Chinese e-commerce giant JD announced it will invest more than 6 billion yuan ($849 million) in Hubei, the hardest-hit region by the COVID-19 outbreak on the Chinese mainland, over the next three years. The investment is part of a bid to help boost the economic recovery and development of local small and medium-sized enterprises in the area.
Tencent Holdings Ltd pledged to increase investments in the fields of digital government, intelligent education, smart transportation, artificial intelligence and security in Wuhan, with a goal of quadrupling the number of employees within the next three years.The company will continue to promote the construction of the Tencent (Wuhan) Digital Industry Headquarters in the city, where it aims to embark on digital governance and smart city initiatives.It will establish a smart educationbase to expand the scale of online education platform Penguin Counseling, set up a smart transportation base and an academy to jointly foster digital talents in the automotive industry with automaker Dongfeng Motor Group.
Walmart China on Wednesday announced it will invest 3 billion yuan ($424.5 million) in Wuhan city, capital of Central China's Hubei province, with plans to open four Sam's Clubs, 15 hypermarkets and more community stores in the next five years.The move is set to enhance the layout of retail community services and bring more vitality to the retail market in Wuhan, the place hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months, Walmart said.
GE Aviation, a unit of US multinational General Electric Co, said it has been given a license by the US government to supply aero engines for the C919, China's first domestically built narrow-body passenger jet. The aircraft model is expected to begin commercial service next year.GE said it would continue to actively support Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, the manufacturer of the C919, as usual and as scheduled.
Porsche's plant closures in Germany due to the coronavirus outbreak will not affect new car deliveries in its largest market of China, said its Chairman Oliver Blume.The premium carmaker has suspended production at its Zuffenhausen and Leipzig plants since late March for the safety of its employees. Automotive News Europe reported that they will be remain closed this week because of global supply disruptions.Blume told China Daily in late March that Porsche has an abundant stock of vehicles in China, which were shipped into the country before the pandemic broke out in Europe.
Electric carmaker Tesla Inc has opened up order booking in China for its two versions of the Tesla Model 3 on Friday, according to the company's official weibo account.The longer-range variant of the Model 3 sedans made in China is priced after subsidies at 339,050 yuan ($47,971) to attract more consumers in the world's largest electric vehicle market.The price is very competitive for a four-door vehicle, driven by rear wheels and designed to have a range of about 668 kilometers (415 miles) on one charge, compared with about 450 kilometers for the current basic version that starts at 323,800 yuan.
BERLIN -- Volkswagen Group Components and the startup Shanghai DU-POWER New Energy Technical Co Ltd will jointly produce flexible quick charging stations in China, the German automobile manufacturer announced on Wednesday.'The planned joint venture with DU-POWER represents a significant milestone as we continue to make progress along the path to electric mobility,' said Thomas Schmall, CEO of Volkswagen Group Components.According to Volkswagen, the start of series production of the charging stations is scheduled for the second half of 2020. 'Establishing production with a local partner is a key step in the rapidly growing electric vehicle market,' it noted.
JOHANNESBURG - Leading ICT solutions provider Huawei donated four Huawei Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) diagnostic systems and four thermal scanning systems to help South Africa's fight against COVID-19.South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said AI was an important diagnostic method that would boost his team's efforts to successfully diagnose and treat infected patients.Huawei also donated four thermal scanning systems that can be used in high-density pedestrian areas to conduct body temperature monitoring, which is a critical early detection method.
French cosmetics group L'Oreal said during the past two months, sales of eye makeup products, including eyeliners, eye shadows, mascara, and eyebrow pencils grew faster than other product categories in the China market. The company, however, did not provide any data to support its claim.L'Oreal officials said face masks have become an essential part of life. People are now looking to source fashion products that complement the masks and it is an ideal opportunity for brands to promote such products.Currently, Chinese consumers own 11 color makeup products on average, and their makeup procedures have become more professional and sophisticated, according to L'Oreal China.
Financial conglomerate Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd recently obtained regulatory approval for a consumer finance vehicle to commence operations within six months, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's Shanghai Office announced on April 9.With a registered capital of 5 billion yuan ($707.8 million), Shanghai-based Ping An Consumer Finance Co Ltd aims to explore the consumer finance business through the facilitation of financial technology.
On April 15, McDonald's China held a 24-hour new product online launch event on Bilibili. During the event, the retailer handed out product coupons worth over one million yuan.The launch event included an on-site tasting of new products, a give-away of McCrispy Chicken to delivery riders and people who work overtime, and eating chicken at the late night, among other activities.Phyllis Cheung, CEO of McDonald's China, introduced the new product ,which took nearly one year and a half to conduct research, menu development and taste testing and finally, a blind test participated by more than 600 people to arrive at the final decision to roll it out.