Tech Buzz China by Pandaily

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Ep. 24: The Man and the Firm Behind China’s Tech Renaissance Oct 10, 2018

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In Episode 24 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about China Renaissance Group, a tech-focused investment bank founded and led by one of the country’s most famed rainmakers, Bao Fan. While the episode covers the firm’s recent Hong Kong IPO, as well as some of its top deals, its culture, and several of its business lines, the episode really focuses more on Bao Fan himself — after all, his career in many ways is the China tech industry. It is often said that everyone who's anyone in China tech is connected to Bao Fan or has done business with him. How has this man, who describes himself as a “bald Shanghainese dude who loves F1 and MMA,” applied massive amounts of ambition and aggression to succeed? Rui and Ying-Ying share that Bao, who is probably not the tallest man in China tech, was born into a diplomatic family in Shanghai and sent off to boarding school early. He attended high school in the U.S., college in China, and graduate school in Norway, and worked in banking in London, New York, and Hong Kong. Globally minded but deeply Chinese at heart, Bao started China Renaissance in 2004 and named it after the nationalistic idea that China was on the cusp of a rebirth, and the vision that it was going to produce its own great investment bank. Fourteen years later, that conviction has turned Bao into a billionaire banker. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join our co-hosts in exploring the man and the firm behind the series of stunning mergers between China’s top internet companies starting a few years back: Didi and Kuaidi; 58 and Ganji; Meituan and Dianping, to name a few. As of today, the newly listed China Renaissance has advised 700 transactions worth over $100 billion and has over 600 employees. What’s next? 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! Finally, a huge shout-out to our new listeners over at dealstreetasia.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 23: Update on Meituan, the Super App that Won Against a Thousand Clones Sep 25, 2018

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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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 22: NIO — The Road Ahead for ‘China’s Tesla’ Sep 19, 2018

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In episode 22 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about electric carmaker NIO, which went public on September 12 on the NYSE. This episode covers how NIO got started, its purported business model, and how it differs from its competition. Listeners will also hear from Elliott Zaagman, a writer covering Chinese tech as well as an organizational development consultant for Chinese tech firms. Rui and Ying-Ying start their story with Li Bin, or William Bin Li, who is NIO’s celebrity Founder, Chairman, and CEO. Li Bin, only 43 years old this year, is known as the “godfather of the transport sector” in China: not only did he have his first IPO in 2010 for a car-related internet company named BitAuto, but he has also invested in at least 32 companies in the transportation sector, including 5 unicorns. Indeed, Li Bin is widely recognized for being a master at both making and raising money. However, Li Bin and NIO’s path in the electric vehicle (EV) industry has not been without its challenges, particularly because of the domestic sector’s past experience with unreliable players such as Jia Yueting, the founder of LeEco and Faraday Future. In fact, one recent Chinese article cheekily called NIO and its fellow EVs “the cars that came out of PowerPoints” — a partial reference to the fact that NIO raised about $2.5B in four rounds before going public, but is still losing money rapidly, to the tune of half a billion dollars in the first half of this year. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join our co-hosts in an exploration that seeks to answer the key question: is Li Bin going to be able to deliver on the hardware he promises? Just how comparable is NIO to Tesla? What about to Xpeng Motors, founded by celebrity entrepreneur He Xiaopeng, the other high-flying EV unicorn in China with an internet DNA? What is NIO’s actual business model, when it does not actually make its own cars, or even its own batteries (yes, you read that right)? Is it accurate to consider NIO a luxury brand, and if so, is that the right strategy in China? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 21: Is WeChat Bulletproof? Sep 12, 2018

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In Ep. 21 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about the new messaging app, Bullet Messenger, which took the Chinese internet by storm and reached five million registered users in just eleven days. The key question: is this a true challenger to WeChat? Or is it more of a short-lived, false alarm without real long-term potential? Listeners will also hear expert analysis from Matthew Brennan, a speaker and writer focused on Chinese mobile internet who can be found at @mbrennanchina and on the podcast China Tech Talk. Rui and Ying-Ying start by delving into a crucial quality about Bullet which has been overlooked in English language coverage: the incredible power and reach of its angel investor and best spokesperson, Luo Yonghao. Luo is a former English teacher who gained a cult following thanks to his entertaining sayings and charisma in the classroom. He took his cultural capital and went into smartphones, creating the brand Smartisan, which released its first phone in May 2014. Smartisan formerly employed a senior product manager named Hao Xijie, founder of the company that created Bullet Messenger. Though Hao has made clear that his intention is to disrupt business messaging, the media has not been deterred from dubbing him a “WeChat challenger.” Rui and Ying-Ying dig into some of Bullet’s features, including its quick voice-to-text function, its easier management of group chats, and the ability to reply in threads. However, even with these interesting functions, the big challenge of the app is its lack of contacts-- how is the app going to overcome the network effects dominance of WeChat? It also has challenges with privacy and with inappropriate content. Even so, the company has already taken on $22 million in funding at a nearly $90 million valuation from Banyan Capital and Chengwei Capital, even before going through the full list of interested investors, which included Tencent. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join our co-hosts in debating: does Bullet have a real chance at disrupting WeChat, or at least take away some of the current use cases of WeChat, the biggest success of Chinese internet in the past decade? Or… is WeChat completely and utterly Bullet-proof? If you’re in the Bay Area, come hang out with Rui, Ying-Ying, and Pandaily CEO Kevin at GeekPark’s Fire of Innovation event! It’s this Tuesday, September 18 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Click here to claim your free ticket: https://www.facebook.com/events/536785786741878/ 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 20: Are Startups Behind the Rising Rents in Beijing? Sep 05, 2018

