Alibaba's chief executive underscores AI progress at Chinese internet conference

This year's Wuzhen meeting puts a significant emphasis on AI, amid escalating tech competition between China and the US.

The online retail behemoth is dedicated to establishing the foundational infrastructure and backing mechanisms for AI progression in the nation, Wu informed participants at the World Internet Conference held by the Cyberspace Administration of China in the waterfront town of Wuzhen in east Zhejiang province.

"Over the next 30 years, AI is expected to significantly boost global productivity," he remarked, as quoted in a press release by Alibaba, the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

"Artificial intelligence is progressively infiltrating different sectors to fuel a range of efficiency transformations," stated Wu, noting that the company currently provides open-source iterations of its AI models for utilization by partners in conventional industries.

Bitcoin reaches a value of $97,000 as the cryptocurrency industry aims for a position in the Trump administration. The most significant digital asset worldwide achieved a record peak in Asia on Thursday.

The team of Trump is contemplating the creation of a new role that has never existed before, with the industry advocating for the position to have direct communication with the president-elect, who has now become a huge advocate for cryptocurrency.

The recent discussions represent another enhancement from the US for the sentiment of the digital-asset market. This is in conjunction with MicroStrategy's intentions to expedite their acquisition of the cryptocurrency and the introduction of options on the country's bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

The biggest digital asset surged over 2 per cent, hitting an all-time high of US$97,002 around 12.15pm on Thursday in Hong Kong. Since Trump's electoral triumph on November 5, the overall cryptocurrency market has amassed gains close to US$900 billion, as per CoinGecko's data.

There is a growing interest among speculators about the possibility of Bitcoin escalating up to a value of US$100,000. Those who support its supposed function as a contemporary store of wealth regard this six-figure mark as a counterargument to critics who question the practicality of cryptocurrency and criticize its association with money laundering and illicit deeds.

Hong Kong's share market declines following three consecutive days of increases as traders evaluate earnings and potential stimulus. The enthusiasm has simmered down and a more cautious approach is now prevailing in the trading environment following the recent surge, according to an analyst from Shengang Securities.

The Hang Seng Index wrapped up with a 0.5 per cent decrease, ending at 19,601.11, despite having experienced a 1.4 per cent increase in the past three days. The Hang Seng Tech Index also saw a decrease of 1.2 per cent.

Equity standards in China went against the downward trend. Both the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index ended up increasing by 0.1 per cent.

The Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group experienced a drop in value ahead of next week's earnings announcement, which is expected to reveal a decrease in profits. Among Chinese developers, Longfor Group Holdings led the downturn.

Investors are seeking new incentives to revive shares following disappointing financial strategies from a Chinese legislative conference and the impending risk of increased US tariffs. The Hang Seng Index has declined approximately 15 per cent from its peak this year in October, surrendering some of the progress stimulated by monetary loosening and wide-ranging efforts by Beijing to bolster the real estate market.

So far, around 35 firms on the Hang Seng Index have reported their quarterly earnings, showing an average profit rise of 0.1% compared to the same period last year, based on data from Bloomberg. In the quarter before, the growth in profit was at 7.3%.

Mount Everest climber propels Lenovo Retail Solutions to international acclaim

Lawrence Yu leads the tech company's division that earned the Bronze Edison Award, recognized as the industry's 'Innovation Oscars'

Lawrence Yu leads the tech company's division that earned the Bronze Edison Award, recognized as the industry's 'Innovation Oscars'

Lawrence Yu draws a similarity between his experience of scaling Mount Everest and leading the business team at Lenovo Retail Solutions. He started both journeys from the base and, in his words, both have led to completely satisfying results.

In my view, the task we're undertaking at Lenovo Retail Solutions is akin to scaling a new peak from the base," he states. "This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. It requires immense commitment and tenacity, and it's precisely this spirit that clients expect to see when they approach Lenovo."

The retail sector is wrestling with ongoing problems like changing consumer demands, lack of workforce, and operational inadequacy. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a hopeful solution to tackle these obstacles.

Despite high ambitions, many companies are not ready to embrace AI. Around 69% of retailers intend to incorporate AI into their operations, but 65% struggle to stay abreast with the fast-paced tech advancements. Furthermore, 41% lack the necessary AI know-how within their team. Implementing AI across an entire organization is a challenging and time-consuming process.

