Podcast appearances and mentions of wang xing

Myawaddy. Ce nom ne dit sans doute rien à la plupart des Français. Pourtant, cette ville frontalière de la Birmanie s'est imposée comme le cœur battant d'une industrie florissante : l'arnaque en ligne à l'échelle mondiale. Là-bas, d'immenses centres de cyberfraude sont dirigés par des seigneurs de guerre, exploitant des milliers de travailleurs forcés pour escroquer des victimes à travers le monde. Le documentariste chinois Wu Dong, qui enquête sur place, décrit un système bien rodé où ces travailleurs, souvent recrutés sous de faux prétextes ou kidnappés, sont contraints d'opérer des fraudes sophistiquées. Si la Chine reste la principale cible, l'Europe et l'Occident sont désormais dans le viseur, selon Courrier International.L'affaire a pris une dimension médiatique début janvier, lorsque Wang Xing, un acteur chinois, a été attiré par une fausse offre de tournage en Thaïlande. Une fois sur place, il est enlevé, clandestinement transporté à Myawaddy et forcé de travailler dans l'un de ces centres. Son sauvetage rapide, grâce à la police thaïlandaise alertée par sa compagne, reste une exception. Pendant ce temps, 174 familles chinoises cherchent toujours désespérément leurs proches disparus dans des circonstances similaires. Face au scandale, le colonel Saw Chit Thu, commandant d'une milice locale, a menacé d'exécuter les trafiquants d'êtres humains. Non pas par souci de justice, mais par crainte que l'affaire ne perturbe ce commerce lucratif sous contrôle des chefs de guerre locaux.Si ces fraudes existaient déjà, elles ont pris une ampleur inédite. Les centres de Myawaddy recrutent désormais des diplômés en master et doctorat pour concevoir des escroqueries hautement ciblées. Et avec l'essor de l'intelligence artificielle, les techniques de fraude atteignent un niveau effrayant. Imaginez : un parent reçoit un appel vidéo de son enfant demandant de l'aide. Sa voix, ses intonations, son visage sont parfaitement identiques… sauf qu'il ne s'agit que d'une imposture générée par IA. Cette montée en puissance exige des cybercriminels de plus en plus qualifiés. À son apogée, Myawaddy comptait 70 complexes, employant des milliers de personnes. Aujourd'hui, une dizaine de centres imposants subsistent, soigneusement isolés des zones habitées, le long de la rivière frontalière, prêts à être évacués en cas de danger.Mais derrière ces criminels, il y a des histoires humaines. Dans son enquête, Wu Dong révèle une dualité troublante : certains escrocs pratiquent le hameçonnage sentimental le jour et envoient de tendres messages à leurs propres compagnes le soir. Un autre exemple frappant : un garçon de 16 ans, issu d'une famille pauvre du Jiangxi, d'abord recruté pour faire de la contrebande, s'est formé seul aux techniques de phishing. Son rêve ? Trouver une famille aimante et un “grand frère” pour le guider. Et plus surprenant encore : beaucoup d'arnaqueurs sont croyants. Ils prient Bouddha, visitent les temples et envoient des dons à leurs villages natals, tout en ruinant des familles à l'autre bout du monde. Ce paradoxe en dit long sur la réalité derrière cette industrie : une misère économique qui pousse à voir la fraude comme un simple moyen de survie. Tant que la pauvreté et le manque de perspectives domineront, Myawaddy restera la capitale mondiale de la cyberfraude. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

男星 nánxīng - male star (actor)王星 Wáng Xīng - Wang Xing (a person's name)誘騙 yòupiàn - to lure and deceive事件 shìjiàn - incident, event拍戲 pāixì - to shoot a film or TV show劇組 jùzǔ - film crew, production team緬甸 Miǎndiàn - Myanmar行動 xíngdòng - movement, action淪為 lúnwéi - to be reduced to, to become (in a negative sense)詐騙集團 zhàpiàn jítuán - fraud syndicate, scam group豬仔 zhūzǎi - "piglet" (slang for victims trafficked into forced labor or fraud operations)販賣 fànmài - to sell, to traffic強迫 qiángpò - to force, to compel業績 yèjī - performance (usually in business or sales)達不到 dá bùdào - unable to reach, fail to meet (a goal or target)毆打 ōudǎ - to beat, to assault虐待 nüèdài - to abuse, to mistreat摘除 zhāichú - to remove, to extract器官 qìguān - organ (of the body)販售 fànshòu - to sell, to market電影情節 diànyǐng qíngjié - movie plot, film scenario平安 píng'ān - safe and sound獲救 huòjiù - to be rescued引起 yǐnqǐ - to cause, to trigger恐慌 kǒnghuāng - panic, fear退訂 tuìdìng - to cancel (a booking or subscription)行程 xíngchéng - itinerary, schedule高薪工作 gāoxīn gōngzuò - high-paying job名義 míngyì - in the name of, under the pretense of拐賣 guǎimài - human trafficking, abduction for sale一旦 yídàn - once, in the event that入境 rùjìng - to enter a country贖金 shújīn - ransom money詐騙營區 zhàpiàn yíngqū - scam camp, fraud operation base路邊攤 lùbiāntān - street stall, roadside vendor貪小便宜 tān xiǎo piányi - to be greedy for small advantages, to fall for cheap deals提高警覺 tígāo jǐngjué - to raise awareness, to be more vigilantWant to improve your Chinese?

Trong những năm gần đây, Đông Nam Á đã trở thành một điểm nóng của các hoạt động tội phạm có tổ chức, đặc biệt là đường dây lừa đảo trực tuyến, chủ yếu do các băng nhóm có tổ chức Trung Quốc cầm đầu. Nhiều người bị dụ dỗ, cưỡng bức đến làm việc tại các trung tâm lừa đảo ở Miến Điện, Cam Bốt, để đi lừa đảo những người cả tin khác, bằng những thủ đoạn công nghệ tinh vi. Hồi đầu tháng 1/2025, một vụ việc gây chấn động dư luận Trung Quốc và khu vực liên quan đến nam diễn viên Trung Quốc Vương Tinh Việt (Wang Xing). Theo truyền thông Trung Quốc, Vương Tinh Việt rời khỏi Trung Quốc đến Thái Lan theo một lời mời tham gia quay phim. Tuy nhiên, sau đó anh mất tích tại Mae Sot, một thị trấn biên giới giữa Thái Lan và Miến Điện.Sau khi điều tra, cảnh sát Thái Lan xác nhận rằng nam diễn viên Trung Quốc này là nạn nhân của một đường dây buôn người. Trong một video do truyền thông Trung Quốc đăng tải, anh cáo buộc một nhóm đàn ông có vũ trang đã bắt cóc anh, đưa anh đến biên giới Miến Điện và giam giữ anh trong một tòa nhà cùng với nhiều nạn nhân khác mang quốc tịch khác nhau.Vụ việc của Vương Tinh Việt đã gây xôn xao công luận tại Trung Quốc, một lần nữa làm dấy lên mối lo ngại về tình trạng buôn người và cưỡng bức lao động tại các trung tâm lừa đảo trực tuyến ở khu vực Đông Nam Á. Đáp lại, chính phủ Trung Quốc đã tăng cường trấn áp các tổ chức lừa đảo xuyên biên giới.Ngày 16/01/2025, ngoại trưởng Trung Quốc Vương Nghị đã kêu gọi các quốc gia Đông Nam Á phối hợp mạnh tay để đối phó với tội phạm lừa đảo qua mạng. Trong một cuộc họp tại Côn Minh (Trung Quốc), quan chức từ các nước Trung Quốc, Miến Điện, Lào, Cam Bốt, Thái Lan và Việt Nam đã nhất trí triệt phá các trung tâm lừa đảo trực tuyến, phối hợp bắt giữ các đối tượng cầm đầu, giải cứu và hồi hương các nạn nhân bị lừa sang nước ngoài.Đọc thêmThái Lan cắt điện nhiều khu vực tại Miến Điện để ngăn nạn lừa đảo qua mạngMột báo cáo của Liên Hiệp Quốc chỉ ra rằng hàng trăm nghìn người đã bị các băng nhóm tội phạm dụ dỗ và buộc phải làm việc tại các trung tâm lừa đảo và hoạt động trực tuyến bất hợp pháp trên khắp Đông Nam Á. Một báo cáo năm 2023 của Liên Hiệp Quốc ước tính các hoạt động phát triển nhanh chóng này tạo ra hàng tỷ đô la mỗi năm.Tại Việt Nam, nhiều vụ lừa đảo dụ dỗ người lao động ra nước ngoài đã được truyền thông trong nước phản ánh. Đặc biệt, các nhóm tội phạm thường lợi dụng tâm lý muốn tìm « việc nhẹ lương cao » để đưa người sang Cam Bốt, Philippines, Thái Lan, nơi họ bị ép buộc làm việc trong các đường dây lừa đảo trực tuyến được cho là do tội phạm Trung Quốc điều hành.Nhiều nạn nhân cho biết họ bị giam giữ, phải làm việc trong điều kiện khắc nghiệt và nếu không tuân theo, họ có thể bị hành hạ, tra tấn tàn bạo.Năm 2022, công luận rất chú ý tới vụ 40 người Việt tháo chạy khỏi sòng bạc (casino) ở Cam Bốt, bơi qua sông Bình Di để về Việt Nam. Vụ việc phơi bày thực trạng buôn người và cưỡng bức lao động trong các tổ chức tội phạm xuyên biên giới. Theo báo chí trong nước, hồi tháng Một vừa qua, cảnh sát Việt Nam cũng đã bắt giữ hai phụ nữ Việt, chuyên dụ dỗ lừ các nạn nhân sang Cam Bốt làm việc tại các công ty trái phép.RFI Tiếng Việt đã phỏng vấn bà Sharlene Chen, giám đốc nghiên cứu tại tổ chức Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), một công ty tư vấn có trụ sở tại Anh Quốc, chuyên về đào tạo, nghiên cứu và vận động chính sách chống chế độ nô lệ hiện đại và nạn buôn người. HRC hợp tác với các chính phủ, đại sứ quán, các tổ chức tư nhân và các tổ chức phi chính phủ để giải quyết các vấn đề như lao động cưỡng bức, vi phạm quyền lao động và lừa đảo trực tuyến.Xin cảm ơn bà Sharlène Chen đã dành thời gian trả lời phỏng vấn của RFI Tiếng Việt. Trước tiên bà có thể cho biết tại sao khu vực Đông Nam Á, gần đây lại được coi là điểm nóng, trung tâm của lừa đảo online ?Vấn đề này có thể bắt nguồn từ các yếu tố kinh tế và địa chính trị. Dự án Một vành đai một con đường của Trung Quốc đã mang lại những khoản đầu tư lớn từ Trung Quốc vào khu vực Đông Nam Á. Nhưng thật không may, điều đó cũng đồng nghĩa với việc một số nhóm tội phạm Trung Quốc có tổ chức xuyên quốc gia, cũng đang tràn vào các quốc gia này, ở Cam Bốt, Miến Điện, Lào, Thái Lan, Philippines.Trước đại dịch Covid-19, Cam Bốt có cả một ngành công nghiệp, kinh doanh sòng bài và giải trí, nhưng sau khi nước này ra lệnh cấm chơi cờ bạc tại casino hay trực tuyến, nhiều sòng bài, khách sạn 5 sao đã bị bỏ trống, các nhà đầu tư rút về nước, tạo ra cơ hội cho các nhóm tội phạm có tổ chức sử dụng những nơi đó cho các hoạt động phạm tội, trong đó có lừa đảo trực tuyến.Một yếu tố quan trọng khác là tình trạng thực thi pháp luật yếu kém và nạn tham nhũng ở một số quốc gia này, tạo điều kiện cho các tổ chức lừa đảo hoạt động, không quá lo lắng bị can thiệp. Các nhóm tội phạm cũng đã điều chỉnh chiến thuật, chuyển từ các hoạt động lừa đảo tài chính truyền thống, sang các biện pháp hung hăng hơn, cưỡng bức người đến làm việc, để thực hiện các vụ lừa đảo trên nhiều ứng dụng hẹn hò, nền tảng truyền thông xã hội khác nhau để lừa tiền của các nạn nhân.Vì vậy, ở đây chúng ta thấy hai loại nạn nhân khác nhau : nạn nhân buôn người, những người đã bị dụ dỗ vào khu phức hợp lừa đảo và bị ép buộc phạm tội, và những nạn nhân bị những tên tội phạm này lừa đảo tài chính.Các trung tâm lừa đảo hoạt động như thế nào ?Các mạng lưới lừa đảo thường được điều hành trong các khu phức hợp lớn hoạt động tương tự như các tòa nhà văn phòng. Các khu phức hợp này cho thuê không gian cho các công ty lừa đảo, giống như cách các trung tâm thương mại cho thuê cửa hàng cho các thương hiệu khác nhau. Chủ sở hữu khu phức hợp cung cấp cơ sở hạ tầng thiết yếu như điện, Wi-Fi và an ninh, trong khi các công ty lừa đảo tiến hành các hoạt động gian lận của họ.Trong nhiều trường hợp, những chủ sở hữu khu phức hợp này cũng hối lộ các quan chức thực thi pháp luật địa phương để tránh các cuộc đột kích và bắt giữ. Những tên tội phạm điều hành các vụ lừa đảo tạo ra các nhóm có cấu trúc, chia nhóm, mỗi nhóm chịu trách nhiệm các vai trò khác nhau, bao gồm nhắm mục tiêu vào nạn nhân, rửa tiền và quản lý các nền tảng đầu tư giả mạo.Bà đề cập đến việc các nhóm tội phạm Trung Quốc xâm nhập các quốc gia này, điều hành các mạng lưới lừa đảo. Liệu có bằng chứng cụ thể về việc những băng đảng phạm tội có tổ chức do người Trung Quốc cầm đầu ?Trong những năm gần đây, chính quyền Lào, Philippines và Cam Bốt đã trục xuất hàng nghìn công dân Trung Quốc bị tình nghi điều hành các hoạt động lừa đảo. Lời khai của những người sống sót sau khi trốn thoát khỏi các khu phức hợp lừa đảo này xác nhận rằng nhiều người trong số họ được quản lý bởi những người nói tiếng Hoa.Cần lưu ý là không phải tất cả những kẻ cầm đầu đều đến từ Trung Quốc. Một số tổ chức tội phạm có thể là người Malaysia, Singapore và Việt Nam có nguồn gốc Trung Quốc. Những nhóm này khai thác các khu kinh tế của Đông Nam Á và sự giám sát yếu kém của cơ quan quản lý để mở rộng mạng lưới của họ.Bà có thể nêu ra một số chiến thuật lừa đảo trực tuyến được sử dụng ?Một trong những chiến thuật được sử dụng từ nhiều năm qua là thông qua các nền tảng nhắn tin Telegram hay mạng xã hội để tuyển dụng nạn nhân. Nhiều tổ chức lừa đảo đăng tin tuyển dụng giả mạo hứa hẹn mức lương cao ở các nước Đông Nam Á. Những người trẻ tuổi tìm kiếm việc làm đã bị lừa bởi những quảng cáo này, và bị cưỡng bức đưa vào các khu phức hợp lừa đảo, bị buộc phải đi lừa đảo người khác.Dù không liên quan, nhưng chiến thuật này cũng đã được sử dụng trong các vụ cưỡng bức hôn nhân. Một số phụ nữ Miến Điện đã bị dụ dỗ bằng những lời hứa về công việc lương cao ở Trung Quốc, và bị buôn bán và rơi vào các cuộc hôn nhân cưỡng bức.Sự phát triển của các loại công nghệ hiện đại, đặc biệt là trí tuệ nhân tạo và phương tiện truyền thông xã hội, đã hỗ trợ các nhóm tội phạm thực hiện lừa đảo như thế nào ?Công nghệ đóng vai trò quan trọng trong việc khiến những trò lừa đảo này trở nên hiệu quả hơn. Tội phạm mạng sử dụng công nghệ deepfake và hình ảnh do AI tạo ra để tạo ra những nhân vật giả, thường là những người có ngoại hình hấp dẫn hoặc doanh nhân thành đạt để dụ dỗ nạn nhân vào các vụ lừa đảo tình cảm hoặc đầu tư.Một số trò lừa đảo thậm chí còn liên quan đến việc thu thập mẫu giọng nói từ các nền tảng truyền thông xã hội như TikTok và Instagram. Sau đó, các nhóm tội phạm có thể sử dụng AI để tạo các cuộc gọi video giả, lừa các thành viên trong gia đình nạn nhân tin rằng họ đang gặp nguy hiểm và yêu cầu trả tiền chuộc. Những chiến thuật này khiến trò lừa đảo trở nên thuyết phục hơn và khó phát hiện hơn.Một trong những khía cạnh gây sốc trong mạng lưới lừa đảo trực tuyến, xuyên quốc gia ở Đông Nam Á, đó là nhiều kẻ lừa đảo trên thực tế cũng là nạn nhân. Bà có thể giải thích về điều này được không ?Trên thực tế, đây là một trường hợp điển hình về tội phạm cưỡng bức, có nghĩa việc bị ép buộc tham gia vào bất kỳ hoạt động tội phạm nào. Chúng tôi mong muốn tất cả các nạn nhân của tội phạm cưỡng bức, sẽ không bị coi là tội phạm và do vậy, họ cần được bảo vệ, được bảo vệ như những người sống sót sau nạn buôn người, thay vì bị buộc tội là kẻ lừa đảo.Làm thế nào mà những nhóm tội phạm có thể dụ dỗ, thao túng người đến làm việc, tiến hành lừa đảo?Ban đầu, các nhóm tội phạm đưa ra những hình ảnh về cuộc sống xa hoa, với xe sang, khách sạn 5 sao…, để thu hút các nạn nhân, đến Cam Bốt hay Thái Lan làm việc cho họ. Ngay khi họ đến nơi, họ nhận ra rằng không hề có khách sạn 5 sao nào cả, không hề có công việc về lập trình web hay chăm sóc khách hàng nào và họ đã bị lừa. Công việc thực tế mà họ phải làm là trở thành kẻ lừa đảo.  Một khi bị mắc bẫy, họ phải chịu những điều kiện tàn bạo, bao gồm giờ làm việc dài, bạo hành thể xác và hình phạt nghiêm khắc nếu họ không đạt được chỉ tiêu lừa đảo.Chúng tôi đã ghi nhận các trường hợp nạn nhân kể lại về việc phải làm cùng 40 người khác, bị chia thành nhiều nhóm, mỗi nhóm chịu trách nhiệm lừa đảo một số tiền tối thiểu, thường là 200.000 đô la mỗi tháng. Nếu họ không đạt được chỉ tiêu thì sẽ bị đánh đập, bị tra tấn điện hoặc bị buộc phải đứng dưới nắng trong nhiều giờ. Sự ngược đãi về mặt tâm lý và thể xác, thao túng tâm lý họ, để không thể chạy trốn.Những nhóm lừa đảo này thường nhắm tới đối tượng nào để tuyển dụng ? Nhóm người nào dễ bị dụ dỗ hơn ?Hầu hết nạn nhân đều từ 18 đến 40 tuổi, thường là những người trẻ tuổi, có thể nói là ngây thơ, thiếu kinh nghiệm ra nước ngoài. Nhiều người muốn tìm kiếm việc làm ở nước ngoài lương cao, và bị lừa bởi các quảng cáo việc làm giả mạo. Nhiều nạn nhân bị dụ dỗ đi lừa đảo cũng có những kỹ năng ngôn ngữ hay công nghệ cao, được tuyển dụng để có thể giao tiếp với các đối tượng là người phương Tây hoặc tạo nội dung lừa đảo bằng các công cụ AI.Mặc dù một số lượng lớn nạn nhân đến từ Đông Nam Á, bao gồm Việt Nam, Thái Lan, Miến Điện và Philippines, nhưng chúng tôi cũng ghi nhận nhiều nạn nhân từ châu Phi, đặc biệt là Kenya, Uganda và Ethiopia.Mặc dù đã có nhiều vụ đột kích phá vỡ các trung tâm lừa đảo của cảnh sát tại nhiều nước, nhưng tại sao các hoạt động này vẫn tiếp tục phát triển ?Các mạng lưới lừa đảo có khả năng thích ứng cao. Khi chính quyền phá vỡ một hang ổ nào, tội phạm chỉ cần di dời hoạt động sang một quốc gia khác. Ví dụ, nhiều hoạt động đã chuyển từ Cam Bốt sang Miến Điện, Lào và thậm chí là Dubai.Ngoài ra, Sáng kiến ​​Vành đai và Con đường của Trung Quốc đã tạo ra các đặc khu kinh tế ở Đông Nam Á, một số nơi này đã trở thành chỗ ẩn náu an toàn cho các tổ chức lừa đảo do sự giám sát lỏng lẻo.Bà có lời khuyên nào cho mọi người để tránh bị lừa đảo trực tuyến không?Biện pháp tốt nhất là nâng cao nhận thức và thận trọng. Đối với những người tìm việc, cần phải luôn xác minh các lời mời làm việc. Ngay cả trên các nền tảng chuyên nghiệp như LinkedIn, vẫn có tình trạng lừa đảo. Người dùng mạng xã hội nên tránh chia sẻ quá nhiều thông tin cá nhân, bao gồm cả kế hoạch đi lại và bản ghi âm giọng nói.Công chúng không nên dễ dàng tin vào các cơ hội đầu tư nghe có vẻ quá tốt, quá hấp dẫn để trở thành sự thật.Các công ty công nghệ, nền tảng mạng xã hội, cũng phải chịu trách nhiệm lớn hơn, bằng cách cải thiện việc kiểm duyệt nội dung để phát hiện và xóa các thông báo tuyển dụng, việc làm gian lận và quảng cáo lừa đảo.Đây là vấn đề toàn cầu đòi hỏi sự hợp tác quốc tế chặt chẽ hơn. Chính phủ, các công ty công nghệ và các tổ chức tài chính phải hợp tác với nhau để phá bỏ các mạng lưới này và bảo vệ nạn nhân của tội phạm cưỡng bức.