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In episode 20 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma look into the alleged causes behind the recent 22 percent year-on-year increase in rent prices in Beijing, a rise which has sparked outrage in citizens. In addition to blaming real estate startups, some headlines have also proclaimed that the influx of venture capital and private equity into the tech sector is at the root of the problem. In the episode, Rui and Ying-Ying take an analytical approach to break down the factors affecting the rental market — or rather, largely the middle range of the rental market — in Beijing. They start by giving an overview of the market, including citing average rental and purchase prices as a percentage of take-home pay — and the numbers aren’t pretty. Unaffordable housing is a destabilizing factor for cities everywhere, but especially in China, where overpopulation is still a nationwide challenge and home ownership is particularly prized. Our co-hosts then focus on the impact of government policies on creating opportunities that were promptly capitalized on by real estate brokerages, which spun out consumer-focused products that fit the millennial and digital native lifestyle. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join our co-hosts in delving into the business model of long-term rental platforms such as Ziroom and Danke, which cover about 120,000 apartments in Beijing, or about 2 percent of the market. What has been their impact on both the tech sector and the residential rental market in Beijing? Decide for yourself: are these startups really the culprits behind the spike in rents? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 19: Tencent and the Case of the Missing $140 Billion Aug 29, 2018

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So far in 2018, Tencent’s stock price has continued to tumble from analysts’ price targets. Today, it sits at $430 billion, a far cry from its $570 billion market cap in January. Some commentators blame the decline on Tencent’s Q2 results, which showed a 2 percent drop in earnings and was the company’s first fall in profit in nearly 13 years. What is really going on here? What is the real cause? And what does it all mean for what is arguably still China’s leading internet company? In this episode of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma take a close look at Tencent. TechBuzz first covered Tencent in episode 5, and again in episode 9. Fittingly, those episodes focused on public perception of Tencent’s ability to innovate, as well as the robustness of Tencent’s overall strategy — including against the likes of rising behemoth Toutiao. This week’s episode takes a more holistic view of the internal and external factors that may have contributed to Tencent’s poor results. Listeners will also hear expert commentary by Lee Gao, a portfolio manager at GCA, who helps run the firm’s Emerging Markets Sustainable Growth Fund. Rui and Ying-Ying delve into many facets of the Tencent story, including: What was the significance of COO Mark Ren taking over the company’s stalwart gaming sector, which accounts for over 50 percent of Tencent’s revenues? What has been the greater impact of Tencent’s protocol of having multiple internal teams work on the same product, with the best one declared the winner? How has this type of strategy — and its accompanying lack of deep data integration — affected Tencent’s domestic market share on metrics such as total mobile usage time, as well as its ability to collaborate deeply with partners such as Starbucks? Is Tencent’s mantra of “Connect everything,” its official vision since 2014, being realized to the extent that it can be, in our increasingly AI- and algorithm-driven world? What about the impact of other problems such as unfavorable government policies, as well as Tencent’s challenges in getting games approved to be distributed in China? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join our co-hosts on a journey down the rabbit hole as they hunt for the real cause of Tencent’s recent price decline. While they synthesize the rampant recent speculation by Chinese media into a mere 20-minute episode, listeners are left to ask themselves: Can Tencent do it? Can they bring the lost $140 billion back? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 18: China vs. Google: Rematch? Aug 22, 2018

