United News of Bangladesh

The Pentagon has added several major Chinese companies, including Alibaba, BYD and Baidu, to its list of companies it says have ties to China's military, making them ineligible for US defense contracts. The updated list, released Monday, expands US scrutiny beyond traditional defense firms to include some of China's best-known private-sector companies. The move reflects growing concerns in Washington that Beijing is using the expertise and technology of civilian businesses to strengthen its military capabilities. The list was established in 2021 under a congressional mandate to identify Chinese companies believed to have links to the country's military. It includes not only firms directly controlled by military authorities but also those considered to support China's defense industry. The Pentagon has previously said that China's military seeks access to advanced technologies and expertise developed by businesses, universities and research institutions that appear to operate as civilian entities. China strongly criticized the decision. The Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the United States of misusing national security concerns to target Chinese businesses and called on Washington to provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies. Alibaba and Baidu rejected the Pentagon's claims. Alibaba said it is neither a military company nor part of any military-civil fusion program. Baidu, which has expanded into artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology, described its inclusion on the list as completely unfounded. The latest update increases the number of companies on the Pentagon's list to 188, up from about 130 last year. The list already included firms such as DJI, one of the world's leading makers of consumer drones. Although companies on the list are not banned from operating in the United States, the designation can damage their reputation and may lead to additional restrictions in the future. Following the announcement, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party described the list as a warning to American businesses, government agencies and the public. The committee argued that Chinese firms on the list should be removed from US stock exchanges and that American companies should avoid doing business with them. The Pentagon said Alibaba supports China's defense industrial base through its ties to the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It also cited similar links involving BYD and Baidu. BYD, one of the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturers, has become a dominant player in the global EV market. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said he would welcome Chinese automakers such as BYD if they built factories in the United States and hired American workers. However, several US lawmakers continue to push for restrictions on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Another company newly added to the list is Unitree, known for its advanced robots that recently gained attention on the TV show America's Got Talent. The Pentagon said Unitree had received support from the Chinese government through programs designed to help innovative and globally competitive companies. BYD and Unitree did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Following Beijing’s crackdown on the tech industry, Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma has been residing in Tokyo for almost six months, according to a Financial Times report published yesterday (November 29, 2022). The co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding has made frequent journeys to the United States and Israel in addition to visits to the countryside during his time in Japan, according to Financial Times. Ma is a close friend of Alibaba investor and billionaire Masayoshi Son, who founded the Tokyo-based SoftBank Group. Formerly the richest and most well-known tech figure in China, Ma withdrew from the public eye in recent years after getting into issue with Beijing over his criticism of government regulation, which halted the initial public offering (IPO) of fintech behemoth Ant Group. Read: Chinese e-tycoon Jack Ma ends silence with online video After that, China’s private sector came under intense scrutiny, with a focus on limiting the influence of internet companies. Since then, Jack Ma’s infrequent public appearances have drawn a lot of attention. According to the Financial Times, Ma has restricted himself to a small number of exclusive clubs in Tokyo’s downtown Ginza and Marunouchi neighbourhoods. The report also noted that he has enthusiastically taken up collecting modern art and brought along his personal chef and security team. In the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak, Ma, who had previously been a well-known regular at business conventions, oversaw massive international donations of protective gear and other supplies that the world required. Read: FM thanks Jack Ma, invites him to visit Bangladesh A report in July said that Ma intended to cede control of Ant Group in order to placate Chinese regulators and resurrect the IPO of the digital payments division. For the first time ever, Alibaba reported flat sales growth in August as China struggled with a slowing economy and resurgent Covid-19 cases. The behemoth firm has been placed on a watchlist by US regulators, and if Jack ma's e-commerce venture Alibaba does not abide by disclosure orders, its shares would plummet and it might be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Read More: Alibaba appoints new CFO, reshuffles e-commerce businesses.

China’s largest e-commerce group Alibaba said Monday it is appointing a new chief financial officer and reorganizing its e-commerce businesses amid a regulatory crackdown in the technology industry. The company said in a statement Monday that Toby Xu will succeed Maggie Wu as its new CFO from April 1, 2022. Xu joined Alibaba from PricewaterhouseCoopers three years ago and was appointed deputy group CFO in July 2019. Wu, who has been Alibaba’s CFO since 2013 and has helped lead three Alibaba-related company listings, will continue to serve as an executive director on Alibaba’s board. She will also remain as a partner in the Alibaba Partnership – a group of senior executives who have the right to nominate a simple majority of Alibaba’s board of directors. “We are focused on the long-term, and succession within our management team on every occasion is always in the service of ensuring Alibaba will be stronger and better positioned for the future,” said Daniel Zhang, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group. Read: Alibaba fined $2.8 billion on competition charge in China Separately, Alibaba said that it would be creating an International Digital Commerce team to handle its e-commerce businesses in international markets. A China Digital Commerce team will be in charge of e-commerce operations inside China, according to a post on the company’s Alizila news hub. The international and domestic digital commerce teams will be led by executives Jiang Fan and Trudy Dai respectively. Jiang has been in charge of Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba’s core e-commerce sites in China. Dai was the firm’s chief customer officer. The Hangzhou-based firm was fined a record $2.8 billion for antitrust violations and is under scrutiny as regulators step up oversight of the technology industry at a time when the economy is slowing. Read: E-commerce giant Alibaba's shares jump 8% in Hong Kong debut Last month, Alibaba cut its sales outlook for the year amid mounting competition from rivals such as Pinduoduo. It expects growth for its current year to be the slowest since it listed in New York in 2014. Alibaba’s flagship Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza also posted its slowest-ever growth this year, amid muted marketing campaigns and a shift to sustainability and philanthropy amid Chinese President Xi Jinping’s calls for “common prosperity.” Alibaba’s New York stock price has plunged more than 50% over the last 12 months. The company’s Hong Kong-traded shares were down 4.9% Monday.