China will work together with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to combat online gambling and telecom fraud, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday, during a meeting in Beijing with diplomatic envoys from the 10 ASEAN countries.A series of severe cases of online gambling and telecom fraud at the Myanmar-Thailand border have posed threats to and harmed the interests of citizens from China and other countries, which requires high attention, Wang said.He called on relevant countries to shoulder responsibility and adopt effective measures to ensure the safety of people's lives and property, and never allow criminals to go unpunished.China is willing to strengthen bilateral and multilateral law enforcement and security cooperation with ASEAN nations to provide a safe environment for people-to-people exchanges and maintain the sound order of regional interactions and cooperation, he added.Earlier, in a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said it is making all-out efforts to rescue Chinese citizens who went missing or were trapped after being deceived into traveling abroad.It pledged to strengthen international law enforcement cooperation to dismantle telecom fraud networks, particularly in Myawaddy, Myanmar.The ministry said it attaches great importance to the frequent occurrence of such cases recently and to the calls for help posted on social media and other channels by family members of the victims.The statement said the ministry has asked police across the country to comprehensively analyze and investigate the cases, and it is working to rescue the victims with the assistance of foreign affairs departments and Chinese embassies and consulates overseas.In July 2023, the ministry launched a special campaign during which the Chinese police and Myanmar's law enforcement departments worked together to crack down on telecom fraud dens in northern Myanmar that target Chinese nationals.The campaign led to the capture of more than 53,000 Chinese citizens suspected of being involved in various scams and wiped out all major telecom fraud dens located near China's border with northern Myanmar. It also forced a large number of criminals to relocate to other regions in Myanmar such as Myawaddy, Wan Hai and Tangyan.Some fraud dens are facing a "shortage of labor" due to the stringent crackdowns and mass awareness efforts, the ministry said, adding that these dens have started luring Chinese citizens with the promise of "free travel abroad" and "high-paying jobs".Those who fall for these false promises are abducted or held captive and forced to participate in illegal activities, it said.The ministry warned Chinese citizens of such fraudulent schemes and advised them to remain extra vigilant when receiving offers for high-paying jobs or business exchanges overseas and free visits for tourism.It also advised the public to immediately call the police and contact China's diplomatic missions if a family member goes missing overseas, saying the police will act without delay upon receiving such a report.The ministry's statement came amid public discussions on a recent human trafficking incident involving Chinese actor Wang Xing. He was rescued by Thai police on Jan 7 and returned to China on Jan 11, according to reports.

A recent abduction of a Chinese TV actor to Myanmar and his subsequent release is shedding new light on the lengths to which human traffickers operating online scam centers in the war-torn country will go to in order to lure would-be victims. Wang Xing flew to Thailand for what he expected to be a movie casting call. Instead, he was driven to a scam center in Myanmar’s Myawaddy, a notorious cyber-fraud hub across the border from Thailand. The kidnapping has now dented Thailand's appeal among tourists just weeks before China’s biggest annual holiday. Can Thailand's tourism recover? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Gary Bowerman, Director of Check-in Asia to find more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်း အကြမ်းဖက်မှုတွေ​လျှော့ချပြီး၊ နိုင်ငံတကာ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးနဲ့ လူသားချင်းစာနာမှုဥပဒေတွေကို လေးစားလိုက်နာကြဖို့ အမေရိကန် နဲ့ မဟာမိတ် နိုင်ငံတွေက မြန်မာစစ်ကောင်စီနဲ့ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်းက လက်နက်ကိုင်အဖွဲ့အားလုံးကို တိုက်တွန်း၊မြန်မာနယ်စပ်မှာ ပဋိပက္ခတွေ ဖြစ်နေပေမဲ့လည်း ထိုင်း မြန်မာ နှစ်နိုင်ငံ ကုန်သွယ်မှု ပမာဏ အရင်ကနဲ့ စာရင် ၆ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းကျော် တိုးခဲ့တဲ့အကြောင်း ထိုင်းနိုင်ငံဘက်ကပြော၊ထိုင်း မြန်မာနယ်စပ်မှာ ပျောက်သွားတဲ့ တရုတ် ရုပ်ရှင်သရုပ်ဆောင် Wang Xing ရှာဖွေတွေ့သွားပြီး ထိုင်းဘက်ကို ပြန်ခေါ်သွားပါတယ်။

Meituan has had a very challenging 2023, with its falling share price and intense competition from both Douyin and Pinduoduo.    Last Friday (2 Feb), Meituan founder and CEO, Wang Xing, announced in an internal email an organisational restructuring that will integrate a number of businesses related to core local commerce and further raise the priority of technology and internationalisation-related businesses.    Notably, as part of the restructuring, CEO Wang Xing announced that he will directly oversee overseas operations and drone delivery.    Tune in to the latest episode of the Impulso Podcast, as we explore the strategic changes made by Meituan and its implications, as well as draw comparisons with Alibaba's own restructuring efforts.    Featured materials:  Meituan CEO Takes Over Overseas Business as China Sales Wane, Bloomberg Food delivery platforms in Southeast Asia 2024, Momentum Works Transforming Alibaba, Momentum Works Why does Alibaba replace Taobao CEO?, the Impulso Podcast Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants' Global Venturing, Guoli Chen and Jianggan Li

In this episode of the Impulso Podcast, go on a journey with us through Meituan's evolution. From the founders' failed previous entrepreneurial adventures, to the company's initial founding as a Group Buy company in China.    Learn how Meituan remained strong through the group buy battle and Alibaba's clear dominance of the market share by doubling down on their service offerings. After building a successful movie ticket purchasing platform, as well as a one and no star hotel booking platform, Wang Xing finally came up with the idea to move into food delivery. At the time, Alibaba's ele.me was the only real option around, but as it focused largely on universities and students, a large segment of the population was left to tap into as demand for food delivery increased.   Once again, Alibaba and Meituan faced off; Meituan's years of honing its operational efficiencies came in handy as they slowly acquired their now extremely extensive user base. But this all happened almost a decade ago. What is Meituan up to now?   Learn about the AI company founded by an ex-founder of Meituan itself, Wang Huiwen, and the company's acquisition of this tech company. Is Meituan entering China's AI race? They also recently launched in Hong Kong, bringing their signature speed and efficiency guarantees to KeeTa (aptly named after the word “cheetah”) to compete with the likes of Deliveroo and FoodPanda in this new market.    There is clearly a lot to be learnt from this immensely successful company.    Read the full report here:   https://momentum.asia/product/meituan_finding_business_clarity/

• Wang Xing เชื่อว่าในปีแรกของอีคอมเมิร์ซแบบดั้งเดิม (Traditional eCommerce) คือปี 1998 แต่สำหรับปี 2010 ถือเป็นปีแรกของการให้บริการอีคอมเมิร์ซของจีน (Service eCommerce) และปี 2012 จะเป็นจุดผกผันใหม่ของ Services ECommerce สำหรับ Meituan • 95% ของธุรกิจแพลตฟอร์มคือบริการ และเป้าหมาย Meituan คือการเป็นองค์กรอีคอมเมิร์ซที่ดีที่สุดในอุตสาหกรรมบริการ • ดังนั้น Wang Xing จึงวางกลยุทธ์รูปตัว T ( T-shaped strategy) สำหรับแผนงานในอนาคตโดยมี Group-buying อุตสาหกรรมในแนวนอน (horizontal) และแนวดิ่ง (vertical) เช่น ภาพยนตร์และโรงแรม เป็นต้น • Maoyan Film (猫眼电影) จึงบังเกิดในปี 2012 และถือเป็นก้าวแรกของกลยุทธ์ T-shape • ในปี 2013 ก็ได้เปิดตัว 美团酒店 (Meituan Hotel) อย่างเป็นทางการ เพราะในขณะเดียวกัน ธุรกิจ Group-buying ของโรงแรมระดับล่างและระดับกลางก็มีการเติบโตอย่างต่อเนื่องแต่ Meituan พบว่าตลาดส่วนนี้เป็นตลาดที่ถูกละเลยโดยแพลตฟอร์ม OTA หลัก (Ctrip/Qunar) • Wang Xing รู้สึกว่าในปี 2013 Group buying (团购) จะไม่ได้รับความสนใจมากนัก ไม่ใช่เพราะมันไม่สำคัญ แต่เป็นเพราะมันเป็นเรื่องธรรมดามาก และได้กลายเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของการบริโภคตามปกติมากขึ้นเรื่อยๆ • นอกจากนี้ การเข้าใจ local needs ของ user ถึงความสะดวกสบายของการมี application แบบครบวงจร (综合应用) มากกว่าการมี application แยก (独立应用) เป็นจุดสำคัญมากในการกำเนิดเป็น SuperAppในประเทศจีน • ในเวลานั้นนายทุนใหญ่ที่อยู่เบื้องหลัง Meituan ส่วนใหญ่เป็น Alibaba, Tencent, Sequoia, Boyu Capital เป็นต้น และนักลงทุนของ Dianping ได้แก่ Alibaba, Tencent, Sequoia, TRUST และ Capital Today • เมื่อมองในระดับผู้ถือหุ้นด้วยกันนั้น ทั้งสองบริษัทมีนักลงทุนผู้ถือหุ้นทับซ้อนกัน และประกอบกับสถานการณ์ปัจจุบันของการเผาเงินอย่างมหาศาลของ Meituan • ดังนั้นเหตุการณ์ต่อมาจึงเกิดขึ้น นั่นคือ การคลุมถุงชน (ควบรวมกิจการ) ระหว่าง Meituan – Dianping จนกลายมาเป็น Meituan Dianping ในปี 2015 เลือกฟังกันได้เลยนะครับ อย่าลืมกด Follow ติดตาม PodCast ช่อง Geek Forever's Podcast ของผมกันด้วยนะครับ ========================= ร่วมสนับสนุน ด.ดล Blog และ Geek Forever Podcast เพื่อให้เรามีกำลังใจในการผลิต Content ดี ๆ ให้กับท่าน https://www.tharadhol.com/become-a-supporter/ ——————————————– ติดตาม ด.ดล Blog ผ่าน Line OA เพียงคลิก : https://lin.ee/aMEkyNA ——————————————– ไม่พลาดข่าวสารผ่านทาง Email จาก ด.ดล Blog : https://www.getrevue.co/profile/tharadhol ——————————————– Geek Forever Club พื้นที่ของการแลกเปลี่ยนข้อมูลข่าวสาร ความรู้ ด้านธุรกิจ เทคโนโลยีและวิทยาศาสตร์ ใหม่ ๆ ที่น่าสนใจ https://www.facebook.com/groups/geek.forever.club/ ========================= ช่องทางติดตาม ด.ดล Blog เพิ่มเติมได้ที่ Fanpage : www.facebook.com/tharadhol.blog Blockdit : www.blockdit.com/tharadhol.blog Twitter : www.twitter.com/tharadhol Instragram : instragram.com/tharadhol TikTok : tiktok.com/@geek.forever Youtube : www.youtube.com/c/mrtharadhol Linkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/tharadhol Website : www.tharadhol.com

