Payment /

Caixin explains: China’s new rules for mobile payments

There is no shortage of popular sayings warning of the danger of mixing business and personal affairs, and this is the message that Chinese financial regulators want the hundreds of millions of users of mobile payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. take to heart.

New regulations released by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in October, prohibit businesses from using barcodes generated by personal accounts on those platforms to withdraw money from their customers. Instead, the central bank wants all businesses to use more strictly regulated accounts with merchant barcodes, which platforms use to facilitate transactions between businesses and their customers.

In the PBOC’s own words, the regulations, which are due to go into effect on March 1, aim to clearly distinguish between business and personal transactions on platforms with the aim of preventing financial crimes like cross-border gambling.

Evergrande /

Year in review: how Evergrande rocked the Chinese real estate sector

2021 was the year of China Evergrande Group has become a household name For all the wrong reasons.

In the second half of this year, China’s second-largest developer in terms of sales engaged in an intensifying battle to keep the lights on. Evergrande’s liquidity crisis results from falling sales in a cooling of the real estate market amid the central government’s continued crackdown on real estate speculation and excessive borrowing, including the introduction in August 2020 of the “three red lines“, which slows down borrowing in the troubled sector.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Online Insurance /

China’s largest self-help healthcare platform closed

Ant Group Co. said so will close its “mutual aid” health care platform Xiang Hu Bao following the shutdown of competing platforms operated by other internet giants including Meituan and Waterdrop Inc. under regulations enhanced Chinese for online insurance.

Xiang Hu Bao, a dominant player in the emerging sector, will cease operations from January 29, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The company, whose name means “mutual protection,” offered basic health plans covering 100 types of serious illnesses, including cancer, brain damage and acute myocardial infarction or heart attack. Members also shared the risk of becoming seriously ill and collectively assumed the associated medical expenses. Launched in late 2018, the platform had nearly 75 million members and has helped more than 179,000 patients, mostly in small towns, the company said.

Huarong /

China Huarong sells consumer credit stake to Bank of Ningbo

China Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd. agreed to sell a 70% stake in its consumer credit unit at Bank of Ningbo for 1.09 billion yuan ($ 172.6 million), the manager of low-quality assets belonging to the company said on Monday evening. State.

The deal is part of Huarong’s efforts to divest assets and focus on its core business as the conglomerate reorganizes its sprawling business after reaching the point of collapse.

Covid19 /

Xi’an authorities struggle to understand how Covid swept the city

Health officials in northwest China’s Xi’an city still have trouble establishing a clear transmission train for the latest cluster of Covid cases which has led to a city-wide lockdown of nearly 13 million people and has drawn criticism over its response to the pandemic.

The capital of Shaanxi province reported 151 locally transmitted infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of locally confirmed cases in Xi’an to 962 between December 9 and December 28, according to A declaration (link in Chinese) from the provincial health commission on Wednesday.

TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY

Photo: VCG

Kuaishou /

Kuaishou teams up with Chinese delivery giant to take on twin TikTok Douyin

Chinese short video platform Kuaishou raise the bar in its expansion into local lifestyle services with a deal with on-demand services and food delivery giant Meituan as the TikTok-like app struggles to become profitable in a rapidly changing political environment.

As part of the deal, Meituan – who has been trapped in a government crackdown on anti-competitive practices by tech giants – will launch a mini program on the Kuaishou platform. With it, merchants can directly sell products and services, distribute coupons and provide after-sales services to users in Kuaishou, according to A declaration published Monday.

Earlier this year, Kuaishou launched a WeChat mini-program to sell meals and share restaurant coupons, directly challenging its big rival Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which launched a group buying channel allowing its users purchase meals, book hotel rooms and receive coupons. restaurants and beauty salons.

Initial Public Offering /

China’s largest AI startup aims to raise $ 742 million when it IPO in Hong Kong

SenseTime Group Inc., China’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) startup by revenue, plans to raise around 5.78 billion Hong Kong dollars ($ 742.7 million) when it goes public. listed in Hong Kong on Friday, the company said in a statement. exchange deposit Wednesday.

According to his flyer, SenseTime aimed to sell the 1.5 billion shares offered for between HK $ 3.85 and HK $ 3.99 each. Its final offer price is at the very bottom of that range.

Electric car /

Chinese automaker chosen for Waymo’s autonomous car fleet

The autonomous driving unit of Alphabet Inc. Waymo LLC will integrate an electric vehicle manufactured by Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co., an electric car unit of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., in its autonomous vehicle fleet in the United States, Geely said Tuesday.

The specially designed vehicle will be designed and developed at Zeekr’s research and development center in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, according to the statement.

In one separate declaration, Waymo said the Zeekr car will be powered by its Waymo Driver autonomous driving system and will be driving American roads “for years to come.”

Quick shots /

China files a complaint with the UN about Musk’s SpaceX satellites

The projects of the Chinese solar company $ 7 billion factory powered by clean energy

GALLERY

Winter fishing begins in the famous Chagan Lake

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