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On August 1, The Intercept broke a story that Google was planning to enter China with a censored search engine. Within hours, the same news was all over Chinese tech media. In this episode of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell the story of Google in China — or rather, its 2010 departure and oft-rumored return. Though Chinese tech media love speculating, how likely is this to actually happen? What role does the U.S. government play? What factors need to be in place for Google’s return to occur, and is this even what the company’s leadership really wants? The story of search in China is not complete without also discussing Baidu, which dominates over 70 percent of the domestic online search market in the country. In fact, on the day Google left China in 2014, Baidu’s stock went up 12 percent on the news. However, has Baidu truly maximized its opportunities? Is there truth to the complaint that Baidu’s search results are heavily skewed towards commercial results, versus user needs? What has been the impact of scams, such as the May 2016 case of an unscrupulous hospital that was promoted on Baidu and resulted in the death of a college student? How do these industry-wide challenges within the China search industry impact attitudes towards Google, and contribute to the excitement around its potential return? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and delve into the nuances behind Google’s real status in China at the level of public opinion. What can we learn from reactions such as that of Baidu’s CEO Robin Li, whose viral post on WeChat stated “the entire world is practicing Copy from China. These are realities that every global company that wants to enter China must face and ponder deeply.” When it comes down to it, will Google find success in the China internet market of 2018? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 17: Pinduoduo: From Zero to $23B in Three Years Aug 07, 2018

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In this episode of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell the story of ecommerce company Pinduoduo, the fastest-growing app in the history of the Chinese internet, from its founding in 2015 to its recent listing on the Nasdaq. What does the company’s IPO prospectus reveal about the intentions and vision of its founder, Colin Huang? In what ways is the app a combination of “Costco and Disneyland” — or not? The episode concludes by revisiting the insights of Mark Pols, currently Corporate Development at Facebook and previously an investor with GGV Capital, whose comments were originally played in Episode 2, in which Pinduoduo was briefly covered. Few in the West realize that Pinduoduo started as two parallel entities: Pinduoduo, which was a marketplace, and Pinhaohuo, which sold fruit and other perishable items via direct sales. The former was intended to be a side project, with the purpose of testing which items would be best for group-buying, but ended up generating 99.8 percent of the company’s revenues by 2017. Indeed, in the last twelve months, Pinduoduo has sold $41.8 billion worth of goods across 7.5 billion orders, with 344 million active buyers — more users than JD’s 302 million, but behind Alibaba’s 552 million. However, how valuable are these juxtapositions, given that Pinduoduo is comparatively just a “3-year-old child”? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and learn about what Pinduoduo actually does, how it works, and how it’s gained success. Decide for yourself: how will the backlash and lawsuits around counterfeit goods affect Pinduoduo’s long-term success? Just how sticky and sustainable are the app’s viral user acquisition efforts? And more importantly, what can the rest of the world learn from this incredible domestic growth 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, like our Facebook page, and don't forget to tweet at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 16: Bike Sharing in China, Part 2: Mobike and the Future of Personal Transportation Jul 31, 2018

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This episode of TechBuzz China is our second of two focused on bike-sharing in China. In it, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell the story of the rest of China’s bike-sharing industry beyond Ofo, focusing on major players Mobike and Hellobike. They cover Mobike’s founders, fundraisings, current reach, and distinctive approach to its bike-sharing business, as well as fast-growing latecomer Hellobike’s entrance to the scene. Guest speaker Karl Ulrich, the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Wharton School, weighs in for the second week in a row, giving macro-level predictions about the global impact of new solutions for personal transportation. With 29 percent of all internet users in China now making use of bike-sharing services, what is the real impact of these services on metrics such as number of trips taken via subway, bus, and car? How have investors Alibaba and Tencent-backed Meituan taken strategic positions in this race, and how do their positions affect the battle outcomes? Who is Mobike founder Hu Weiwei, and which of the two contrasting versions of Mobike’s origin story is real? How has Hellobike’s focus on second and third tier cities, as well as its dogged pursuit of expense management, affected its growth and staying power? Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and delve into one of the biggest trends on the China internet in recent years. Decide for yourself: to what extent has bike-sharing has affected China tech, the everyday lives of Chinese citizens, and the future of personal transportation worldwide? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 15: Bike sharing in China, Part 1: Ofo’s Wild Ride Jul 24, 2018

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The internet age has brought with it what China's state media calls the country's “New Four Great Inventions”: high speed trains, scan-and-pay mobile payments, bike sharing, and ecommerce. This week’s episode is the first in a two-part story on bike sharing — told against a backdrop of Ofo, one of the two major Chinese players, pulling out of international markets. What happened? And most importantly, what is happening now? Listen to this week’s episode of TechBuzz China by co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma, for a history lesson on Ofo! Guest speaker Karl Ulrich, the Vice Dean of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Wharton School, weighs in as well. 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. Our co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma break down the origin story of Ofo. Started by five Peking University graduates in the bubbly tech world of 2014, the team was getting 4000 orders per day on the PKU campus alone just two months after launch. After being spotted by GSR Ventures investor Robin Luo, the rest is history. Today, Ofo is at 32 million rides a day in over 200 cities. However, challenges continue to abound: repair costs, oversupply, and figuring out a viable business model in a heavy capex business. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and decide for yourself: should bike-sharing, which has fundamentally changed how hundreds of millions of people move, remain as one of the four New Great Inventions? 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! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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