The ACT team hand-picks the most watchable news of the day from China’s booming tech industry. Don’t miss out on these headlines:
iPhone 6s sales slower than iPhone 6? Shanghai shuts down an assembly line
A factory in Pudong, Shanghai that produces Apple products has laid off staffers and shut down its iPhone 6s assembly line, TechWeb reports. Pegatron Corp. was scheduled to recruit until the end of October but stopped hiring in mid October. Dealers from Buynow.com.cn and PConline.com.cn said sales of the iPhone 6s has been lower than iPhone 6. Despite the fact that Apple’s revenue has grown 84% in Greater China since last year as Tencent Tech reported, the overall demand for iPhones has slowed down.
ID verification measures for China parcel delivery begins
Name and ID verification measures were launched on Sunday along with a number of other postal regulations following a spate of parcel bombings in Guangxi at the end of September. Measures include the verification of the sender’s telephone number and ID before packages are accepted. According to an online poll conducted by Sina, users are most concerned about their personal information being compromised, with 70% reluctant to give couriers their ID information.
Gaming market leader Giant returns to China’s main board, supported by Jack Ma
China’s largest video game company Giant Interactive Group’s returning plan to China’s main board was published last Sunday. The game company will go public by taking the shell of a formerly listed company using RMB 13.1 billion (USD 2 billion). Among the shareholders are Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital, Lenovo’s chairman Liu Chuanzhi’s Hony Venture Capital and leading private equity manager CDH Fund. Giant Interactive Group withdrew from the U.S. stock market last July.
CMC Holdings founded on Saturday, backed by Alibaba & Tencent
Chinese internet giants Alibaba and Tencent took the lead in founding CMC Holdings in Suzhou industrial park, with the scale of the investment exceeding RMB ten billion (USD 1.58 billion). Alibaba and Tencent will combine their strength to advance the development of a batch of emerging industries, covering three major areas including media and entertainment, internet and mobile communications, and lifestyle. The new company may also inject great momentum for China to increase its cultural soft power.