"Implementing AI is the challenging part," according to Yu. "A major hurdle is the customer's uncertainty about the results. Understanding this, we collaborate with customers to gradually introduce AI solutions, beginning with a proof-of-concept project in one area before broadening it, which is one of our methods."

Lenovo's goal is to assist businesses of all scales in their journey of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), from spotting potential applications to handling data and launching solutions. Lenovo's AI Services comprise a team of business consultants, premier data scientists and a robust AI-ready infrastructure, simplifying the process. The company is dedicated to making AI accessible to the public, corporations, and personal data, to expedite the AI integration process for retailers and trigger smart transformation.

The man ranked as the second wealthiest in China is calling for an apology from the founder of ByteDance due to a series of digital attacks. Nongfu Spring's creator, Zhong Shanshan, holds ByteDance's social media platforms responsible for the continued online harassment.

ByteDance chose not to make a statement on Thursday.

The string of assault initiatives sparked a discussion concerning the accountability of the Chinese government, thought leaders, the general public, and social media in stirring up nationalist emotions. However, Zhong is the inaugural entrepreneur to overtly blame online platforms.

Specifically, he pointed out Douyin, the most widely used short-video application in China, and Toutiao, a newsfeed service by ByteDance, as the offenders.

Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong has been ranked as the fourth priciest shopping area globally. Despite dropping from the third spot, it remains the costliest place to shop in the Asia-Pacific region, as reported by Cushman & Wakefield.

Tourist hotspot property prices increased by 7% compared to the previous year, reaching $1,607 per square foot in 2024, according to a report released on Thursday by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

"Rent prices for retail spaces in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok, the main districts, hit their lowest in 2023," stated Rosanna Tang, the leading executive and research chief at Cushman & Wakefield in Hong Kong. "The rent increase in these areas has stayed in the single digit percentage range, from 3 to 6 per cent, for this year up until the end of the third quarter."

Reports indicate that iPhone sales dropped during China's Singles' Day shopping fest. There was a noticeable decrease in iPhone sales, with a two-digit percentage drop compared to the previous year, during the two-week sale event. This is largely due to the strong competition from local Chinese competitors.

This year's fortnight-long Singles' Day sales led to a significant decrease in iPhone sales compared to last year, according to a study released on Wednesday by Counterpoint Research. The report suggests that Apple was under intense competition due to an unusually high influx of new premier smartphone models introduced by local rivals just prior to and during the yearly shopping event.

The report failed to specify the precise percentage decrease or the reduced quantity of iPhone sales that Counterpoint monitored during the event's sales duration, stretching from October 28 to November 10.

In general, the sales of smartphones on Singles' Day this year saw a decline of 9 per cent from the previous year. This drop in sales is attributed to a lower market demand and a less enthusiastic response to promotions, a result of economic challenges, as stated in the Counterpoint report.

Starbucks is looking to form a 'strategic alliance' in order to gain an advantage in China as a price competition heats up. Starbucks is 'striving to discover the most effective route to expansion, which involves the consideration of strategic collaborations', as per a press release.

The biggest global coffee franchise is looking for assistance in China to boost its stagnant sales. It is struggling as its expensive lattes and niche brews are progressively misaligned with evolving consumer habits and a decelerating expansion in the world's second biggest economy.

Starbucks is actively seeking the most effective route to expansion, which may involve forging strategic alliances, says an announcement from the Seattle-based corporation. This comes amidst speculations that it is considering selling a portion of its ownership to a collaborator.

The company's sales in China, previously its most rapidly expanding market, have decreased at a higher rate compared to other regions, marking a significant setback for the firm that had made expensive designer coffees a symbol of status with its inaugural Beijing store 25 years ago. The sales from stores open for at least a year dropped by 14 per cent in the fiscal fourth quarter, ending in September, a shrinkage rate quicker than Starbucks' global decrease of 9 per cent.

Starbucks CEO Brian Nicol expressed in his quarterly earnings discussion that the current market conditions are highly competitive and challenging. He emphasized the necessity to devise strategies for both immediate and future growth.

Due to a persistent real estate downturn, job insecurity, and slow economic expansion, consumer expenditure in China has been lackluster. This has led to consumers reducing their spending on a wide range of items, including dining out, electronics, and clothing.

Hong Kong's second attempt to sell land attracts 33 developers, although bids are anticipated to be conservative. MTR Corp's proposal for a Tung Chung location comes after a high-ranking government official urged developers to demonstrate their confidence in Hong Kong's future.