• ประวัติการพัฒนาของ Meituan (HKG: 3690) ของนาย Wang Xing (王兴)ในช่วงก่อตั้งคือการลอกเลียนแบบธุรกิจมาจาก Groupon ของประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา ตั้งแต่ รูปแบบการทำกำไร การวางดีไซน์ ไปจนถึงฟังก์ชั่นภายในเว็บไซต์ • จนกระทั่ง 4 มีนาคม 2010 Groupon เวอร์ชั่นแดนมังกรได้กำเนิดขึ้น นี่คือการ Copy-to-China อีกครั้ง หลังจากเคยทำการ Copy-paste ไปกับธุรกิจ Duoduoyou (多多友) Youzitu (游子图) Xiaonei (小内) และ Fanfou (饭否) และล้วนล้มเหลวทั้งสิ้น • ผลิตภัณฑ์แรกของ Meituan ที่เปิดให้บริการในวันที่ 4 มีนาคม 2010 คือ Fanya Wine Testing Package เพคเกจนี้ดึงดูดลูกค้าได้ถึง 79 คน ปิดยอดขายไปได้ถึง 4,000 หยวน เพราะเพียงแค่คนละ 50 หยวนก็สามารถมาลิ้มลองรสชาติไวน์สุดหรูได้แล้ว • ช่วงปีของการก่อตั้ง Meituan มีบริษัทคู่แข่งในตลาด Group-buying (团购) ในจีนกว่า 5,000 รายในตลาดจีน เพราะการลอกเลียนแบบ business model ของ Group-buying website ไม่ได้ยากเลย แต่สิ่งที่ต้องมีคือ การดำเนินธุรกิจที่แข็งแรง (Execution) ต่างหาก • ในห้วงเวลานี้คู่แข่งของ Meituan มีกลยุทธ์โต้ตอบอย่างมากมาย หนึ่งในนั้นคือการขู่คู่แข่งให้กลัว ในข้อมูลสาธารณะแสดงให้เห็นว่า ในเดือนเมษายน 2011 นี้เอง Dianping (ครั้งยังเป็นคู่แข่งคนสำคัญของ Meituan) ได้ระดมทุนสำเร็จไปถึง $100 ล้าน ส่วน Lashou.com ก็ยังได้รับเงินรวมไปทั้งสิ้น $160 millionในการ raise fund ถึงสามครั้ง แต่ Wang Xing ก็ไม่ได้เล่นไปตามเกม ไม่ได้ลงแข่งในสงครามโฆษณาออฟไลน์ แต่มุ่งไปโฟกัสการทำการตลาดออนไลน์แทน แต่บริหารงานค่อนไปทาง conservative ดูแลกระแสเงินสดและควบคุมความเสี่ยงอย่างดี • สุดท้าย Meituan จะเอาชนะคู่แข่งกว่า 5000 รายในตอนนั้นได้หรือไม่ อย่างไร • รายละเอียดทั้งหมดติดตามรับฟังได้ใน EP 36 เลือกฟังกันได้เลยนะครับ อย่าลืมกด Follow ติดตาม PodCast ช่อง Geek Forever's Podcast ของผมกันด้วยนะครับ ========================= ร่วมสนับสนุน ด.ดล Blog และ Geek Forever Podcast เพื่อให้เรามีกำลังใจในการผลิต Content ดี ๆ ให้กับท่าน https://www.tharadhol.com/become-a-supporter/ ——————————————– ติดตาม ด.ดล Blog ผ่าน Line OA เพียงคลิก : https://lin.ee/aMEkyNA ——————————————– ไม่พลาดข่าวสารผ่านทาง Email จาก ด.ดล Blog : https://www.getrevue.co/profile/tharadhol ——————————————– Geek Forever Club พื้นที่ของการแลกเปลี่ยนข้อมูลข่าวสาร ความรู้ ด้านธุรกิจ เทคโนโลยีและวิทยาศาสตร์ ใหม่ ๆ ที่น่าสนใจ https://www.facebook.com/groups/geek.forever.club/ ========================= ช่องทางติดตาม ด.ดล Blog เพิ่มเติมได้ที่ Fanpage : www.facebook.com/tharadhol.blog Blockdit : www.blockdit.com/tharadhol.blog Twitter : www.twitter.com/tharadhol Instragram : instragram.com/tharadhol TikTok : tiktok.com/@geek.forever Youtube : www.youtube.com/c/mrtharadhol Linkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/tharadhol Website : www.tharadhol.com

Meituan (HKG: 3690) ก่อตั้งโดยนาย Wang Xing ถือเป็น Fu'er dai (富二代) The 2nd Generation Rich) ที่เกิดมาครอบครัวนักธุรกิจที่ร่ำรวย เกิดมารวยสบาย แต่ก็ไม่หยุดที่จะดิ้นรนเพื่อความสำเร็จของตัวเอง แต่แน่นอนคงไม่ใช่เพราะอยากทำเพื่อความร่ำรวยเพียงอย่างเดียว เพราะพื้นเพของเขาก็มีฐานะอยู่แล้ว • แต่การดิ้นรนของเค้า ทำให้หลายคนเรียกนาย Wang Xing ว่าเป็นนักลอกเลียนแบบ (The Cloner เพราะ startups หลายที่ที่เค้าก่อตั้งในจีนคือการ copy – paste จากผู้บุกเบิกหลายเจ้าในอเมริกาทั้งสิ้น • แต่การเลียนแบบรุ่นพี่ก็ไม่ใช่เรื่องแย่เสมอไป เพราะสุดท้ายจุดที่ทำให้ชนะและยืนหนึ่งคือเรื่อง business model เสียมากกว่าเพราะหากจำกันได้ Alibaba group สร้าง Taobao มาหลังจาก eBay แต่ก็ปราบ eBay ในจีนได้ราบคาบ Tencent ก็ลอกไอเดียจาก ICQ แต่สุดท้ายก็ปรับเปลี่ยนมาเป็น QQ และทำได้ดีกว่าและยั่งยืนมาจนถึงปัจจุบัน • Wang Xing ใช้เวลากว่า 13 ปี นับตั้งแต่เริ่ม drop out ล้มเหลวหลายครั้งต่อหลายครั้ง การโดนครหาว่าเป็น copycat เป็นเรื่องไส้ติ่งสำหรับตัวเขาเพราะเขาใช้เวลายาวนาน ผ่านร้อนผ่านหนาว กว่าจะมายืนอยู่บนจุดสูงสุดของอาชีพ และกลายเป็นเจ้าของ Meituan – บริษัทให้บริการในพื้นที่ on demand services ที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในจีน เลือกฟังกันได้เลยนะครับ อย่าลืมกด Follow ติดตาม PodCast ช่อง Geek Forever's Podcast ของผมกันด้วยนะครับ ========================= ร่วมสนับสนุน ด.ดล Blog และ Geek Forever Podcast เพื่อให้เรามีกำลังในการผลิต Content ดี ๆ ให้กับท่าน https://www.tharadhol.com/become-a-supporter/ ——————————————– ติดตาม ด.ดล Blog ผ่าน Line OA เพียงคลิก : https://lin.ee/aMEkyNA ——————————————– ไม่พลาดข่าวสารผ่านทาง Email จาก ด.ดล Blog : https://www.getrevue.co/profile/tharadhol ——————————————– Geek Forever Club พื้นที่ของการแลกเปลี่ยนข้อมูลข่าวสาร ความรู้ ด้านธุรกิจ เทคโนโลยีและวิทยาศาสตร์ ใหม่ ๆ ที่น่าสนใจ https://www.facebook.com/groups/geek.forever.club/ ========================= ช่องทางติดตาม ด.ดล Blog เพิ่มเติมได้ที่ Fanpage : www.facebook.com/tharadhol.blog Blockdit : www.blockdit.com/tharadhol.blog Twitter : www.twitter.com/tharadhol Instragram : instragram.com/tharadhol TikTok : tiktok.com/@geek.forever Youtube : www.youtube.com/c/mrtharadhol Linkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/tharadhol Website : www.tharadhol.com

售价19.9的“熬夜水”卖断货，医生建议：好好睡觉For many shoppers, it can be quite difficult not to notice a drink on store shelves with a whole ginseng root soaking in every bottle.近日，某便利店的“熬夜水”火出圈，每一瓶这种水里面都浸泡了一整根人参。"Stay up a whole night and drink the whole thing" is the botanical drink's advertising slogan, which claims that it can help people regain energy.该商品的广告号称“熬一整夜喝一整根”，声称这种水可以帮助人们解决熬夜后遗症；益智、开心、明目、除邪气、止惊悸、定魂魄、安精神、主补五脏；调节肌体新陈代谢。About a month ago, the drink, simply called "The Whole Thing", first retailed at Lawson convenience stores. Now it has become a trending topic on Chinese social media.大约一个月前，“一整根”熬夜水在罗森便利店有售，现在已经成为社交媒体的热门话题。According to the manufacturer, the ginseng used in the drink is farmed and less than five years old. Some trade insiders said that the wholesale price for such ginseng is only about two yuan each. 从业十余年的长白山特产商表示，“一整根”中的人参为人工种植而非林下参，从产品图片来看，一根批发价为2元左右。Luo Xiang, an employee of a bank on Beijing's Financial Street, went to a nearby Lawson during his lunch break on Friday specifically looking for the drink.北京金融街一家银行的员工罗翔（音译）在周五午休的时候专门去便利店购买“一整根”。"People are talking about it on social media. I'm just curious," he said while going through the ingredients listed on the label.“看到大家在社交媒体上谈论它，我就很好奇”，他在浏览包装上列出的成分时说。"The ginseng in it can boost energy. And the herbal drink contains no sugar or fat. It really appeals to young people who often choose to stay up late for work or have fun while trying to look after their health," said the 27-year-old, who ended up buying four bottles for himself and his colleagues.“其中的人参可以提神醒脑，而且这种草本饮料不含糖或脂肪。它真的很吸引那些经常熬夜工作或者那些在为了自己健康同时享受乐趣的年轻人”，这位27岁的银行员工说道，并为自己和同事购买了四瓶“一整根”。Luo said his team had to work overtime on Friday, so the drinks are perfect for the occasion.罗翔说他的团队在周五不得不加班工作，并且认为这种水非常适合。Retailing at 19.9 yuan ($2.98) for a 480-milliliter bottle, The Whole Thing is the most expensive non-alcoholic drink for sale at the convenience store.“一整根”每瓶480毫升，零售价为19.9元，是便利店中出售的最昂贵的非酒精饮料。According to the product's guidance, after finishing the contents people can refill the bottle with the ginseng root in it with warm water eight times within eight hours.根据产品说明，在喝完一整瓶之后，开盖八小时内可自行添加温水，自由续杯八次。"I don't expect to feel any effect. But having a bottled drink with a whole ginseng root in it on your desk while working late can be quite comforting," he laughed.他笑着说：“我不指望会有任何作用。但是在工作到很晚的时候，办公桌上有一杯含有整根人参的瓶装饮料，会有种心理安慰。”Wang Xing, a doctor specializing in cardiovascular medicine, said marketing a product as something that can help people recover from burning the midnight oil is just a promotional stunt.据心血管医生王星，这种声称可以帮助人们修复熬夜所导致的虚弱的产品只是一种营销噱头。"The damage of staying up the whole night, such as feeling weak, is irreversible. It can only increase the risks of cardiovascular disease," Wang said. He added that all people need to do to avoid symptoms caused by staying up late is to have a good night's sleep.他表示：“熬夜带来的伤害是不可逆转的，比如身体逐渐感到虚弱等。熬夜只会增加患心血管疾病的风险。”为了避免熬夜对身体带来的伤害，人们需要做的就是好好睡觉。ginseng英[ˈdʒɪnseŋ]；美[ˈdʒɪnˌsɛŋ]n.人参，高丽参ingredient英[ɪnˈɡriːdiənt]；美[ɪnˈɡriːdiənt]n.（混合物的）组成部分; （烹调的）原料; （构成）要素; 因素cardiovascular英[ˌkɑ:diəʊˈvæskjələ(r)]；美[ˌkɑrdioʊˈvæskjələ(r)]adj.心血管的stunt英[stʌnt]；美[stʌnt]n.惊险动作，特技; 噱头; 发育不良的动植物vt.阻碍…发育（生长）; 抑制，妨碍vi.表演特技; 作惊人表演

EP37 China Internet Landscape and Digital Giants Part 32 •  Wang Xing เชื่อว่าในปีแรกของอีคอมเมิร์ซแบบดั้งเดิม (Traditional eCommerce) คือปี 1998 แต่สำหรับปี 2010 ถือเป็นปีแรกของการให้บริการอีคอมเมิร์ซของจีน (Service eCommerce) และปี 2012 จะเป็นจุดผกผันใหม่ของ Services ECommerce สำหรับ Meituan •  95% ของธุรกิจแพลตฟอร์มคือบริการ และเป้าหมาย Meituan คือการเป็นองค์กรอีคอมเมิร์ซที่ดีที่สุดในอุตสาหกรรมบริการ •  ดังนั้น Wang Xing จึงวางกลยุทธ์รูปตัว T ( T-shaped strategy) สำหรับแผนงานในอนาคตโดยมี Group-buying อุตสาหกรรมในแนวนอน (horizontal) และแนวดิ่ง (vertical) เช่น ภาพยนตร์และโรงแรม เป็นต้น •  Maoyan Film (猫眼电影) จึงบังเกิดในปี 2012 และถือเป็นก้าวแรกของกลยุทธ์ T-shape •  ในปี 2013 ก็ได้เปิดตัว 美团酒店 (Meituan Hotel) อย่างเป็นทางการ เพราะในขณะเดียวกัน ธุรกิจ Group-buying ของโรงแรมระดับล่างและระดับกลางก็มีการเติบโตอย่างต่อเนื่องแต่ Meituan พบว่าตลาดส่วนนี้เป็นตลาดที่ถูกละเลยโดยแพลตฟอร์ม OTA หลัก (Ctrip/Qunar) •  Wang Xing รู้สึกว่าในปี 2013 Group buying (团购) จะไม่ได้รับความสนใจมากนัก ไม่ใช่เพราะมันไม่สำคัญ แต่เป็นเพราะมันเป็นเรื่องธรรมดามาก และได้กลายเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของการบริโภคตามปกติมากขึ้นเรื่อยๆ  • นอกจากนี้ การเข้าใจ local needs ของ user ถึงความสะดวกสบายของการมี application แบบครบวงจร (综合应用) มากกว่าการมี application แยก (独立应用)  เป็นจุดสำคัญมากในการกำเนิดเป็น SuperAppในประเทศจีน • ในเวลานั้นนายทุนใหญ่ที่อยู่เบื้องหลัง Meituan ส่วนใหญ่เป็น Alibaba, Tencent, Sequoia, Boyu Capital เป็นต้น และนักลงทุนของ Dianping ได้แก่ Alibaba, Tencent, Sequoia, TRUST และ Capital Today •  เมื่อมองในระดับผู้ถือหุ้นด้วยกันนั้น ทั้งสองบริษัทมีนักลงทุนผู้ถือหุ้นทับซ้อนกัน และประกอบกับสถานการณ์ปัจจุบันของการเผาเงินอย่างมหาศาลของ Meituan •  ดังนั้นเหตุการณ์ต่อมาจึงเกิดขึ้น นั่นคือ การคลุมถุงชน (ควบรวมกิจการ) ระหว่าง Meituan – Dianping จนกลายมาเป็น Meituan Dianping ในปี 2015 • รายละเอียดทั้งหมดติดตามรับฟังได้ใน EP 37

