CX Daily: TikTok Faces Regulatory Hurdles in Bid to Become No.1 in Vietnam, Expert Says
TOP STORIES
TikTok /
Regulatory risks could derail TikTok’s drive to become Vietnam’s No. 1 online marketplace, an industry expert said.
The ByteDance-owned short-video app launched TikTok Shop in Vietnam in April 2022 as part of its broader ambition to control 35% of Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market.
Since then, it has surpassed Alibaba-backed Lazada to become Vietnam’s second-largest online marketplace by gross merchandise volume — TikTok’s vendors sold about $1.3 billion worth of goods in the past six months, according to local media which cited data from local analytics firm Metric. Now, only Singapore-based Shopee stands between TikTok and the top spot.
Holiday /
Japan is expected to see a surge in Chinese tourists during the upcoming Labor Day holiday, giving another boost to the nation’s tourism industry, which is already benefiting from a weaker yen and a strong cherry blossom season.
Japan has become the top overseas destination for Chinese tourists ahead of this year’s five-day national holiday starting May 1, according to an April 16 report by online travel operator Trip.com. Related bookings have more than tripled year-on-year over the past week, data provided to Caixin by operator Tongcheng Travel Holdings Ltd. show.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Leverage /
China’s overall debt ratio continued to climb in the first quarter to 294.8% despite slower growth in debts, indicating a weaker expansion of the economy, according to a state-backed think tank.
The macro leverage ratio, which measures total outstanding nonfinancial debt as a share of nominal GDP, inched up another 6.8 percentage points after reaching a record 287.8% at the end of 2023, data from the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD) showed.
Bonds /
China’s local governments issued fewer special-purpose bonds (SPBs) in the first quarter compared with previous years. This was due to the large number of issuances needed to cope with the impact of the pandemic in previous years, the fall in capital demand for local construction projects and bond market interest rates, the Ministry of Finance said.
The ministry has worked hard to improve the quality of projects backed by the special-purpose bond and strengthened project preparation, ensuring the scale of issuance throughout the year is in line with expectations, Wang Jianfan, the head of budget department at the Finance Ministry said Monday at a press conference.
Quick hits /
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BUSINESS & TECH
EVs /
Li Auto Inc. has announced discounts of between 6% and 7% across its lineup following Tesla’s price cuts in China.
Aiming to cement its reputation as a high-end brand and maintain profit margins, Li Auto has until now strived to avoid the price war. But with competition in China’s electric vehicle (EV) market becoming increasingly fierce since the second half of 2023, Li Auto has had to choose between sales and profit margin.
Wind /
Chinese wind turbine exports surged more than 60% year-on-year in 2023, with manufacturers shipping more than 3.6 gigawatts of the products as they look for new growth in overseas markets, according to a new report.
The locally made turbines were exported to 18 countries, with Uzbekistan, Egypt, South Africa, Laos and Chile being the top five buyers in 2023, accounting for more than 65% of the total, the report published Friday by the Chinese Wind Energy Association showed.
Quick hits /
Daily Tech Roundup /
Long Read /
GALLERY
Over the past four days, as much as 20 inches of rain has fallen in areas of Guangdong province worst hit by flooding, National Meteorological Observatory data show. The record downpours caused the Beijiang River to break its banks, and inundated areas of cities including Qingyuan, Shaoguan and Zhaoqing. As of Sunday, four people had been killed in the flooding while 10 others were still missing. Authorities have evacuated 110,000 people and placed 25,800 in emergency shelters.
Next Trend Realty LLC./ Har.com/Chester-Swanson/agent_cbswan
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