Even with governmental encouragement, surveyors anticipate that bidding will be modest due to an oversupply that is dampening market enthusiasm.

The site, referred to as Tung Chung Town Lot No 53, has garnered a total of 33 potential bids, according to a statement made by MTR Corp on Thursday. They also mentioned that they will be finalizing the sale, though they did not give a definite timeline. The site had previously pulled in 32 interested entities the previous year.

Due to a lukewarm reaction last year, the corporation decided to reduce the project's size by 50%. Now, it plans to accommodate roughly 600 apartments and is projected to be constructed in stages until 2029.

The objective of the project is to appeal to developers of medium to large scale, according to Alex Leung, the senior director at CHFT Advisory and Appraisal.

Henry Cheng, the chairman of New World Development, announced that the company will prioritize managing its debt before considering mergers and acquisitions. This strategy comes after a significant restructuring of management in September, aimed at stabilizing the company. The primary focus will be on handling their financial obligations.

New World Development (NWD) intends to address its financial obligations prior to pondering over mergers and acquisitions as a means to grow its firm. This comes in the wake of a management overhaul this year and a pause on dividend disbursements to solidify its financial standing.

Henry Cheng Kar-shun, the chairman of the city's most heavily indebted property developer, assured shareholders at a meeting on Thursday that the company will avoid undertaking new business ventures that could potentially harm its cash flows. Furthermore, he mentioned that the company is adjusting its dividend and share repurchase strategies to reduce debt.

"He emphasized that their primary focus is on debt reduction, hence mergers and acquisitions are currently off the table," as reported by local media source Ming Pao. The company, which refrained from announcing a final dividend in its 2023 annual review, will recommence distributions once its debt load is lessened, as per the news article.

As per the most recent financial report, New World Development (NWD) had a consolidated net debt of HK$123.7 billion (US$15.9 billion) as of June 30. The net gearing, also known as the debt-to-equity ratio, saw a significant increase, moving up to 55 per cent from a slightly below 50 per cent mark in December.

In the latest attempts to manage liabilities, the developer successfully arranged and repaid loans amounting to over HK$16 billion in July and August. Additionally, it paid off HK$35 billion in loans and debts, which involved purchasing back some of its foreign-currency bonds at a reduced price.

The company's stock has plummeted by 39% in the Hong Kong market this year, reducing its market value to HK$18.1 billion.

Baidu's revenue for the third quarter decreases by 3% due to economic challenges affecting advertising expenditure. The online search behemoth garnered $4.6 billion in the quarter of September, with a downturn in online advertising surpassing the growth in AI.

The company based in Beijing announced on Thursday that its total income for the quarter ending in September dropped to 33.6 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion), highlighting its largest decrease in the last two years due to persistent market challenges. The revenue from online advertising slipped by 4 per cent, standing at 18.8 billion yuan.

According to Baidu, Ernie has been managing around 1.5 billion daily requests to its application programming interface this month, which is more than twice the 600 million daily requests it handled in August.

Robin Li Yanhong, co-founder and CEO of the company, stated that despite the present challenges, the firm will persist in its significant investment in AI. Li further expressed in a statement that as they expand AI, they are inspired to discover its potential in propelling innovations and generating value for individuals, businesses, and the broader community.

The individual ranked as the second wealthiest in China criticizes Pinduoduo for damaging brands with its ruthless pricing strategy. The person who established Nongfu Spring, a bottled water business, labeled Pinduoduo as a key player in implementing aggressive pricing, which he believes is significantly damaging to Chinese brands.

"Online platforms have reduced rates significantly, especially Pinduoduo's pricing system, causing great damage to Chinese brands and industries," Zhong stated in a public address on Wednesday. His remarks were extensively covered by Chinese media, including China's internet portal, Sina.com.

Pinduoduo did not respond promptly to a request for comment on Thursday.

Billionaire Colin Huang Zheng established Pinduoduo in 2015. The company is recognized for its extremely discounted deals in China and serves as the model for Temu, both of which are owned by PDD Holdings. Its assertive approach to pricing has enabled it to rapidly increase its market presence in recent years.

The deceleration of China's economy and a slump in consumer expenditure have fueled Pinduoduo's rise, sparking an intense pricing battle among the nation's top online retailers, which is squeezing traders' earnings.