EP36 China Internet Landscape and Digital Giants Part 31 ประวัติการพัฒนาของ Meituan (HKG: 3690) ของนายWang Xing (王兴)ในช่วงก่อตั้งคือการลอกเลียนแบบธุรกิจมาจาก Groupon ของประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา ตั้งแต่ รูปแบบการทำกำไร การวางดีไซน์ ไปจนถึงฟังก์ชั่นภายในเว็บไซต์ จนกระทั่ง 4 มีนาคม 2010 Groupon เวอร์ชั่นแดนมังกรได้กำเนิดขึ้น นี่คือการ Copy-to-China อีกครั้ง  หลังจากเคยทำการ Copy-paste ไปกับธุรกิจ Duoduoyou (多多友) Youzitu (游子图) Xiaonei (小内) และ Fanfou (饭否) และล้วนล้มเหลวทั้งสิ้น ผลิตภัณฑ์แรกของ Meituan ที่เปิดให้บริการในวันที่ 4 มีนาคม 2010 คือ Fanya Wine Testing Package  เพคเกจนี้ดึงดูดลูกค้าได้ถึง 79 คน ปิดยอดขายไปได้ถึง 4,000 หยวน เพราะเพียงแค่คนละ 50 หยวนก็สามารถมาลิ้มลองรสชาติไวน์สุดหรูได้แล้ว  ช่วงปีของการก่อตั้ง Meituan มีบริษัทคู่แข่งในตลาดGroup-buying (团购) ในจีนกว่า 5,000 รายในตลาดจีน  เพราะการลอกเลียนแบบ business model ของGroup-buying website ไม่ได้ยากเลย  แต่สิ่งที่ต้องมีคือ การดำเนินธุรกิจที่แข็งแรง (Execution) ต่างหาก ในห้วงเวลานี้คู่แข่งของ Meituan มีกลยุทธ์โต้ตอบอย่างมากมาย หนึ่งในนั้นคือการขู่คู่แข่งให้กลัว ในข้อมูลสาธารณะแสดงให้เห็นว่า ในเดือนเมษายน 2011 นี้เองDianping (ครั้งยังเป็นคู่แข่งคนสำคัญของ Meituan) ได้ระดมทุนสำเร็จไปถึง $100 ล้าน ส่วน Lashou.com ก็ยังได้รับเงินรวมไปทั้งสิ้น $160 millionในการ raise fund ถึงสามครั้ง แต่ Wang Xing ก็ไม่ได้เล่นไปตามเกม ไม่ได้ลงแข่งในสงครามโฆษณาออฟไลน์ แต่มุ่งไปโฟกัสการทำการตลาดออนไลน์แทน  แต่บริหารงานค่อนไปทาง conservative ดูแลกระแสเงินสดและควบคุมความเสี่ยงอย่างดี สุดท้าย Meituan จะเอาชนะคู่แข่งกว่า 5000 รายในตอนนั้นได้หรือไม่ อย่างไร รายละเอียดทั้งหมดติดตามรับฟังได้ใน EP 36  

EP35 China Internet Landscape and Digital Giants Part 30 •          Meituan (HKG: 3690) ก่อตั้งโดยนาย Wang Xing ถือเป็น Fu'er dai (富二代) The 2nd Generation Rich) ที่เกิดมาครอบครัวนักธุรกิจที่ร่ำรวย เกิดมารวยสบาย แต่ก็ไม่หยุดที่จะดิ้นรนเพื่อความสำเร็จของตัวเอง  แต่แน่นอนคงไม่ใช่เพราะอยากทำเพื่อความร่ำรวยเพียงอย่างเดียว เพราะพื้นเพของเขาก็มีฐานะอยู่แล้ว •          แต่การดิ้นรนของเค้า ทำให้หลายคนเรียกนาย Wang Xing ว่าเป็นนักลอกเลียนแบบ (The Cloner เพราะ startups หลายที่ที่เค้าก่อตั้งในจีนคือการ copy – paste จากผู้บุกเบิกหลายเจ้าในอเมริกาทั้งสิ้น •          แต่การเลียนแบบรุ่นพี่ก็ไม่ใช่เรื่องแย่เสมอไป เพราะสุดท้ายจุดที่ทำให้ชนะและยืนหนึ่งคือเรื่อง business model เสียมากกว่าเพราะหากจำกันได้ Alibaba group สร้าง Taobao มาหลังจาก eBay แต่ก็ปราบ eBay ในจีนได้ราบคาบ  Tencent ก็ลอกไอเดียจาก ICQ แต่สุดท้ายก็ปรับเปลี่ยนมาเป็น QQ และทำได้ดีกว่าและยั่งยืนมาจนถึงปัจจุบัน •          Wang Xing ใช้เวลากว่า 13 ปี นับตั้งแต่เริ่ม drop out  ล้มเหลวหลายครั้งต่อหลายครั้ง การโดนครหาว่าเป็น copycat เป็นเรื่องไส้ติ่งสำหรับตัวเขาเพราะเขาใช้เวลายาวนาน ผ่านร้อนผ่านหนาว กว่าจะมายืนอยู่บนจุดสูงสุดของอาชีพ และกลายเป็นเจ้าของ Meituan – บริษัทให้บริการในพื้นที่ on demand services ที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในจีน •          รายละเอียดทั้งหมดติดตามได้ใน EP 35

Yanjing Claire Du graduated from Carleton College, Northfield, MN, USA, with a double major in History and International Relations/Political Science and a concentration in East Asian Studies. Claire is the cofounder and CEO of Achievers Circle, an international platform to connect China's aspiring elites with the world by bridging global leadership, trust, arts and cultures. She also manages her own family office's global investment allocation, investing in companies and funds that are interested in cross-border and global strategies. She works as the operating advisor on China's market entry to various leading companies, family offices, ventures and institutions, such as Owl Ventures, the largest VC fund in the world on education technology. . In addition, Claire is an active and passionate social entrepreneur with a specific focus on philanthropy and education. In 2009 Claire founded her non-for-profit organization China Liberal Arts College Tour, which brings admissions officers from prestigious liberal arts colleges in the US to visit high schools in China. The Tour aims to bridge the gap between liberal arts colleges and prospective students in China and providing equal opportunities and access to resources and information for Chinese students with strong academic backgrounds and leadership skills to experience a liberal arts education. Claire also works as the pro bono director and advisor of international cooperation and partnership for Aiyou Foundation, the first and largest private philanthropic foundation in China, whose founding council members include Jack Ma of Alibaba, Pony Ma of Tencent, Yiming Zhang of ByteDance, Wang Xing of Meituan, etc. Claire helps facilitate and organize Aiyou Foundation's international exchanges and partnership building with prominent philanthropic individuals and organizations. The Caring Economy made it onto FeedSpots Top 30 CSR Podcasts Don't forget to check out my book that inspired this podcast series, The Caring Economy: How to Win With Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/toby-usnik/support

Matsyanyaaya: The Rational Actor TrapBig fish eating small fish = Foreign Policy in action— Pranay KotasthaneNothing succeeds like success. Once you are perceived as being successful, new narratives emerge that trace a neat path explaining how success was attained through grit, foresight, and determination. The role of chance fades in the background. All stories show how the hero withstood the odds, took the right decisions, and defeated a world that was stacked against it. Sometimes, nation-states craft stories with such narrative arcs. The State as the all-knowing decision-maker is imagined as a consistent, value-maximising agent, which chooses each policy as a calculated solution to a strategic problem. This model is what Graham Allison and Philip Zellikow call the rational actor model of decision-making in their classic Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis.The book goes on to show the inadequacy of the rational actor model in explaining foreign policy decisions. It proposes two other decision-making models that take into account bureaucratic resistance, individual initiative, turf battles, and a struggle for power, to better explain government decisions. The key takeaway is that when we don’t understand the internal politics of a nation-state, we instinctively assume it as a black box that churns out decisions based on well-defined goals, well-understood alternatives, and well-projected calculations of costs and benefits of all the available alternatives. Precisely this is how the thinking about China is today on the streets and WhatsApp groups of New York, Delhi, or Lagos. Every act by China is imagined as a calculated move made with a larger long-term goal in mind; a juggernaut that makes no mistakes; an Arjuna that never misses the fish’s eye.A common way in which this narrative commonly plays out is as follows: someone will quote a Chinese leader in the past to show how prudent and far-sighted he was. Virtually, no discussion on China goes by without quotes such as “Cross the river by feeling the stones” or “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” being used to conjure the image of China as a successful rational actor. So much so that some of these quotes weren’t even said by Chinese leaders and yet continue to circulate in opinion pieces, textbooks, and seminars. Take this quote attributed to Zhou Enlai for example. The story goes that he was asked by French visitors in 1972 about the impact of the French Revolution of 1789, and he sagely replied “It’s too early to say”. This is often cited to prove how the Chinese political system produces master strategists who take the long view. Turns out, he was only talking about the French student protests of 1968 which continued for many years thereafter. And yet, this story has endured.Another quote ninja is Deng Xiaoping, of course. His famous words “to get rich is glorious” is cited in support of how quickly the Chinese leadership was able to adroitly put behind the socialist excesses of the Mao era. The only problem is that it’s not known whether Deng ever said so. In fact, this phrase comes from Oliver Schell’s 1984 book by the same title on Deng era reforms. Then on, this quote has assumed a life of its own.These misattributed quotes are not mere trivia but symptomatic of a larger problem — our inability to deeply understand China. Because we don’t know what’s inside the box, we assume the Chinese system as a rational actor that succeeds because of the foresight of its leaders alone. This view, of course, is incorrect. In edition #44, I discussed four myths emanating from this line of thinking that the party-state is always efficient, always meritocratic, always a military aggressor, and always a sound strategist. To counter the China challenge, a superficial rational-actor model understanding of China is not just insufficient but harmful. It makes the adversary seem far more powerful than it is in reality. We need better models to understand our adversary. If the content in this newsletter interests you, consider taking up the Takshashila GCPP. The certificate course is customised for working professionals. Intake for the 30th cohort ends on 22nd August. Global Policy Watch: China’s Big Tech Crackdown  Bringing an Indian perspective to burning global issues- RSJWe often write here about how regulating big tech will need a different framework from the typical antitrust lens that's been used in the past to protect consumers from predatory business practices. The big tech companies pose risk to consumers not through predatory pricing or restriction of choices because of their marketshare. Instead, they abuse their market power in new and different ways. They track usage data without consent in deeply intrusive ways that should spook the average consumer. Their platforms often enable spread of disinformation and creation of echo chambers by directing consumers to content based on algorithms that optimise for engagement. Engagement is different from enlightenment. Never was this more clear in our lives as we see fake news, unscientific notions and rumours scourge our societies. Big tech poses social and political risks that are beyond the ambit of any competition laws. You cannot solve new problems with old solutions. While the west is figuring out the way ahead and making unusual executive choices, China in the past few months seems to be keen to show the world its own way of dealing with big tech. Like many regulations in the past, these are meant to reinforce the only truth in the Chinese policy sphere - the party is the boss. It can do and will do as it pleases. You may call it antitrust regulations with Chinese characteristics. This op-ed in the Chinese state run daily the Global Times gives a view on the line of thinking:“More importantly, the government will not allow internet giants to become rules-makers of data collection and usage. The standards must be in the hands of the government to ensure that giant companies are restrained when they collect personal data and stick to the principle of minimization. No internet giant is allowed to become a super data base that has more personal data about the Chinese people than the country does, not to mention using the data at its own will.For companies like Didi which have gotten listed in the US market and whose largest and second-largest shareholders are foreign companies, China should more strictly supervise their information security to protect both personal data security and national security.”I will let the irony of the Chinese state talking about privacy and on the principle of minimization when it comes to personal data of its citizens wash over all of us for a bit. Over the years there was a ‘nudge and wink’ approach between Chinese regulators and its domestic digital champions on many vexing regulatory issues. None more than the variable interest entity arrangement to list overseas that was a well established way to circumvent Chinese laws. All that is history now. The Story So FarAnyway, a quick recap of the steps China has taken in the past year or so will be helpful to set the context here.In Sep 2020, China issued a new set of rules for regulating financial holding companies with a view to regulate the enormous clout and reach of the shadow banking sector that could threaten the stability of the financial system if left unchecked. On cue, in October 2020, the Financial Stability and Development Committee headed by the Vice Premier raised concerns about the growth of fintechs and their microlending practices. In Nov 2020, Chinese regulators suspended the much anticipated $34 billion IPO of the Ant Financial Group. A record fine and the ‘disappearance’ of its founder, Jack Ma, followed.In the first quarter of 2021, Meituan (the Amazon of services in China) was fined by multiple municipal regulators and it shut down its health insurance service after facing regulatory scrutiny. Its founder, Wang Xing, a classical literature enthusiast, posted a few verses from an ancient Chinese poem about an arrogant emperor and his misguided attempts at stifling dissent. He later deleted the post. I’m not sure if there is an ancient Chinese parable about a dog with its tail between its legs that he knew.Last week, ByteDance (the owner of TikTok) postponed its US listing plans after meeting the Chinese cyberspace regulators. The official line was that ByteDance will take some more time to comply with the new regulations proposed by the Cyber Security Review Office (CSRO).ByteDance didn’t have much of a choice really. Didi, the world’s largest ride-hailing firm with about 500 million users across 15 countries, went public with $4 billion IPO on NYSE on June 30. This despite some public reservations from the CSRO on its data security practices. Didi thought it was still the old world and ignored it. The stock soared on debut and Didi’s valuation rose to $80 billion within a day. Two days later the Chinese state cracked down. It barred it from adding any new users. A few days later it found serious violations in the collection and usage of personal information of its users and ordered all app stores to remove Didi’s main app and its 25 linked apps. By the end of the last week, the cyber security regulator had announced probe into two other US listed Chinese companies - Full Track Alliance and Kanzhun. In the same week, the cyber security regulations were tightened, the overseas listings process was made tougher and variable interest entity arrangement loophole plugged. The world for Chinese digital companies had changed in a matter of weeks.There are two things that interest me in this sequence of events. What’s driving this big tech crackdown in China? And what does it mean for the world and India? I will put my initial thoughts here and I will welcome views from readers with greater knowledge of the subject.This Far And No FurtherThere are two lens to use on the reasons for the crackdown.DomesticThe CPC (Communist Party of China) created the ‘walled’ digital ecosystem that didn’t permit US tech giants to enter China. This led to the emergence of the home-grown champions across sectors that copied business models from the Silicon Valley and supplanted them in China. Over the years these champions built large businesses, innovated on the back of strong technology capabilities and laissez-faire regulations on privacy and data usage and expanded to foreign markets to create virtual monopolies in China. This has meant multi-billion dollar valuations and enormous rise in personal wealth of founders and the management teams. The CPC is now sending out a reminder to these firms on who enabled their rise. This is driven by three fears. One, the growing wealth inequality in the society because of these firms and the sense of anger at their long and tough working environments (9-9-6 is fetishised among them). Two, the CPC is worried about the enormous power and clout these founders wield which left uncontrolled can be a potential risk in future. Three, the rise of unchecked lending through fintech apps and the almost total control of the consumers’ information and choices by these digital monopolies can create rival power centres for the CPC. The CPC which had deliberately enabled a loose regulatory ecosystem to facilitate growth of their big tech companies is reining them back now. All the big tech monopoly issues that the US is wrestling with apply to China too. But with the added flavour of a paranoid state apparatus. The state is now wresting control back. And it has a convenient ideological big stick for beating them with. Big tech is threatening one of CPC’s core objectives - building a harmonious society. Expect more of this.US-China RelationsThe Biden administration has repeatedly made the point that America is in competition with China to win the 21st century. And this competition is going to be technology led. In June, President Biden signed an executive order banning investments in 59 Chinese companies that included some of the largest Chinese digital apps and telecom equipment manufacturers. On June 22, the US Senate passed Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. This Act prohibits foreign companies from listing their securities on any of the U.S. exchanges if the company has failed to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) audits for two years in a row. Currently, China’s regulators do not allow the PCAOB to inspect audits of companies registered in China and Hong Kong. This act is meant for getting Chinese companies to fall in line. Simply put, US regulators do not want American investors money to go into Chinese companies whose books they cannot audit. Chinese regulators, on the other hand, are wary of US government agencies seeking access to their homegrown champions who have enormous information about their Chinese customer base. The US regulators have given a timeline for Chinese companies to comply or delist. China went a step further. It asked existing Chinese companies with overseas listing to first undergo a thorough cyber security review with them before complying to any US regulations. This is classic one-upmanshipI wouldn’t go as far as saying this is the start of a decoupling phase between the financial markets of US and China. But the signs are ominous. China wants the domestic companies to go for a Hong Kong listing. This allows them to access foreign capital on their own terms. Plus, it keeps the wheel of finance moving in Hong Kong after the fears of it losing its status as a global financial hub in light of China’s actions there in the past year. China doesn’t want US to dictate terms to it. The recent actions suggest it won’t back down from setting the agenda. US also will not have any more of China using its state capacity to build global companies who then snoop for it. This is a deadlock. What Does This Mean?So, what are the implications of these actions? It is a bit early to arrive at any definite conclusions. But if one were to extrapolate and speculate a bit, I will draw a few conclusions.Firstly, this is trade war by another name. This mutual suspicion of intents, the charade of cyber reviews of its companies by China, the further banning of the apps by the Biden administration and the ‘new cold war’ kind of language suggests we could be in for more tit-for-tat responses between the two countries. There will be slowing down of flow of capital between them and it will have an impact on global capital markets and trade flows. Secondly, China’s clampdown on its big tech will provide ammunition to those who want to regulate big tech elsewhere in the world in a more direct way. China might not be the best model to emulate on regulations. Agreed. But the other way to frame this is - if the Chinese state is now being paranoid about the power of its big tech, how badly do we need big tech regulations in a democracy?Thirdly, there will be a slowdown in investments going into Chinese startup and digital ecosystem. Investors don’t like unpredictability and the last year has shown Chinese state can be whimsical in stopping IPOs, slapping fines, changing regulations and clamping down on companies that have huge foreign investments riding on them. This isn’t music for global investors. Expect India and other ‘open’ digital markets to rake in foreign direct investments in their startup ecosystems. Some of this is already seen in India in terms of deal flow in the past two quarters. More will follow. Lastly, there has been a clamour in India for us to emulate the ‘Chinese model’ of creating domestic champions by restricting US big tech companies to build their base in India. There’s a spectre of ‘digital colonialism’ that’s often raised by the sundry ‘Aatmanirbhar’ advocates, the local startup founders (though they are funded by foreign capital themselves), domestic VCs and others with interests in keeping global competition away. They would would like nothing better than to have a digital ‘Bombay Plan’ for the 21st century. The crackdown by the Chinese state on its homegrown companies is a useful reminder to all. The state is nobody’s friend. The state has only one interest. To perpetuate its hegemony. Once you invite it to distort the playing field, it settles down there. Now it wants to play. And that helps no one. India Policy Watch: The North vs South Debate RevisitedInsights on burning policy issues in India- Pranay KotasthaneRamachandra Guha, in an important article for The Telegraph, expresses disappointment that South India counts for too little in national politics, a situation he feels will only worsen in the future:“..for all its social and economic progress in recent decades, in political terms the South continues to count for far too little in the life of the Republic. And it may soon count for even less. On the anvil is a proposal to re-allocate Lok Sabha seats afresh on the basis of population. Were that to happen, the states that serve their citizens moderately well, such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, will find their negligible influence on the Union government’s policies and priorities declining even further. The states that serve their citizens indifferently or abominably, such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, will find their already considerable influence on the Union government’s policies and priorities escalating even more. This increasing asymmetry shall place fresh burdens and stresses on the already-fragile state of Indian federalism.” [The Telegraph, 19th June]This argument adds weight to the common refrain in India’s federal polity and hence I will follow it through. Specifically, I seek answers to these two questions: what does it mean when people say that the South ‘counts too little for national politics’? And if that’s the case, what would giving the South its due look like? A caveat before we begin this exploration. South and North are completely malleable concepts. Sitting here in Southern India, North is assumed as a short-hand for the economically laggard states in the Indo-Gangetic plain. This conception generally ignores the more prosperous northern states (J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra) or the less populous hilly ones (HP and Uttarakhand). Essentially, the definition of the ‘North’ gets moulded only to focus on the basket cases. Now, back to the two questions. In my view, there are three dimensions of this detachment.1. Economic SiphoningThe perception: A common grouse you would have come across often is how the South ‘subsidises’ the North; how the money produced by the sweat and tears of factory workers on the outskirts of Chennai is wasted on farm loan waivers in Lucknow. The reality: For one, the figures that the South subsidises the North are quite exaggerated. For example, looking at direct tax data shows that Maharashtra alone accounts for 38 percent of collections. Surely, it’s not true that 38 percent of India’s economic activity takes place in Mumbai. In reality, this striking difference is because of a tax accounting design bug — since most companies are headquartered in Mumbai, taxes paid by them get “collected” in Maharashtra even if the economic activity is carried out by their subsidiaries in another state. That apart, given the shifting economic base since economic liberalisation, it is safe to assume that there is, indeed, some redistribution from the South to the North. More accurately, there is transfer of money from all states that do economically well to states that don’t i.e. even Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat, apart from most states in the South, would be having net outward flows of government revenue. And this is unavoidable to some extent. The logic is simple — in order to ensure that at least minimum levels of key public services are achieved across the country, the poorer states would need more help from the Union government than the richer ones. Imagine another communicable disease that has been eradicated in a few rich states but not in the poor ones due to lack of funds. Sure enough, this disease will eventually spread to the richer states as well due to inter-state human movement.So, some form of redistribution across states is desirable. This is not a problem per se — no federal system in the world balances government money flow at state borders. Perhaps what makes the problem acute in India is that the stark difference in per capita GDP — the richest, Haryana, has a per capita GDP that is nearly five times that of the poorest, Bihar. More on this issue in this twitter thread.A solution: Given that there are good reasons for why government transfers exist, is there a way out? Indeed, there is. As I have written earlier, focusing on how much money gets transferred from TN to UP is a wrong question to ask. Instead, the focus should be on the government revenue that the union government appropriates from all states as a whole. If the Union is pressured to devolve more money to states via the Finance Commission formula, all states will gain. More on this “monkey and two cats” devolution fable in edition #131.2. Denial of Political PowerThe argument: the South has better socioeconomic indicators and yet its influence on Union government policies will continue to decline because of its lower population growth.The counter-arguments: The Malthusian idea that there should be a political reward for reduction of population is quite unfair to the average Indian, regardless of where she lives. That’s because in a representative democracy, the key factor that’s equated as far as possible is that my vote has the same electoral value as yours. This core principle means that constituencies across India roughly have the same number of voters. What follows from this ‘republican’ principle is that larger and denser states will definitely have more representatives than the smaller and less-dense ones. To overturn this idea because governance in the North is terrible is to punish the individuals in that state twice. This is also a defeatist argument. It assumes that the South is destined to play a shrinking role in the Union government. The solution: The problem on the political front is not with respect to MP, Rajasthan, or Chattisgarh. The real issue is that some of our worst-governed states — UP and Bihar — are also the largest single political entities. They together account for nearly 22 percent of the Lok Sabha seats, making them wield disproportionate influence at the national stage. Splitting a big state such as UP into more manageable parts would negate the advantage it has. Second, if the South wants to influence the Union government more than it currently does, regional parties from the South must work towards extending their presence in the North. Without broad basing their presence across the country, they will have to play a second-fiddle role at the national level. Regional parties need to think beyond the limited notion of one-state, one-language. 3. Cultural UnderrepresentationThe argument: Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan themes crowd out the alternate conceptions about India. I sympathise with this argument. The solution: These concerns get heightened when a Union government insists on ramming down one religion, and one language across the length and breadth of the country. Letting go of this need to assimilate might at least partially assuage the South. On the other hand, state governments should work with each other such that Kannada can be taught in Ahmedabad schools and Telugu in Lucknow colleges. In essence, solutions to the disgruntlements in India’s federal polity require imaginative solutions by both the Union and all States together. Addendum- RSJI agree with Pranay’s counterarguments on the North-South debate. Unfortunately, these are coming up with increasing frequency in the media mostly driven by the contrasting electoral fortunes of BJP in these regions. I will add a few points that are relevant to this topic.Firstly, spatial imbalance is an economic feature at every geographical level. It depends on the level of granularity at which you want to do your analysis. So, you could argue South does better than North at pan India level. But within South, maybe the old Mysore belt is better off than northeast Karnataka (the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka). Within the old Mysore region, the western part has better socioeconomic indicators than the north. You can go down to the ward or taluka level of a city or a district with this analysis and you will find spatial imbalances. The reason for this is simple. Economic growth tends to spatially cluster because agglomeration of activities increases efficiency and leads to positive externalities. This sets off a virtuous cycle of more investments in social and physical infrastructure which further attracts investments and so on. This agglomeration has been exacerbated in the knowledge intensive and service industries where even migration of labour that helps in redistribution of wealth through repatriation doesn’t happen as much because of the specialised skills needed. So, this idea of using a geographic lens to assess socioeconomic prosperity and then to link it to greater political representation is illogical. You will set off a demand for such unequal representation down to every ward and taluka in the country. It is dangerous to further this line of argument in a democratic republic. Secondly, the question really is that of ‘convergence’ of socioeconomic progress between regions and reduction of spatial imbalances. This is a vexing issue for policy makers. The traditional way of looking at this is how to balance efficiency and equity within a region or a country. Continuing to have economic growth clustered in specific regions gives you efficiency but leads to regional inequities. On the other hand, we have seen top-down attempts to push investments into newer regions rarely work because of variety of factors including network effects and lack of positive externalities. In fact, forcing investments into newer regions through tax incentives or any other means leads to suboptimal results at an aggregate level. The traditional economic clusters lose out on efficiency while the newer regions rarely take off. You get neither efficiency nor equity. This is why like Pranay suggests the solution lies in greater devolution of finances and decision making in our federal structure. The choice or the trade-off is easier to make at a smaller regional unit. Of course, at the national level, the Union must make the investments in developing stronger institutions, spending on public goods and building social infrastructure to improve human development indicators in poorer regions. The answer is obviously not having differential political representation for the better off regions. Like Pranay writes that would be penalising the citizens of poorer states twice over. And if I might add it would be plain stupid. HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters[Article] “The China Discount Widens” writes Robert Armstrong in the Financial Times[Paper] “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox”, the famous 2017 paper by Lina Khan in the Yale Law Journal. President Biden nominated the 32 year-old Lina Khan as the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US antitrust watchdog. [Book] The Paradox of India’s North–South Divide: Lessons from the States and Regions by Samuel Paul and Kala Sridhar, is an excellent economic exposition of some key differences. Get on the email list at publicpolicy.substack.com

