Tencent, the Chinese tech giant, was revealed to be participating in the tests that the Chinese institutions have completed using Mbridge, a CBDC-enabled cross-borders settlement platform. Tencent participated through its international settlements arm Tenpay, which piloted the use case of the Chinese CBDC, the digital yuan, to settle e-commerce exports using Mbridge’s rails. Tencent Participated […]
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Tencent to Offer Metaverse-Building Services for Asian Markets
Tencent, the Chinese software and tech company, has announced its metaverse suite of services designed to target Asian markets. The company revealed that it will revamp its media offering with its new “metaverse-in-a-box” proposal, which aims to facilitate the task of building virtual worlds for third-party companies.
Tencent to Focus on Offering Metaverse Tools to Third Parties
Tencent, one of the biggest Chinese tech companies, has revealed its hand regarding the future of its metaverse strategy. The company announced that it will focus on offering “metaverse-in-a-box” services to its customers through its cloud division. This move, which comes as a complement to the media services offering that the company launched last year, aims to facilitate the task of developing virtual worlds for Tencent customers.
The tools launched by Tencent will reportedly be used to build and design these metaverse spaces by companies in gaming, media, entertainment, and retail, with various purposes in mind. Tencent aims to bring the services to customers in Asian markets, especially in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, which will experience significant growth in this area according to projections from the company.
Poshu Yeung, Tencent Cloud International’s senior vice president, stated:
With more businesses now keen to explore and adapt to an efficient, transparent digital future, we are ready to leverage our technical experience in the fields of games, audio, and video to provide technical support for Web3, and work with industry partners to create a more immersive experience and nurture a better Web3 ecosystem.
A Pivot to Software
Tencent’s new plans point to a pivot from pursuing a metaverse hardware business to focusing on what the company is known for: software development. While the company announced the creation of its extended reality unit in June 2022 — which would reportedly develop native hardware for experiencing virtual worlds — recent reports point in the direction of the cancellation of these initiatives, and the disbandment of this group.
Tencent dismissed reports of said disbandment of this division, but did state it was making adjustments to its staff due to a change of plans. Other Chinese companies are also in the process of making cuts in their metaverse-related division and groups, like Bytedance, which is the creator of the Pico line of virtual reality (VR) headsets.
What do you think about Tencent and its metaverse plans? Tell us in the comments section below.
Chinese Tech Giants Tencent and Bytedance Plan Cuts in Their Metaverse Divisions
According to reports, Tencent and Bytedance, two Chinese tech giants, are planning to execute a significant number of job cuts in their metaverse divisions. Tencent recognized it is making some staff adjustments, amidst rumors of hundreds of layoffs in its extended reality division, while Bytedance is also planning to cut staff in Pico, its metaverse headset subsidiary.
Tencent and Bytedance Reportedly Shedding Metaverse-Dedicated Staff
Tencent and Bytedance, two of the biggest Chinese tech companies, are planning to execute hundreds of layoffs in their metaverse development groups according to various reports. Tencent, which is most known for its software business, is currently abandoning its plans to get into the metaverse hardware market, affecting hundreds of employees at the company.
According to local outlets, the company told more than 300 employees that they should be searching for new work opportunities and that the extended reality division, dedicated to the development of metaverse products, would be disbanded. The company confirmed it was making staff adjustments as its plans had changed, but dismissed the idea that the aforementioned group would be disbanded.
Tencent had been working on a dedicated metaverse ring controller, but the initiative was abandoned due to the large investment needed for its construction, and the unfavorable forecast for its profitability. The sources stated:
Under the company’s new strategy as a whole, it no longer quite fit in.
Bytedance Facing Woes
Bytedance’s Pico, the metaverse headset hardware division, is also facing similar difficulties, planning to cut hundreds of jobs. According to the South China Morning Post, some groups of the company are expected to lose 30% of their employees due to these layoffs, which could also reach into higher-level positions.
The company released its latest Pico series recently, hoping to develop a foothold in Asian markets. The launch had been successful, with reports claiming that the company held 15% of the VR headset market, compared to the almost 85% controlled by Meta’s offerings. Henry Zhou, founder and CEO of Pico, stated they expected to sell more than 1 million headset units.
These reports come during a worldwide push for big companies to cut their efforts in making metaverse-based hardware and software, reducing expenses in the field. Microsoft and Meta, two western tech behemoths, have also executed similar actions.
Microsoft is shutting down several metaverse-focused groups as part of its 10,000-employee layoff round. Meanwhile, Meta, which has anticipated it will continue losing money on the metaverse in 2023, is reportedly planning a new round of layoffs after having executed a trim of 13% of its headcount last year.
What do you think about the new metaverse-related layoffs at Tencent and Bytedance? Tell us in the comments section below.
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Tencent to Use the Blockchain to Derail China’s Counterfeit Invoice Industry
Sellers of counterfeit, illegally-made receipts help businesses take advantage of tax loopholes in China, but that’s set to change with the application of blockchain technology in the handling of digital invoices.
Disrupting China’s Counterfeit Invoice Market
Faked official invoices are big business in China. One person who creates these legal proof of payments — “fapiao” in Chinese – calls herself Mrs. Wang.
She claims that in just 24-hours a fake receipt can be created that is guaranteed to be verified by the country’s tax system. For her efforts, Wang charges 2% of the fake receipt’s face value after it is verified.
“Let me know your company name, the amount of money and the sales item. I can have it ready and mail it to you tomorrow,” said Wang, speaking with the South China Morning Post.
In attempts to fightback against these counterfeit fapiaos, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has teamed up with the Shenzhen branch of the State Administration of Taxation to develop a blockchain-based digital invoice solution, which is designed to protect the authenticity of invoices by tracking the process of issuance and circulation.
The ability to trace official invoice information on the Tencent-developed blockchain will improve the government’s surveillance procedure against counterfeit fapiao, according to the company.
“We hope to make every fapiao checkable, verifiable, reliable and traceable, and use blockchain technology to manage the whole circulation process of fapiaos,” Pony Ma Huateng, Tencent’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Huateng also reiterated that the company’s solution represents the first application of blockchain technology in the handling of digital invoices in China — a country that supports the distributed ledger technology, but isn’t too fond of cryptocurrencies themselves.
China’s Interest in Blockchain Solutions
In Shenzhen, where Tencent is based, a 500 million yuan (.3 million) local government-backed fund has recently been set up to focus on blockchain investments.
According to a release from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the government recognizes that the distributed ledger enables the secure sharing and storage of records of transactions, as well as post-trade settlements, record checking and management, and cross-border fund transfers.
This interest in the technology is not new. In fact, China helped raise the profile of blockchain when it became one of the first countries in the world to include the technology as part of a state-level policy back in 2016, when Premier Li Keqiang announced that blockchain was written into the country’s five year development plan.
Earlier this month the Chinese government put forth a blockchain rating system that pertains to public blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies. The system rates the projects on three key factors: technology, application, and innovation.
According to the index, Ethereum ranks top, followed by Steem, Lisk, NEO, and Komodo. Bitcoin is in the middle, at 13, and XEM takes last place, at 28.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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