms.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC): Strong Demand for Advanced Packaging, Expanding Facilities in Multiple Locations including Nanke
TSMC is actively accelerating the layout of its CoWoS advanced packaging. It is rumored in the market that TSMC will build two new factories in the third phase of the Southern Taiwan Science Park. On January 20, TSMC stated that in response to the strong market demand, it will expand advanced packaging facilities in multiple locations in Taiwan, including Nanke. (Caixin)
Sun Yuchen, the founder of Tron, has made an additional investment of $45 million in the Trump family's cryptocurrency project WLFI, bringing the total to $75 million.
On January 19 local time, Sun Yuchen, the founder of the Tron (TRON) blockchain and an advisor to the cryptocurrency exchange HTX, posted on the social media platform X that he has made an additional investment of $45 million in the Trump family's cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), increasing the total investment to $75 million. (Jiemian News)
The average daily express delivery volume exceeded 670 million pieces in the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush
Recently, the State Post Bureau released data showing that after the Spring Festival travel rush started on January 14, the demand for delivering New Year goods has increased. In the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush, the average daily express delivery volume in the country exceeded 670 million pieces, and the railway freight transportation has also become increasingly busy. A relevant person in charge of a logistics enterprise said that the volume of shipments by railway transportation has increased by more than 70%, and the orders for drinks, rice, flour, edible oil, and gifts in the north, as well as clothes, accessories, and fresh fruits in the south, have increased by two to three times compared with the same period. (CCTV Finance)
The Forefront of AI
Altman: Lower Expectations by 100 Times, OpenAI Won't Deploy AGI Next Month
On January 20, in response to the claim that "OpenAI has achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI)", the company's CEO, Sam Altman, denied it, stating that OpenAI will not deploy AGI next month. On January 20, Altman said on the social platform X: "The hype about us having achieved AGI is once again out of control. In fact, we won't deploy AGI next month, and we haven't developed it." Altman acknowledged that the company will indeed launch some "cool things", but reminded fans to lower their expectations by "100 times". (Sina Finance)
OpenAI: The performance of GPT-4o and 4o-mini models has declined and is being investigated
OpenAI released an incident report indicating that it is currently experiencing a performance decline in the GPT-4o and 4o-mini models. An investigation is currently underway, and the latest news will be released as soon as possible. (Caixin)
Doubao Real-time Speech Large Model Launched
36Kr has learned that the Doubao Real-time Speech Large Model was officially launched on January 20 and is fully available on the Doubao App. Users can experience it by upgrading the Doubao App to version 7.2.0. It is introduced that the Doubao Real-time Speech Large Model is an integrated model for speech understanding and generation, achieving end-to-end speech conversation. Compared with the traditional cascading mode, it shows amazing performance in speech expressiveness, control, and emotion continuation, and has features such as low latency and the ability to be interrupted at any time during the conversation.
Investment and Financing
"Vital Mart" Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Series C Financing
Exclusive to 36Kr, Vital Mart has completed nearly 100 million yuan in Series C financing. This round of investment is led by CICC Capital, with Anhui Cultural Investment and Baohe Venture Capital as co-investors. Vital Mart is a trendy toy sales platform. Its game product - Hope City will be publicly tested in the middle of 2025. In the future, it will build China's first trendy toy distribution platform that combines AI virtual and real.
"Qingcheng Jizhi" Announces Completion of Pre-A Round Financing
36Kr has learned that according to Zhongke Chuangxing, recently, the intelligent computing power system software service provider "Qingcheng Jizhi" announced the completion of the Pre-A round financing. This round of investors includes the Beijing Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, Zhongke Chuangxing, Koala Fund, etc. The funds obtained from this round of financing will be focused on key links such as product research and development, ecosystem improvement, and team building, to further accelerate Qingcheng Jizhi's in-depth development in the AI infrastructure field.
Beluga Airline's Large Unmanned Cargo Aircraft Completes Series A Financing of Hundreds of Millions
36Kr has learned that according to Beluga Airline, its large unmanned cargo aircraft project has successfully completed Series A financing of hundreds of millions. This round of financing is jointly led by the Science and Technology Innovation Fund under Changjin Control and China Merchants Venture Capital, and jointly invested by Deyi Capital, Shenwan Hongyuan, Zhongying Venture Capital, Hainan Xingkong, Chengdu Hangtai, Shanghai Qinyi and other institutions. The funds will be mainly used for the production and development of the test aircraft of the W5000 model, ground tests and assembly capacity building. Yiwei Capital served as the financial advisor for this round of financing of Beluga Airline.
SenseTime ShanHui Completes Series A Financing
36Kr has learned that SenseTime ShanHui announced the completion of Series A financing. This round of financing is led by GSR Ventures with tens of millions of yuan, and well-known asset management platforms and industrial capitals such as Weimu Capital, Harvest Fund, and Jinhong Fund have followed with tens of millions of yuan. This financing will focus on the R & D and innovation of retail AI algorithms and the strategic direction of overseas market expansion.
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