A bad-debt industry veteran is named Huarong's new deputy Party chief. Ant Group gets the nod to operate its consumer finance unit. Meituan's founder Wang Xing donates $2.2 billion stake. Plus, nine railway workers are killed in China's Gansu province.

We dive into the history behind Meituan, the juggernaut Chinese "super-app" which dominates China's services economy, offering consumers everything from food delivery, restaurant reviews, travel booking, bike-sharing, movie ticketing, and countless other entertainment and lifestyle services all at the touch of a button. Already China's 3rd largest tech company by market cap (behind just Tencent and Alibaba), Meituan did $15 billion in net revenue in FY2019 and continues to grow rapidly. What makes it so special, and how were they able to become the market leader in such a competitive space? This story is packed with lessons that apply equally beyond China tech to high-growth company building and investing everywhere. If you love Acquired and want more, join our LP Community for access to over 50 LP-only episodes, monthly Zoom calls, and live access for big events like emergency pods and book club discussions with authors. We can't wait to see you there. Join here at: https://acquired.fm/lp/ Sponsors: Thanks to Tiny for being our presenting sponsor for all of Acquired Season 8. Tiny is building the "Berkshire Hathaway of the internet" — if you own a wonderful internet business that you want to sell, or know someone who does, you should get in touch with them. Unlike traditional buyers, they commit to quick, simple diligence, a 30-day or less process, and will leave your business to do its thing for the long term. You can learn more about Tiny here: http://bit.ly/acquiredtiny Thank you as well to Vouch and to Capchase. You can learn more about them at: https://bit.ly/acquired-vouch http://bit.ly/acquiredcapchase The Meituan Playbook: (also available on our website at https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/meituan ) 1. Adding product offerings (post initial product-market fit) isn't losing focus. It's smart business. A huge part of Meituan's success and longterm defensibility versus its literally thousands of past competitors is its ability to cross-sell customers across many different product lines. Meituan can afford to spend much more on acquiring and retaining a new user who'll end up purchasing food delivery, groceries, hotels, travel and more through the platform vs. standalone competitors in each vertical. Most western companies woefully misunderstand this dynamic. (Amazon being a notable exception) Meituan enjoys an average of 26 transactions per user per year (vs e.g. Airbnb users which book an average of 0.5 transactions/year). With each additional offering, Meituan increases the number of revenue streams it can amortize its CAC over, while also offering superior experiences to customers. Key to making this strategy work is having the discipline to follow the same playbook as any startup: launch new initiatives quickly, test and improve based on real customer feedback, don't let perfect be the enemy of shipped, and kill what's not working and move on. Meituan and Amazon's new initiatives often lack polish — but they either quickly bring in $billions of revenue, or they die and the company goes on to the next one. Again with few exceptions, western tech companies completely misunderstand how to execute this playbook effectively. 2. When you spot a market that's both large and growing fast — ride that wave!! Chinese e-commerce was a 20% saturation industry in 2017 and still growing nicely. However real world services was only 5% online, and poised to grow even faster. Staying nimble to capitalize on this online to offline (or "O2O") trend allowed Meituan to accelerate while Alibaba was caught flat-footed. Today Meituan (along with its fellow Tencent portfolio company Pinduoduo) represents probably the biggest threat Alibaba has faced in its entire history. 3. Many still don't realize what a powerful moat (trusted) reviews provide in online platforms. Once it merged with Dianping, review data became Meituan's biggest competitive advantage vs other food delivery (and other product line) competitors. A deep database of reviews creates an incredible barrier to entry: any competitor can standup a set of listings, but without trusted reviews those listings are just "flat". This same dynamic helped Airbnb successfully defend against European clones early in its life. 4. Old news, but always worth repeating: the days of China simply cloning American tech companies are long gone. Today it's China, not the US, that's leading innovation on mobile and the internet more broadly across many categories. Ironically, Meituan's founder Wang Xing started his career as perhaps China's top Web 2.0 company cloner, and Meituan itself began as a Groupon knockoff. But to say the the tables have turned today is a massiveunderstatement, haha. 5. Meituan capitalized on the secular trend of China's growing middle class and mobile-first economy. Meituan's growth followed the growth of China's middle class. They were able to capitalize on the emergence of Tier 2 and 3 cities that provided newly addressable populations. Meituan was smart to pay attention to these non-Tier 1 cities from the very beginning. Founder Wang Xing realized that smaller cities where people were beginning to access the internet via mobile phones and internet cafes were a good fit for their initial group-discount platform. Links: Meituan's English language walkthrough video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wxgQVjDviQ The Tech Buzz China podcast: https://www.techbuzzchina.com GGV's Evolving for the Next Billion podcast: https://nextbn.ggvc.com/podcasts/ Bernard Leong's Analyse Asia: https://analyse.asia Carve Outs: Extraterrestrial: https://www.amazon.com/Extraterrestrial-First-Intelligent-Beyond-Earth-ebook/dp/B081TTY4NX/ John Luttig's newsletter: https://luttig.substack.com Episode Sources: Episode 258: Meituan Dianping with Liza Lin - Analyse Asia http://meituan.todayir.com/attachment/20180907112826231236667_en.pdf http://meituan.todayir.com/attachment/2020041708160280279238680_en.pdf http://www.yawenlei.com/uploads/4/4/3/4/44340649/asr_lei.pdf http://www.yourtechstory.com/2019/04/06/wang-xing-chinese-billionaire-businessman-founder-meituan/ https://about.meituan.com/en https://analyse.asia/2018/07/28/episode-258-meituan-dianping-with-liza-lin/ https://archive.org/details/aisuperpowerschi0000leek/page/22/mode/2up https://chinatechinvestor.simplecast.com/episodes/43-alibaba-has-a-meituan-problem-can-they-solve-it-with-11-billion-nTvmG0A5 https://cn.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUKTRE7433HI20110504 https://daxueconsulting.com/o2o-food-delivery-market-in-china/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ele.me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meituan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Xing https://medium.com/@Loisinbeijing/online-food-delivery-market-in-china-and-why-ele-me-is-losing-the-food-delivery-wars-17ef912d8f53 https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/20/technology/meituan-dianping-ipo/index.html https://nextbn.ggvc.com/opinions/meituan-dianpings-path-towards-profitability/ https://nextbn.ggvc.com/podcast/s1-ep-5-tao-zhang-of-dianping-on-merging-with-meituan-groupon/ https://secure.fundsupermart.com/fsm/article/view/rcms202620/meituan-dianping-the-unicorn-that-might-one-day-become-china-s-next-ten-bagger https://secure.fundsupermart.com/fsm/article/view/rcms204700/meituan-dianping-the-undisputed-king-of-china-s-45-billion-dollar-online-food-delivery-industry https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/49925729-dongtalk/5288005-three-campaigns-of-meituan-dianping-in-2018 https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/19/meituan-700m/?_ga=2.56564267.1010056541.1614018328-150822071.1609868284 https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/30/baidu-offline-to-online-20-billion-cny/?_ga=2.59578797.1010056541.1614018328-150822071.1609868284 https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/08/meituan-and-dianping-chinas-top-group-deals-sites-merge-in-multi-billion-dollar-deal/ https://thehustle.co/01272021-bytedance-valuation/#:~:text=ByteDance is currently valued at,%24800B) https://venturebeat.com/2008/05/26/chinese-local-review-site-dianping-a-lot-more-than-a-yelp-for-china/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170615042020/http://www.fox14tv.com/story/35003690/meituan-dianping-becomes-the-first-worldwide-on-demand-delivery-platform-to-process-more-than-10-million-orders-and-deliveries-per-day https://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-02-22/video-of-brawling-deliverymen-sets-chinese-internet-abuzz-101057682.html https://www.forbes.com/global/2011/0509/companies-wang-xing-china-groupon-friendster-cloner.html?sh=517b2d5955a6 https://www.ft.com/content/05686da9-60f8-4a3a-a5c5-95155bd01ffe https://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibaba-raises-11-billion-in-hong-kong-secondary-listing-2019-11-20 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155778/china-number-of-wechat-mini-program-daily-active-users/ https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-10-meituan-the-super-app-that-won-against-a-thousand-clones https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-25-the-o2o-local-services-war-alibaba-vs-meituan-part-1-eleme https://www.techbuzzchina.com/episodes/ep-26-the-o2o-local-services-war-alibaba-vs-meituan-part-2-koubei https://www.techinasia.com/5000-group-buy-sites-in-china-but-no-ones-making-money https://www.techinasia.com/china-online-food-ordering-startup-eleme-raises-80-million-dollars https://www.techinasia.com/chinas-successful-founders-afraid-copycat https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2017/08/wheel-life-china-the-fast-and-the-furious/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-58175 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-dianping-valued-at-4-billion-1427962959 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-meituan-dianping-files-for-ipo-reveals-loss-of-nearly-3-billion-in-2017-1529895226 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-meituan-dianping-raises-3-3-billion-in-biggest-startup-round-ever-1453211614?mod=article_inline https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-app-meituan-raises-4-2-billion-in-ipo-1536819691 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-startups-meituan-com-and-dianping-near-multibillion-dollar-merger-1444188561 https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-gain-billions-from-chinese-tech-ipo-1538041120 https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-including-tencent-priceline-pump-4-billion-into-online-lifestyle-platform-1508413127 https://www.wsj.com/articles/offering-discounts-and-delivery-meituan-wants-to-become-chinas-next-internet-giant-1529578801 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wxgQVjDviQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruyCPdUz1J0 https://youtu.be/IgDeiGpmXaQ https://youtu.be/z9NI-UAZDvw