China’s internet watchdog said Wednesday it has fined platforms operated by e-commerce company Alibaba and gaming firm Tencent for spreading sexually suggestive content involving children, as regulators seek to clean up content harmful to minors. Platforms including Alibaba’s e-commerce marketplace Taobao, Tencent’s QQ messaging service, live-streaming site Kuaishou, microblogging platform Sina Weibo and social media and e-commerce service Xiaohongshu were fined for distributing sexually suggestive stickers or short videos of children, it said. Also read: Gadgets for tech giants made with coerced Uyghur labor The companies were ordered to rectify the issue and ban accounts that use such content to attract more traffic. The crackdown on inappropriate content involving minors comes as the government ramps up scrutiny of technology platforms in the country. Regulators are investigating Chinese technology companies over a range of issues, including anti-competitive practices and data practices. “With regards to the infringement of the legal rights and interests of minors, a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude will be adopted and enforced to clean up the online problems that endanger the physical and mental health of minors,” the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement. In recent months, some Chinese media outlets have called out sexually suggestive photos of children used by certain stores on platforms such as Taobao and Xiaohongshu to sell clothing, as well as suggestive stickers of children on messaging apps. Also read: China targets tech giants in app privacy crackdown The internet regulator said its campaign includes the targeting of minors on live-streaming platforms, pornographic and violent content in courses on online education platforms and animations with violent or inappropriate horror themes. Earlier this month, the regulator said it would probe ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc. over data security concerns. Alibaba in April was also fined $2.8 billion following an anti-monopoly probe, and food delivery giant Meituan is being investigated over alleged antitrust practices. The internet watchdog also recently announced that it would require companies looking to list abroad to seek its approval first. Globally, technology companies and governments are paying more attention to how to prevent the exploitation and abuse of children online. Last year, a coalition of technology companies including Facebook, Google and Microsoft backed a plan to eradicate online child abuse. The U.K. last month also issued a new guidance to companies on how they can protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse on their platforms.

Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China’s biggest internet companies, which are expanding into finance, health services and other sensitive areas. The party says anti-monopoly enforcement, especially in tech, is a priority this year. Alibaba was fined for “abusing its dominant position” to limit competition by retailers that use its platforms and hindering “free circulation” of goods, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced. It said the fine was equal to 4% of its total 2019 sales of 455.712 billion yuan ($69.5 billion).  “Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination,” the company said in a statement. It promised to “operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence.” The move is a new setback for Alibaba and its billionaire founder, Jack Ma, following a November decision by regulators to suspend the stock market debut of Ant Group, a finance platform spun off from the e-commerce giant. It would have been the world’s biggest initial public stock offering last year. Also read: E-commerce giant Alibaba's shares jump 8% in Hong Kong debut Ma, one of China’s richest and most prominent entrepreneurs, disappeared temporarily from public view after criticizing regulators in a November speech. That was followed days later by the Ant Group suspension, though finance specialists said regulators already had been worried Ant lacked adequate financial risk controls. Alibaba, launched in 1999, operates retail, business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer platforms. It has expanded at a breakneck pace into financial services, film production and other fields. The government issued anti-monopoly guidelines in February aimed at preventing anti-competitive practices such as exclusive agreements with merchants and use of subsidies to squeeze out competitors. The next month, 12 companies including Tencent Holdings, which operates games and the popular WeChat messaging service, were fined 500,000 ($77,000) each on charges of failing to disclose previous acquisitions and other deals. Also read: E-commerce giant Alibaba raises $11 billion in share listing Regulators said in December they were looking into possibly anti-competitive tactics by Alibaba including a policy dubbed “choose one of two,” which requires business partners to avoid dealing with its competitors.  Also in December, regulators announced executives of Alibaba, its main competitor, JD.com, and four other internet companies were summoned to a meeting and warned not to use their market dominance to keep out new competitors.

Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, held onto his status as China’s richest tycoon this year as surging demand for online shopping and other services during the coronavirus pandemic swelled the fortunes of internet entrepreneurs, according to a survey released Tuesday.

After coronavirus testing kits, Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation is sending 300,000 masks which will be delivered on Sunday. 

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised at least $11 billion in a share offering in Hong Kong, netting the city's biggest offering since 2010 despite recent political turmoil.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised about $11 billion in a share offering in Hong Kong, the city's biggest offering since 2010.

China's Alibaba is seeking large-scale deployment of a self-developed liquid-cooling technology on the processors in its data center prior to the arrival of the Double 11 shopping spree Monday.