Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 471
Li Dongsheng Passes the Helm of a 3.8 Trillion‑RMB Empire as TCL Charts a Risky Next Act
Li Dongsheng has handed over the TCL Technology CEO role to long‑time executive Wang Cheng, marking a deliberate shift from founder‑led management. The new leadership inherits a heavyweight industrial group with deep exposure to cyclical display and photovoltaic markets, an aggressive overseas expansion aim and a freshly announced JV to take on Sony’s TV business.
Dreame CEO Turns Year‑End Bonus Into Spectacle: Antarctica Flights, Gold and a Stadium Concert
Dreame CEO Yu Hao has announced extravagant year‑end rewards—direct flights to Antarctica for top staff, a stadium concert in Suzhou instead of a company party, and one gram of gold for every employee—generating publicity and debate. The gestures highlight a broader trend among some Chinese tech founders to use spectacle and founder‑led branding as talent and marketing tools amid a challenging macro and regulatory environment.
Xibei’s Founder Abandons Personal Branding as Chain Braces for Heavy Losses and Store Closures
Xibei founder Jia Guolong said he will stop cultivating a personal brand and return to frontline operations as the group forecasts more than RMB 600 million in losses and prepares to close about 30% of its stores. New investors have increased the company's registered capital modestly, signalling both concern and continued faith in the chain’s underlying assets.
Yonghui’s Costly Copycat Gambit: Why Mimicking Pangdonglai Is Deepening Its Losses
Yonghui’s 2025 results reveal a RMB 2.14 billion loss and the fifth straight year of deficits after an aggressive refit programme modeled on Pangdonglai. Traffic gains from the refits have not translated into profit because Yonghui has replicated the superficial features of Pangdonglai without its deep labour, procurement and trust‑based economics, leaving the chain cash‑strained and dependent on a risky RMB 3.1 billion fundraising round.
China’s ‘Kimchi King’ Jixiangju Sells Control to FountainVest, Founder Steps Aside as IPO Lingers
Jixiangju, a leading Sichuan condiment maker long expected to list, has been sold to private equity firm FountainVest in a deal transferring roughly 92% of equity and effectively ending founder Ding Wenjun’s control. The transaction lets early investors monetise and could accelerate or reshape Jixiangju’s path to a public listing while altering competitive dynamics in China’s condiment market.
Gold Breaks $5,000 Barrier as Central‑Bank Buying and Safe‑Haven Flows Lift Prices
Spot gold topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time on January 26, propelled by central‑bank purchases, safe‑haven flows and expectations of easier U.S. policy. Analysts see both structural and cyclical support for higher prices, though they caution that a stronger‑than‑expected U.S. economy or profit‑taking could prompt corrections.
The Waning of a Real‑Estate Patriarch: How Wang Shi’s Personal Drama Exposes a Broader Fall from Grace
Wang Shi, the 75‑year‑old founder of Vanke, has been compelled to rebut marital split rumours as social‑media footage and changes in joint holdings signal a decoupling from his younger partner, Tian Pujun. The personal spectacle mirrors Wang's professional decline since the 2015 Vanke power struggle and failed post‑Vanke ventures, underscoring how attention economies and generational shifts can hollow out the authority of once‑powerful business figures.
Why JD’s Drive into Car Sales May Be the Wrong Route to Beat Meituan
JD.com and Meituan have turned car sales into a new competitive front, reflecting a deeper battle for high-frequency user engagement in China’s instant-retail era. While both platforms see vehicle retail as an entry to lucrative aftermarket services, JD may achieve faster gains by prioritising daily-use services like shared bikes to boost app open rates rather than doubling down on selling cars or high-barrier travel businesses.
Baidu and Tencent Splash Cash Ahead of Lunar New Year — A High‑stakes Push for Users and AI Attention
Baidu will distribute RMB 500 million via its Wenxin assistant between January 26 and March 12, while Tencent’s Yuanbao plans a RMB 1 billion Lunar New Year giveaway starting February 1. The campaigns marry traditional festival red‑packet culture with AI marketing and social sharing tactics to boost engagement and gather user data ahead of a critical commercial season.
China’s New Space Start‑Up Books First Tourists and Aims for Crewed Flight by 2028 — A Commercial Space Push Gains Momentum
A Beijing commercial space firm unveiled its CYZ‑1 crew capsule and says it has reserved seats for more than 20 tourists across multiple vehicles, aiming for a crewed flight in 2028. The move highlights China’s accelerating commercial space ecosystem, rising investor interest, and potential spillovers into batteries, energy storage and high‑tech supply chains, even as technical, regulatory and market risks persist.
CATL Stakes Market Defence on Sodium-Ion Batteries to Solve Cold-Weather Woes and Stem Share Loss
CATL has launched a mass‑produced sodium‑ion battery targeted at commercial vehicles operating in extreme cold, positioning the technology as a remedy to winter degradation and a defence against market share erosion. While sodium offers safety and resource benefits, its lower energy density and nascent supply chain mean commercial success hinges on rapid scaling and cost reduction over the next two to three years.
Power Banks on Wheels: How Shared-charger Vendors Are Turning E‑bikes into Mobile Micro‑businesses — and Raising Safety and Regulatory Alarms
Entrepreneurs in multiple Chinese cities have begun mounting shared power‑bank kiosks on electric bicycles, creating a mobile rental service that is cheap to install and can earn operators modest daily income. The practice raises safety and regulatory issues because many installations use uncertified inverters and exposed wiring, prompting local enforcement actions even as major platforms explore formal, integrated versions of the idea.