Wang Xing is CEO of tech titan Meituan. Why is he still obsessed with an obscure social media platform he founded a generation ago?Read the article by Zeyi Yang: https://www.protocol.com/china/china-digital-ghost-town-mayorNarrated by Kaiser Kuo.

Lumost'un 32. bölümünde konuğumuz, 225 milyar $’lık piyasa değeriyle, Alibaba ve Tencent’in ardından Çin’in halka açık en değerli üçüncü şirketi Meituan Dianping. Pandeminin başladığı mart ayından bu yana, piyasa değeri yaklaşık 3 kat artmış bir şirket Meituan Dianping . Son 1 yıl içinde işlem yapan farklı kullanıcısı sayısı 450 milyondan fazla. Bu kullanıcıların ortalama sistemden aldığı servis sayısı ise 25. Platformunda 6,3 milyondan fazla aktif satıcı bulunuyor. Şirket, Çin'de 2.800'den fazla şehir ve bölgede faaliyet gösteriyor. Bu rakamlar karşımızda korkutucu bir devin olduğunu anlatmak adına yeterli muhtemelen. Bu bölümde önce Meituan’ın kurucusu Wang Xing’in hikayesine bakacağız. Meituan öncesi Amerika’dan başarılı olan girişim fikirlerini nasıl Çin’e uyarladığını konuşacağız. Çin’in Yelp’i Dianping ile Meituan’ın birleşmesinin her ikisi için neden bu kadar önemli olduğunu çözümleyeceğiz. Bölümün ikinci kısmında Meituan Dianping için söylenen hizmet sektörünün Amazon’u tanımını açacağız. Meituan Dianping’in gelirlerinin yaklaşık %60’ını oluşturan yemek dağıtım işinde, Dünya’daki benzerlerine göre neyi farklı yaptığını anlamaya çalışacağız. Bölümün son kısmında ise Meituan Dianping’in farklı hizmetleri teker teker platformuna nasıl dahil ettiğine bakacağız. Şirketin gelecek adına taşıdığı riskleri ve buna karşılık sahip olduğu avantajları konuşarak podcast’i kapatacağız.Meituan uygulamasının nasıl çalıştığını anlamak için bu videoyu, şirketin nasıl çalıştığını anlamak için de bu videoyu izleyebilirsiniz.Serinin genelinde ise Çin Teknoloji Dünyası ya da Çin’in devlet politikası üzerine yazılmış 6 kitaptan yararlandım. Bunlar, Rebecca Fannin’in “Tech Titans of China” ve “Silicon Dragon” isimli kitapları, Edward Tse’nin “China’s Disruptors” isimli kitabı, Kai-Fu Lee’nin “AI Super-Powers” isimli kitabı, Elizabeth Economy’nin “The Third Revolution” isimli kitabı ve son olarak da Amy Webb’in “The Big Nine” isimli kitabı. Yine her zaman olduğu gibi podcast’ler ve bloglar da yol gösterici oldu. “Technode” ve “Tech in Asia” da üretilen değerli içeriklerden yararlandım. “Tech Buzz China”, “Inside China Tech”, “Beyond the Valley”, “996” ve “Acquired” da Çin üzerine çok şey öğrendiğim Podcast’ler oldu.

In episode 334, Matthew Brennan returned to discuss his new book "Attention Factory: The Story of Tik Tok & China's ByteDance". Matthew began with the inspiration and the key themes behind the first English book specifically focused on ByteDance, observing the rise of the company. He discuss the backstory of Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance and how he learned from his past experiences to build Toutiao first before embarking on Douyin that eventually led to Tik Tok. Last but not least, Matthew debunked the common misconceptions on Tik Tok and ByteDance, explained how their business models work and offered a glimpse to the challenges ahead for the company in the near future. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Matthew Brennan, Co-founder of China Channel and author of “ (chinachannel.co, @mbrennanchina , Linkedin, Wechat:Yowdy-CQ) As the highest recurring guest on the podcast, it’s great to welcome you back. First question: what have you been up to since our last conversation? “Attention Factory - The Story of Tik Tok and China’s ByteDance” by Matthew Brennan What is the inspiration behind writing this book? What are the key themes for this book? Who are the major audiences that you want to target in this book? Tik Tok and ByteDance are often characterized by Western commentators and media as a threat to Facebook, Twitter and even to the US government itself. What are the key misconceptions about Tik Tok and ByteDance?  Probably this is the first book which dives in depth into the background of Zhang Yiming, the founder of Bytedance, and the surprise is that he used to work for China’s twitter clone, Fanfou (started by Wang Xing, now founder and CEO of Meituan-Dianping) and was shut down by the authorities. Can you elaborate more on his background and his stint as a CEO with another startup called 99Fang before coming to ByteDance? What has 99Fang taught Zhang Yiming in the process? After he resigned from 99Fang, he started ByteDance and it was not with Tik Tok that he started his foray. He did Toutiao, can you talk about the design concepts and what Toutiao taught the ByteDance team? One can think of the success of Tik Tok in three stages: Douyin in China, acquisition of Musical.ly and then expanding globally across the decade of 2010 to 2020. Let’s start with Douyin first, how did the app cross the chasm to drive users? Tencent has tried to challenge Douyin on the homeground with Weishi, what did they get wrong and why have they failed to challenge Tik Tok?  What are the key business models for Tik Tok and Douyin from ByteDance? How does the app bring revenues to the company? How are the apps localized or globalized to ensure a better user experience?  There are different ways to look at Tik Tok. One interesting insight was from Eugene Wei’s recent article “Tik Tok and the Sorting Hat”, where Tik Tok does not need the social graph but rather rely on the recommendation engine algorithm to push the interests of the user, which makes Tik Tok a more direct competitor to Youtube. What are your thoughts on how one should think of Tik Tok as a mobile app or social network or video network? Probably, we should talk about what happened to Tik Tok in the US this year. They have hired Kevin Mayer, former head of Disney+ and then Donald Trump threatened to shut them down, and first there was supposed to be an acquisition from Microsoft, but ended up with Oracle and Walmart clinching a partnership deal. Can you share your thoughts on what happened and where this is likely to go before & after the US elections? What are the key challenges you see for ByteDance in the coming year? Closing Do you have any recommendations that have recently inspired you? Where can our audience find you and your new book “Attention Factory”? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Attention Factory: The Story of Tik Tok & China’s ByteDance with Matthew Brennan

หวางซิง ผู้ร่วมก่อตั้งของ Meituan Dianping ให้เครดิตกับความสำเร็จของ Facebook ในสหรัฐฯมากกว่าทศวรรษที่ผ่านมา เพราะถือเป็นแรงบันดาลใจที่สำคัญให้เขาเลิกเรียนระดับบัณฑิตศึกษาและหันมาสร้างธุรกิจในประเทศจีน ซึ่งตอนนี้ได้ทำให้บริษัทของเขาอย่าง Meituan Dianping กลายมาเป็นผู้นำในแพลตฟอร์มอีคอมเมิร์ซสำหรับงานด้านบริการในจีนอยู่ในขณะนี้ เลือกฟังกันได้เลยนะครับ อย่าลืมกด Follow ติดตาม PodCast ช่อง Geek Forever’s Podcast ของผมกันด้วยนะครับ =========================ติดตาม ด.ดล Blog ผ่าน Line OA เพียงคลิก :http://line.me/ti/p/~@tharadhol =========================ช่องทางติดตาม ด.ดล Blog เพิ่มเติมได้ที่Fanpage : www.facebook.com/tharadhol.blogBlockdit : www.blockdit.com/tharadhol.blogTwitter : www.twitter.com/tharadholInstragram : instragram.com/tharadholTikTok : tiktok.com/@tharadhol.blogLinkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/tharadholWebsite : www.tharadhol.com

