Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK)/ JD.com (9618.HK

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com said it won an antitrust lawsuit against main rival Alibaba Group Holding, which was ordered by a Beijing court to pay CN¥1bn (US$141m) in damages, more than two years after the Taobao and Tmall operator was slapped with a record fine by market regulators for its monopolistic practices.

The Beijing High People’s Court ruled that Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, “abused its market dominance” and conducted the monopolistic tactic known as “picking one from two”, which caused damage to JD.com’s business.

JD.com hailed the court’s ruling, as it asserted that monopolistic practices, such as “picking one from two”, have hampered market competition and hurt the rights of brands, merchants and consumers.

Baidu Inc-Class A (9888.HK)

Baidu has terminated its planned US$3.6bn acquisition of Nasdaq-listed Joyy's China livestreaming business. Baidu affiliate Moon SPV Ltd. said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that those conditions included “obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.

Joyy confirmed the termination of the deal in its own regulatory filing, stating that it had received notice from Baidu’s affiliate that asserted its right to “cancel the transaction.” Joyy, which owns several platforms beside its livestreaming entity and boasts 277m active users globally, added that it’s now seeking legal advice.

BYD Co Ltd-H (1211.HK)

BYD sold 3m battery-powered cars in 2023, a 62% increase over 2022. The sales comprised of 1.6m fully EVs and another 1.4m hybrids, which are powered by both batteries and gasoline. BYD said its battery and hybrid EV sales in December stood at 340,178 including 190,754 all-EVs. In November, BYD advertised discounts on five models of up to CN¥18,000 (US$2,550).

Another Chinese electric vehicle company, Ji Yue, a partnership of Geely and Baidu, slashed the price of all versions of its first model by CN¥30,000 (US$4,200) in November.

Last year’s price cutting was started by Tesla, the American automaker that has a factory in Shanghai. In January 2023 it lowered prices in China for the second time in three months, and others followed. BYD, which faces prohibitively high tariffs in the U.S. market, sells most of its cars in China but is expanding globally, particularly in Europe.

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd (27.HK)

Macau concessionaire Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has granted a combined HK$622.6m (US$79.7m) worth of share options and share awards to its Board of Directors, senior executives and other employees in what the company describes as incentives towards promoting its long-term financial success.

“The grants will provide a motivation and long-term incentive to the Grantees and promote the long term financial success of GEG by aligning their interests to those of the shareholders of GEG,” the company explained.

Xiaomi Corp-Class B (1810.HK)

Smartphone giant Xiaomi officially launched its first car – the Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan. The EV has 875 V charging and a 101 kWh battery with CATL cells, providing a maximum range of 800 km. AWD version has 495 kW of power, good for 0-100 km/h acceleration in 2.78 seconds and 265 km/h top speed.

Xiaomi announced its car-making plans on March 30, 2021, when Lei Jun, the company’s CEO and founder, said Xiaomi would invest CN¥10bn (US$1.4bn) into its car manufacturing business.

The battery can recharge 390 km in 10 minutes, more than the Tesla Model S. In 5 minutes, SU7 can add 220 km, and in 15 minutes, 510 km.

Source: Rakuten Research - 3 Jan 2024

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