各位好，我是小丹尼，谈车说科技。为什么要做这期问答沟通视频呢？原因是我感觉欠大家的问题太多了，积累了一屁股债，所以本集问答视频我精选概括出了7个问题：你们的问题太多了我没法全部回答，因为我需要时间去做DannyData视频和分析工具，所以我精选出这7个共性问题来回答；同时，我又不想把这些问题的回答放在DannyData系列视频里，不然又要被人骂跑题太严重了，所以我会不定期做一集问答视频。接下来我分别来回答。第1问：你是如何看待“巫师财经”的呢？这个问题我在之前【DannyData第2集】王兴的深度思考，对美团的成功有什么影响？的开头讲过：大意就是“君子和而不同”，巫师财经是我们做视频的标杆之一，但明眼人就能看出“披萨并不是打卤馕”。我认为DannyData视频和巫师财经各有所长，顺便带你们复习一下我在上集瑞幸咖啡里讲到的“价值曲线”：这是我心中巫师财经和DannyData的价值曲线，你可以看出两者的区别。比如巫师财经在先发优势、故事戏剧性和资本领域领先DannyData，而DannyData在商业模式分析、数据支持领先巫师财经。但说到底，我们都有高水准的分析逻辑、后期制作，而且努力的诚意度满满，看看DannyData和巫师财经的视频背后都是万字的中英文稿，你就明白了。其实从一名观众的角度来讲，DannyData和巫师财经给你们提供了不同价值，让你们多了一种选择，难道这不好吗？就像我既喝星巴克又喝瑞幸，偶尔也来杯雀巢咖啡。我认为作为一名观众，很多时候没必要去站不同的队伍，而是去吸收各方优点就好了。就像先生在生前经常骂金庸，但我作为一名读者，两位先生的作品和言行我都很欣赏，我从来不选择去站还是去站金庸，我只是好好学习他们的优点就好了。顺便补充几句，现在有不少视频去分析”巫师财经为什么这么火”，其实在我看来，你看完这些视频，你也很难做出类似“巫师财经”高质量水准的视频，只能做出一些粗略的模仿：比如抓明星热点、加一些类似的动画和配乐、暗示自己背景有多牛比又搞了几个亿的大项目、不时CUE一下大家去看自己之前或之后的视频等等，这些其实都不是核心能力。那核心能力是什么呢？在于文稿背后的功底，这都是在之前学习和工作经验中长期积累出来的，你的分析到底是否符合逻辑、有没有干货，懂行的人一眼就能看出来你的专业程度。比如我在做【DannyData第4集】瑞幸真是割美国韭菜，补贴中国人喝咖啡吗？时，专门搜了一下之前b站浏览量最高的分析瑞幸咖啡的视频，我看完了感觉真的是太业余了，只是一个信息二传手，缺乏自己的逻辑分析。那现在我很高兴的告诉大家，目前分析瑞幸咖啡排名第一的已经是DannyData视频了：这也是我们做DannyData视频一直以来的目标：只要我分析一家公司，就要做到市面上的最好，我之前也发过一条朋友圈阐述过这个目标：当然，我希望能看到更好的分析视频尽快超越我，这不是客套话，因为我也想学到更多。第2问：你之后要分析哪些公司呢？接下来的3期DannyData视频我会讲：蔚来汽车、B站和小米。其他的我还没有想好，要看你们的反馈，请给我留言。顺便说一下我选择分析公司的标准，有四条：1）科技公司。这里所说的科技公司范围比较广泛，比如我之前所讲的特斯拉、美团、拼多多和瑞幸，虽然都属于不同行业，但科技属性比较强，所以我也把他们算在其中。2）优先分析上市公司。因为数据比较全面靠谱，有经审计的财报数据。但是你要非说“上市公司数据也有造假啊”，那这个我真是无法反驳了，但我只能说，上市公司的数据已经是市面上能找到的最靠谱数据了，而我的分析也绝不仅仅停留在给你们抛出数据而已，只是数据可以帮助你们更接近真相事实。之前我在群里跟大家说，现在你们爱说“以我为准”，但其实我认为不存在“准”这一说，就像哪怕我用一手的财报数据，也只是更接近事实真相，因为事实往往是复杂的、灰度的。所以下回你再听到谁说“以我为准”，那只是霸道总裁的口号，你们随便听听就得了。3）成长速度快的公司。之前看到不少朋友说感谢我，因为他们看了我的视频买了这家公司的股票，结果赚了不少。但要我说这还真不是我的功劳，要谢你就去谢谢这家公司成长的快，不如买一些他们的产品去继续支持。顺便再跟大家说一句，目前除了b站发给过我们1000块钱的优秀创作者奖励，还没有任何公司给过我们钱，哪怕是之前看我视频的很多人下载了瑞幸咖啡app并下单，瑞幸也从来没有给过我一分钱。所以你们非说我恰饭的，可以再等等。如果我们之后真恰到了饭，我也会跟大家明确说的，但我不会写软文做软广。在我看来，恰饭这件事对我们这种创业团队也不是坏事吧，毕竟团队是不能靠白嫖观众们养活的，只不过恰饭的姿势要优美一些，不要吃了软饭还要装大爷。4）看你们的反馈，请给我留言。以上就是我选择分析公司的标准。第3问：你是如何分析公司的？这个问题很大，我先抽取要点跟大家讲讲，如果你们感兴趣，以后我可以组织线下聚会再跟大家详细聊。首先，我做DannyData的准备工作是读完这家公司的招股书、近几年的财报、电话会原文、创始团队的演讲材料等等，全是一手信息。接下来，我还需要看一些研究报告作为交叉验证。当然，这些准备工作都离不开我之前的积累，比如下一集DannyData视频我要讲蔚来汽车，其实我已经跟踪蔚来这家公司很长时间了，文章也写过不少，感兴趣可以去翻，作为你看下一集DannyData视频的预习材料：【小丹尼】蔚来到底是亏400亿还是亏220亿？都不准确【小丹尼】蔚来2019年三季度交付量要点分析【小丹尼】蔚来销量为什么不行了？【小丹尼】雷军送蔚来不兑现，我猜过程很有意思【小丹尼】谁希望特斯拉和蔚来倒闭？【小丹尼】特斯拉跳楼降价，蔚来为什么不跟随降价？【小丹尼】特斯拉和蔚来的战争还没有开打之后，在我写文稿时，行内人都能看出来我使用的分析框架是基于“金字塔原理”，是麦肯锡咨询公司顾问发明的结构化思考和沟通框架，你可以简单理解为“1个结论+3个论据支撑”。但是，其实我对“金字塔原理”是“又爱又恨”的。为什么说”爱”呢？因为我认为“金字塔原理”确实是一个思考和阐述自己观点的好工具。当我面临选择“讲故事”，还是阐明清楚自己分析观点时，虽然我知道“讲故事”绝对更加吸引眼球，但我仍然选择后者。那为什么说”恨”呢？只是用“金字塔原理”，不免有些教条，说白了就是缺乏你们所说的“故事戏剧性”。虽然我不讲故事，但你能发现DannyData视频往往并不只是停留在“1个结论+3个论据支撑”，我还会在视频的后半部分跟大家讲一些我的价值观，说白了就是不只是讲科技，还讲一些人文，因为科技和人文都是我的兴趣所在。虽然因为我讲这些东西会被骂“跑题了”或者“废话太多”，但我仍然会坚持，因为我的每集DannyData视频内容，不想停留在只分析这家公司而已，而想带你去看看这家公司背后更大的世界。第4问：你的专业背景是什么？这个问题好回答，我本硕专业都是学计算机的，本科在某985，硕士在某世界Top 20的学校，毕业先在某纽交所上市公司战略投资部工作了2年多，然后做某咨询公司。为什么我都说“某”呢？留点悬念嘛，就像谈恋爱一样，第一次见面不能就把自己爸妈在哪工作、家里有几套房全都说出来吧，咱们先聊着，以后再慢慢了解。目前DannyData是我们的一个创业项目，包括了你们看到的视频内容和数据可视化工具。第5问：你是如何看待“数据具有两面性”的？大家经常说“数据是具有两面性”的，而且之前我看到了我在关注的李自然说了这么一段话：“有一些媒体，表面上很专业，列一大堆的数据出来，财报等等做成截图，天眼查上面查了股东名册，画一堆表，好像很专业。投资人的姓名，一个个的给你念出来，但它的内核仍然是很简单的东西，并不是真懂，听起来很空中楼阁的感觉，而且专业人士一听，就觉得漏洞百出了。”首先我要说，整体来看李自然这段话确实没错，有些up主确实是表面用了一些研报数据、天眼查数据截图等等，但讲的确实没什么干货，比如我之前动态里讲过某位看似很火的up主，其实只是“故事会”，并没有什么自己的逻辑分析，是谁我就不再说了。但是，你要注意，这并不是数据本身的错误，就像你说一个纯素食者营养搭配不好，难道是吃青菜就是错误吗？或者这人跑步过量膝盖搞伤了，难道跑步就是错误吗？我认为有准确的一手数据分析，一定要比没有一手数据的分析更为接近事实真相。只不过有些人把数据用错了，再加上自己的分析不专业，才会造成李自然所说的结果。所以我说分析离不开数据，但也不能只看数据，就像我做咨询时也经常说：“只看财报数据，就如同看着后视镜开车”。所以，我们还要进行有逻辑的分析，才能更加还原接近事实的真相，这才是核心竞争力。第6问：能不能推荐一些书籍或学习材料？这个问题比较大，因为我看过的好书太多了，而且仍然有很多好书还没有看。我可以跟你讲一些我推崇的“派系”，比如投资我推崇的是巴菲特“价值投资派”，相信你从DannyData视频里也能看出些线索了，所以巴菲特“价值投资派”的相关内容你可以好好看看，比如巴菲特致股东的信，《穷查理宝典》、《聪明的投资者》等等。与此同时，我最近比较喜欢听一些节目，比如《圆桌派》、《一千零一夜》、《八分》、《锵锵三人行》等等，以前比较喜欢听《晓说》、《晓年鉴》这些，我认为有两点好处：一是可以从不同的人角度来丰富我的观点，让我自己不再狭隘；二是比较现实，我感觉到时间的紧迫，因为自己每天可以盯在手机和电脑前的时间也就那么多，听一些节目可以将我的时间利用最大化，比如我可以在运动、吃饭、出差赶路、收拾房间的同时丰富自己的思想。我始终认为，如果你想有好的内容输出，比如做出高水准的DannyData视频，那就必须要有持续好的内容输入。第7问：怎样加入你们团队？我在之前发布了【小丹尼】说一件DannyData的大事：招募共事者，其实我感觉要求已经写的很清楚了，而且很简单，就两条：1） 将你的简历发给我；2） 写一些你对DannyData视频和工具的想法或建议。而且我专门附加了一句：要求确实很简单，但完成程度取决于你自己。但是我看到仍然有不少朋友只是完成了第一条：把自己的简历发给了我。其实我也能想象到这些朋友背后的想法：“反正我也要找工作，简历早都写好了，那我就投一个简历给小丹尼试试呗，没准有机会呢。”但是在我看来，这是一种非常不走心的行为，给你们分享一下我硕士毕业后是如何找到第一份工作的吧。估计有朋友纳闷：Danny你之前不是学计算机的吗？怎么后来又去做战投和咨询了呢？你是怎么转行的呢？其实我找第一份工作，在一家纽交所上市公司的战略投资部之前，先是在这家公司里做了半年的总裁办管理培训生。当时有30多个应聘者，而且这30多个应聘者里不乏有清华北大常春藤的学生，比我这类985毕业的学校要更好，但最终只选了我一个人。而且最终面试我的，是这家公司的老大，我进入这家公司时是发展最快的时期，这也是我为什么选择进入这家公司的原因。那么如何在30多个应聘者里脱颖而出呢？原因当然有很多，我就举一些小细节吧。我知道最终面试我的公司老大，他的时间绝对是非常宝贵的，你想想一家纽交所上市公司的老大抽空去见我这种刚毕业的菜鸡学生，当然要把时间利用的最大化了。所以，我把自己“又臭又长”的个人简历精选出内容，对应我要应聘的岗位要求，专门做了一张表格，彩色打印并精心封皮包装。我还研究了这家公司老大是Google的校友，我本身也很喜欢Google的产品和企业文化，所以我准备了之前读过的一本Google创始人写的书送给了他。当时，这家公司老大绝对是企业界的“网红”，我发现有些应聘者做出非常幼稚的行为，比如应聘时还要去找他合影或者要个签名，要注意你是来应聘的，不是来追星的，所以这些行为我是绝对不会去做的，而且本身我也不好这口，我认为让对方认识到你的才华，远远比要个合影、要个签名什么的有用的多。以上只是一些小细节，最终决定因素还是在于你的才华。但是细节绝对能反映出你对待这件事的态度，如果你连应聘时都不展现出自己的“诚意”，那对方如何能相信你在以后的工作中表现突出呢？我认为把所有工作上的事情都做到90分以上，远远比有时候得100分但有时候只能得60分更重要，其实老板要的就是你“靠谱”，类似咱们国家乒乓球、羽毛球队选择选手去参加奥运会的标准一样，要的是稳定发挥好的选手，而不是时而牛比、时而菜鸡的选手。希望以上这些话无论是你找我应聘也好，或者是将来你去其他公司应聘也好，能对你有一些帮助。好了本期问答视频就到这里，欢迎你加入我们团队，也欢迎你给我提问或者给我留言：你还想看我分析哪家公司呢？Tech Never Die，我们下集DannyData——蔚来见。Previews中文版本【DannyData第1集】特斯拉上海工厂，有什么影响？【DannyData第2集】王兴的深度思考，对美团的成功有什么影响？【DannyData第3集】拼多多只是一家电商公司吗？【DannyData第4集】瑞幸真是割美国韭菜，补贴中国人喝咖啡吗？EN Version【DannyData 01】What is the impact of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory?【DannyData 02】Wang Xing's deep thinking and Meituan's success?【DannyData 03】Is PDD just an e-commerce company?【DannyData 04】Luckin takes advantage of American investors?

各位好，我是小丹尼，谈车说科技。为什么要做这期问答沟通视频呢？原因是我感觉欠大家的问题太多了，积累了一屁股债，所以本集问答视频我精选概括出了7个问题： 你们的问题太多了我没法全部回答，因为我需要时间去做DannyData视频和分析工具，所以我精选出这7个共性问题来回答；同时，我又不想把这些问题的回答放在DannyData系列视频里，不然又要被人骂跑题太严重了，所以我会不定期做一集问答视频。 接下来我分别来回答。 第1问：你是如何看待“巫师财经”的呢？这个问题我在之前【DannyData第2集】王兴的深度思考，对美团的成功有什么影响？的开头讲过：大意就是“君子和而不同”，巫师财经是我们做视频的标杆之一，但明眼人就能看出“披萨并不是打卤馕”。 我认为DannyData视频和巫师财经各有所长，顺便带你们复习一下我在上集瑞幸咖啡里讲到的“价值曲线”： 这是我心中巫师财经和DannyData的价值曲线，你可以看出两者的区别。比如巫师财经在先发优势、故事戏剧性和资本领域领先DannyData，而DannyData在商业模式分析、数据支持领先巫师财经。但说到底，我们都有高水准的分析逻辑、后期制作，而且努力的诚意度满满，看看DannyData和巫师财经的视频背后都是万字的中英文稿，你就明白了。 其实从一名观众的角度来讲，DannyData和巫师财经给你们提供了不同价值，让你们多了一种选择，难道这不好吗？就像我既喝星巴克又喝瑞幸，偶尔也来杯雀巢咖啡。我认为作为一名观众，很多时候没必要去站不同的队伍，而是去吸收各方优点就好了。就像先生在生前经常骂金庸，但我作为一名读者，两位先生的作品和言行我都很欣赏，我从来不选择去站还是去站金庸，我只是好好学习他们的优点就好了。 顺便补充几句，现在有不少视频去分析”巫师财经为什么这么火”，其实在我看来，你看完这些视频，你也很难做出类似“巫师财经”高质量水准的视频，只能做出一些粗略的模仿：比如抓明星热点、加一些类似的动画和配乐、暗示自己背景有多牛比又搞了几个亿的大项目、不时CUE一下大家去看自己之前或之后的视频等等，这些其实都不是核心能力。 那核心能力是什么呢？在于文稿背后的功底，这都是在之前学习和工作经验中长期积累出来的，你的分析到底是否符合逻辑、有没有干货，懂行的人一眼就能看出来你的专业程度。比如我在做【DannyData第4集】瑞幸真是割美国韭菜，补贴中国人喝咖啡吗？时，专门搜了一下之前b站浏览量最高的分析瑞幸咖啡的视频，我看完了感觉真的是太业余了，只是一个信息二传手，缺乏自己的逻辑分析。那现在我很高兴的告诉大家，目前分析瑞幸咖啡排名第一的已经是DannyData视频了：这也是我们做DannyData视频一直以来的目标：只要我分析一家公司，就要做到市面上的最好，我之前也发过一条朋友圈阐述过这个目标： 当然，我希望能看到更好的分析视频尽快超越我，这不是客套话，因为我也想学到更多。 第2问：你之后要分析哪些公司呢？接下来的3期DannyData视频我会讲：蔚来汽车、B站和小米。其他的我还没有想好，要看你们的反馈，请给我留言。 顺便说一下我选择分析公司的标准，有四条：1）科技公司。这里所说的科技公司范围比较广泛，比如我之前所讲的特斯拉、美团、拼多多和瑞幸，虽然都属于不同行业，但科技属性比较强，所以我也把他们算在其中。 2）优先分析上市公司。因为数据比较全面靠谱，有经审计的财报数据。但是你要非说“上市公司数据也有造假啊”，那这个我真是无法反驳了，但我只能说，上市公司的数据已经是市面上能找到的最靠谱数据了，而我的分析也绝不仅仅停留在给你们抛出数据而已，只是数据可以帮助你们更接近真相事实。之前我在群里跟大家说，现在你们爱说“以我为准”，但其实我认为不存在“准”这一说，就像哪怕我用一手的财报数据，也只是更接近事实真相，因为事实往往是复杂的、灰度的。所以下回你再听到谁说“以我为准”，那只是霸道总裁的口号，你们随便听听就得了。 3）成长速度快的公司。之前看到不少朋友说感谢我，因为他们看了我的视频买了这家公司的股票，结果赚了不少。但要我说这还真不是我的功劳，要谢你就去谢谢这家公司成长的快，不如买一些他们的产品去继续支持。顺便再跟大家说一句，目前除了b站发给过我们1000块钱的优秀创作者奖励，还没有任何公司给过我们钱，哪怕是之前看我视频的很多人下载了瑞幸咖啡app并下单，瑞幸也从来没有给过我一分钱。所以你们非说我恰饭的，可以再等等。如果我们之后真恰到了饭，我也会跟大家明确说的，但我不会写软文做软广。在我看来，恰饭这件事对我们这种创业团队也不是坏事吧，毕竟团队是不能靠白嫖观众们养活的，只不过恰饭的姿势要优美一些，不要吃了软饭还要装大爷。 4）看你们的反馈，请给我留言。 以上就是我选择分析公司的标准。 第3问：你是如何分析公司的？这个问题很大，我先抽取要点跟大家讲讲，如果你们感兴趣，以后我可以组织线下聚会再跟大家详细聊。 首先，我做DannyData的准备工作是读完这家公司的招股书、近几年的财报、电话会原文、创始团队的演讲材料等等，全是一手信息。接下来，我还需要看一些研究报告作为交叉验证。当然，这些准备工作都离不开我之前的积累，比如下一集DannyData视频我要讲蔚来汽车，其实我已经跟踪蔚来这家公司很长时间了，文章也写过不少，感兴趣可以去翻，作为你看下一集DannyData视频的预习材料：【小丹尼】蔚来到底是亏400亿还是亏220亿？都不准确【小丹尼】蔚来2019年三季度交付量要点分析【小丹尼】蔚来销量为什么不行了？【小丹尼】雷军送蔚来不兑现，我猜过程很有意思【小丹尼】谁希望特斯拉和蔚来倒闭？【小丹尼】特斯拉跳楼降价，蔚来为什么不跟随降价？【小丹尼】特斯拉和蔚来的战争还没有开打 之后，在我写文稿时，行内人都能看出来我使用的分析框架是基于“金字塔原理”，是麦肯锡咨询公司顾问发明的结构化思考和沟通框架，你可以简单理解为“1个结论+3个论据支撑”。 但是，其实我对“金字塔原理”是“又爱又恨”的。 为什么说”爱”呢？ 因为我认为“金字塔原理”确实是一个思考和阐述自己观点的好工具。当我面临选择“讲故事”，还是阐明清楚自己分析观点时，虽然我知道“讲故事”绝对更加吸引眼球，但我仍然选择后者。 那为什么说”恨”呢？ 只是用“金字塔原理”，不免有些教条，说白了就是缺乏你们所说的“故事戏剧性”。虽然我不讲故事，但你能发现DannyData视频往往并不只是停留在“1个结论+3个论据支撑”，我还会在视频的后半部分跟大家讲一些我的价值观，说白了就是不只是讲科技，还讲一些人文，因为科技和人文都是我的兴趣所在。虽然因为我讲这些东西会被骂“跑题了”或者“废话太多”，但我仍然会坚持，因为我的每集DannyData视频内容，不想停留在只分析这家公司而已，而想带你去看看这家公司背后更大的世界。 第4问：你的专业背景是什么？这个问题好回答，我本硕专业都是学计算机的，本科在某985，硕士在某世界Top 20的学校，毕业先在某纽交所上市公司战略投资部工作了2年多，然后做某咨询公司。为什么我都说“某”呢？留点悬念嘛，就像谈恋爱一样，第一次见面不能就把自己爸妈在哪工作、家里有几套房全都说出来吧，咱们先聊着，以后再慢慢了解。目前DannyData是我们的一个创业项目，包括了你们看到的视频内容和数据可视化工具。 第5问：你是如何看待“数据具有两面性”的？大家经常说“数据是具有两面性”的，而且之前我看到了我在关注的李自然说了这么一段话：“有一些媒体，表面上很专业，列一大堆的数据出来，财报等等做成截图，天眼查上面查了股东名册，画一堆表，好像很专业。投资人的姓名，一个个的给你念出来，但它的内核仍然是很简单的东西，并不是真懂，听起来很空中楼阁的感觉，而且专业人士一听，就觉得漏洞百出了。” 首先我要说，整体来看李自然这段话确实没错，有些up主确实是表面用了一些研报数据、天眼查数据截图等等，但讲的确实没什么干货，比如我之前动态里讲过某位看似很火的up主，其实只是“故事会”，并没有什么自己的逻辑分析，是谁我就不再说了。 但是，你要注意，这并不是数据本身的错误，就像你说一个纯素食者营养搭配不好，难道是吃青菜就是错误吗？或者这人跑步过量膝盖搞伤了，难道跑步就是错误吗？ 我认为有准确的一手数据分析，一定要比没有一手数据的分析更为接近事实真相。只不过有些人把数据用错了，再加上自己的分析不专业，才会造成李自然所说的结果。 所以我说分析离不开数据，但也不能只看数据，就像我做咨询时也经常说：“只看财报数据，就如同看着后视镜开车”。所以，我们还要进行有逻辑的分析，才能更加还原接近事实的真相，这才是核心竞争力。 第6问：能不能推荐一些书籍或学习材料？这个问题比较大，因为我看过的好书太多了，而且仍然有很多好书还没有看。 我可以跟你讲一些我推崇的“派系”，比如投资我推崇的是巴菲特“价值投资派”，相信你从DannyData视频里也能看出些线索了，所以巴菲特“价值投资派”的相关内容你可以好好看看，比如巴菲特致股东的信，《穷查理宝典》、《聪明的投资者》等等。 与此同时，我最近比较喜欢听一些节目，比如《圆桌派》、《一千零一夜》、《八分》、《锵锵三人行》等等，以前比较喜欢听《晓说》、《晓年鉴》这些，我认为有两点好处：一是可以从不同的人角度来丰富我的观点，让我自己不再狭隘；二是比较现实，我感觉到时间的紧迫，因为自己每天可以盯在手机和电脑前的时间也就那么多，听一些节目可以将我的时间利用最大化，比如我可以在运动、吃饭、出差赶路、收拾房间的同时丰富自己的思想。我始终认为，如果你想有好的内容输出，比如做出高水准的DannyData视频，那就必须要有持续好的内容输入。 第7问：怎样加入你们团队？我在之前发布了【小丹尼】说一件DannyData的大事：招募共事者，其实我感觉要求已经写的很清楚了，而且很简单，就两条： 1） 将你的简历发给我；2） 写一些你对DannyData视频和工具的想法或建议。 而且我专门附加了一句：要求确实很简单，但完成程度取决于你自己。 但是我看到仍然有不少朋友只是完成了第一条：把自己的简历发给了我。 其实我也能想象到这些朋友背后的想法：“反正我也要找工作，简历早都写好了，那我就投一个简历给小丹尼试试呗，没准有机会呢。” 但是在我看来，这是一种非常不走心的行为，给你们分享一下我硕士毕业后是如何找到第一份工作的吧。估计有朋友纳闷：Danny你之前不是学计算机的吗？怎么后来又去做战投和咨询了呢？你是怎么转行的呢？ 其实我找第一份工作，在一家纽交所上市公司的战略投资部之前，先是在这家公司里做了半年的总裁办管理培训生。当时有30多个应聘者，而且这30多个应聘者里不乏有清华北大常春藤的学生，比我这类985毕业的学校要更好，但最终只选了我一个人。而且最终面试我的，是这家公司的老大，我进入这家公司时是发展最快的时期，这也是我为什么选择进入这家公司的原因。 那么如何在30多个应聘者里脱颖而出呢？原因当然有很多，我就举一些小细节吧。 我知道最终面试我的公司老大，他的时间绝对是非常宝贵的，你想想一家纽交所上市公司的老大抽空去见我这种刚毕业的菜鸡学生，当然要把时间利用的最大化了。 所以，我把自己“又臭又长”的个人简历精选出内容，对应我要应聘的岗位要求，专门做了一张表格，彩色打印并精心封皮包装。我还研究了这家公司老大是Google的校友，我本身也很喜欢Google的产品和企业文化，所以我准备了之前读过的一本Google创始人写的书送给了他。 当时，这家公司老大绝对是企业界的“网红”，我发现有些应聘者做出非常幼稚的行为，比如应聘时还要去找他合影或者要个签名，要注意你是来应聘的，不是来追星的，所以这些行为我是绝对不会去做的，而且本身我也不好这口，我认为让对方认识到你的才华，远远比要个合影、要个签名什么的有用的多。 以上只是一些小细节，最终决定因素还是在于你的才华。但是细节绝对能反映出你对待这件事的态度，如果你连应聘时都不展现出自己的“诚意”，那对方如何能相信你在以后的工作中表现突出呢？我认为把所有工作上的事情都做到90分以上，远远比有时候得100分但有时候只能得60分更重要，其实老板要的就是你“靠谱”，类似咱们国家乒乓球、羽毛球队选择选手去参加奥运会的标准一样，要的是稳定发挥好的选手，而不是时而牛比、时而菜鸡的选手。 希望以上这些话无论是你找我应聘也好，或者是将来你去其他公司应聘也好，能对你有一些帮助。 好了本期问答视频就到这里，欢迎你加入我们团队，也欢迎你给我提问或者给我留言：你还想看我分析哪家公司呢？Tech Never Die，我们下集DannyData——蔚来见。Previews中文版本【DannyData第1集】特斯拉上海工厂，有什么影响？【DannyData第2集】王兴的深度思考，对美团的成功有什么影响？【DannyData第3集】拼多多只是一家电商公司吗？【DannyData第4集】瑞幸真是割美国韭菜，补贴中国人喝咖啡吗？ EN Version【DannyData 01】What is the impact of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory?【DannyData 02】Wang Xing's deep thinking and Meituan's success?【DannyData 03】Is PDD just an e-commerce company?【DannyData 04】Luckin takes advantage of American investors?

In episode 30 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about Renren Inc., the closest Chinese analogue to Facebook. The former near-monopoly on the Chinese social networking space, which had formerly raised $800 million in its 2011 IPO, recently announced that it would sell all of its renren.com social networking assets to Beijing Infinities Technology, a holding company, for a mere $20 million in cash and $40 million worth of stock. This episode explores: what happened? Rui and Ying-Ying follow the winding history of Renren, starting with the background of its founder, Joe Chen; through its acquisition of Wang Xing's Xiaonei social network; through its NYSE listing-- which, by the way, Rui's investment banking firm at the time played a small role in. Though the public offering was successful, even hailed as a “prelude to Facebook's IPO,” things started going downhill from there. By 2016, total revenues had dropped by half to $63 million, and the company was consistently reporting losses of active users. This decline has been so stark, in fact, that when CEO Joe Chen announced in a post on Renren.com that the company had been sold, the post only had about 800 views after 12 hours. What are the reasons for this outcome? What roles have poor strategic decisions, the founder's vision (or lack of vision) and ethics, and Renren's insistence on continually bandwagoning onto the latest hot trend played? How is it that by 2017, 75 percent of Renren Group's revenues were coming from used car sales and financing; and that in contrast, Renren.com business made up just 9 percent of the Group's revenues in Q2 of this year? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join Rui and Ying-Ying in analyzing the rise and fall of one of China's most iconic internet brands. Throughout, our co-hosts also lean into an unspoken question that is perhaps on many of our listeners' minds as well: What lessons can Facebook and other U.S.-based social platforms learn from this incredible story? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Finally, a huge shoutout to our new listeners over at dealstreetasia.com.

In episode 30 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about Renren Inc., the closest Chinese analogue to Facebook. The company — which once had a near-monopoly on the Chinese social networking space, and had raised $800 million in its 2011 IPO — recently announced that it would sell all of its Renren.com social networking assets to Beijing Infinities Technology, a holding company, for a mere $20 million in cash and $40 million worth of stock. This episode explores the question: What happened? Rui and Ying-Ying follow the winding history of Renren, starting with the background of its founder and CEO, Joe Chen, through its acquisition of Wang Xing’s Xiaonei social network and then to its NYSE listing — which, by the way, Rui’s investment banking firm at the time played a small role in. Though the public offering was successful, even hailed as a “prelude to Facebook’s IPO,” things started going downhill from there. By 2016, total revenues had dropped by half to $63 million, and the company was consistently reporting losses of active users. This decline has been so stark, in fact, that when Chen announced in a post on Renren.com that the company had been sold, the post only had about 800 views after 12 hours. What are the reasons for this outcome? What roles have poor strategic decisions, the founder’s ethics and vision (or lack of vision), and Renren’s insistence on continually bandwagoning onto the latest hot trend played? How is it that by 2017, 75 percent of Renren Group’s revenues were coming from used-car sales and financing, and that in contrast, Renren.com’s business made up just 9 percent of the company’s revenues in Q2 of this year? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join Rui and Ying-Ying in analyzing the rise and fall of one of China’s most iconic internet brands. Throughout, our co-hosts also lean into an unspoken question that is perhaps on many of our listeners’ minds as well: What lessons can Facebook and other U.S.-based social platforms learn from this incredible story? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Finally, a huge shout-out to our new listeners over at dealstreetasia.com.

In episode 30 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about Renren Inc., the closest Chinese analogue to Facebook. The former near-monopoly on the Chinese social networking space, which had formerly raised $800 million in its 2011 IPO, recently announced that it would sell all of its renren.com social networking assets to Beijing Infinities Technology, a holding company, for a mere $20 million in cash and $40 million worth of stock. This episode explores: what happened? Rui and Ying-Ying follow the winding history of Renren, starting with the background of its founder, Joe Chen; through its acquisition of Wang Xing’s Xiaonei social network; through its NYSE listing-- which, by the way, Rui’s investment banking firm at the time played a small role in. Though the public offering was successful, even hailed as a “prelude to Facebook’s IPO,” things started going downhill from there. By 2016, total revenues had dropped by half to $63 million, and the compan...

Happy Holidays, TechBuzz listeners! That's right, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, followed closely by Golden Week for the Pandaily team back in Beijing. In honor of the holidays — and to commemorate *almost* six months since we released our first episode of TechBuzz back in April of this year — co-hosts Rui and Ying-Ying are taking off as well! We will be back with a new original episode on October 9.In order to not leave you hanging, and in recognition of Meituan-Dianping's recent IPO in which it raised a healthy $4.2 billion from investors, we share our first ever replay. If you haven't already, have a listen to Episode 10, which we produced back in back in June when Meituan-Dianping was first rumored to be preparing to go public. We talked about its founder, Wang Xing 王兴, and heard from guest James Hong, an angel investor who has known Wang for decades.Thank you for being a loyal listener, and enjoy!As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, like our Facebook page, and don't forget to tweet at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag!

Happy Holidays, TechBuzz listeners! That’s right, it’s Mid-Autumn Festival, followed closely by Golden Week for the Pandaily team back in Beijing. In honor of the holidays — and to commemorate *almost* six months since we released our first episode of TechBuzz back in April of this year — co-hosts Rui and Ying-Ying are taking off as well! We will be back with a new original episode on October 9. In order to not leave you hanging, and in recognition of Meituan-Dianping’s recent IPO in which it raised a healthy $4.2 billion from investors, we share our first ever replay. If you haven’t already, have a listen to Episode 10, which we produced back in back in June when Meituan-Dianping was first rumored to be preparing to go public. We talked about its founder, Wang Xing 王兴, and heard from guest James Hong, an angel investor who has known Wang for decades. Thank you for being a loyal listener, and enjoy! As always, yo...

Happy Holidays, TechBuzz listeners! That’s right, it’s Mid-Autumn Festival, followed closely by Golden Week for the Pandaily team back in Beijing. In honor of the holidays — and to commemorate *almost* six months since we released our first episode of TechBuzz back in April of this year — co-hosts Rui and Ying-Ying are taking off as well! We will be back with a new original episode on October 9. In order to not leave you hanging, and in recognition of Meituan-Dianping’s recent IPO in which it raised a healthy $4.2 billion from investors, we share our first ever replay. If you haven’t already, have a listen to Episode 10, which we produced back in back in June when Meituan-Dianping was first rumored to be preparing to go public. We talked about its founder, Wang Xing 王兴, and heard from guest James Hong, an angel investor who has known Wang for decades.   Thank you for being a loyal listener, and enjoy! As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, like our Facebook page, and don't forget to tweet at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag!

Liza Lin from Wall Street Journal joined us to discuss one of the upstart Internet giants from China: Meituan Dianping with their upcoming IPO and described her recent interview with their charismatic founder, Wang Xing and where the company is heading. We discussed the backstory of the company, Meituan till its merger with Dianping, their focus as the "Amazon of Services" in China, their recent foray into ride-hailing taking on Didi and their shifting alliances from Alibaba to Tencent.  

This week on TechBuzz China by Pandaily, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell you how Wang Xing, the legendary Chinese serial entrepreneur who started out with “copy to China,” is now standing behind one of the largest unicorns in the world, Meituan-Dianping.TechBuzz China by Pandaily is a weekly technology podcast focused on giving you a peek into what's buzzing within the tech community in China. It is co-hosted by Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma, who are both seasoned China watchers with years of experience working in the technology space in China. They uncover and contextualize unique insights, perspectives, and takeaways on headline tech news that don't always make it into English language coverage.Meituan-Dianping has dipped its toes in almost EVERY aspect of any Chinese's life-- including food delivery, payments, ride-hailing, movie tickets sales, and travel booking. The fifth-largest unicorn is the result of a $15 billion merger between the Groupon-clone Meituan and the Yelp-predecessor Dianping, and was last valued at $30 billion, possibly soon to double in valuation if the rumored upcoming IPO holds true.How did Wang Xing create one great venture after another, from the Facebook copycat Xiaonei (now RenRen) to the Twitter clone Fanfo, yet Meituan being his only real success?Why did the the review app Dianping, created a whole year before Yelp, merge with Meituan? And why is Wang Xing now leading Meituan to compete in all these industries? Listen to this week's episode to find out!As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @techbuzzchina and to like our Facebook page!

This week on TechBuzz China by Pandaily, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell you how Wang Xing, the legendary Chinese serial entrepreneur who started out with “copy to China,” is now standing behind one of the largest unicorns in the world, Meituan-Dianping. TechBuzz China by Pandaily is a weekly technology podcast focused on giving you a peek into what’s buzzing within the tech community in China. It is co-hosted by Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma, who are both seasoned China watchers with years of experience working in the technology space in China. They uncover and contextualize unique insights, perspectives, and takeaways on headline tech news that don’t always make it into English language coverage. Meituan-Dianping has dipped its toes in almost EVERY aspect of any Chinese’s life-- including food delivery, payments, ride-hailing, movie tickets sales, and travel booking. The fifth-largest unicorn is the result of a $15 bil...

  This week on TechBuzz China by Pandaily, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell you how Wang Xing, the legendary Chinese serial entrepreneur who started out with “copy to China,” is now standing behind one of the largest unicorns in the world, Meituan-Dianping. TechBuzz China by Pandaily is a weekly technology podcast focused on giving you a peek into what’s buzzing within the tech community in China. It is co-hosted by Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma, who are both seasoned China watchers with years of experience working in the technology space in China. They uncover and contextualize unique insights, perspectives, and takeaways on headline tech news that don’t always make it into English language coverage. Meituan-Dianping has dipped its toes in almost EVERY aspect of any Chinese person’s life — including food delivery, payments, ride hailing, movie tickets sales, and travel booking. The unicorn is the result of a $15 billion merger between the Groupon-clone Meituan and the Yelp-predecessor Dianping, and was last valued at $30 billion, possibly soon to double in valuation if the rumored upcoming IPO comes true. How did Wang Xing create one great venture after another, from the Facebook copycat Xiaonei (now RenRen) to the Twitter clone Fanfo, yet Meituan was his only real success? Why did the the review app Dianping, created a whole year before Yelp, merge with Meituan? And why is Wang Xing now leading Meituan to compete in all these industries? Listen to this week's episode to find out! As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @techbuzzchina and to like our Facebook page!