Let’s get straight into our top news out of China this week.
1. Sina Weibo appoints agent to set up office in Singapore and Indonesia for expansion
Sina appears to be finally taking the rest of the world — or at least Southeast Asia — seriously. Maybe too little too late, but this in combination with its new chat app (see #6 on this list) makes me feel like the company still has some fight left in it.
2. Chinese “black PR” firm controlled hundreds of verified Weibo users, raked in millions
Black PR is nothing new, but the sheer scale of this firm that got busted in Wuhan is remarkable.
3. CONFIRMED: Xiaomi hiring ex-Android VP Hugo Barra, starts new job in October
A huge get for Xiaomi, and a testament to how big the company has gotten just a couple years after it sold its first smartphone ever.
4. China’s Camera360 gets $18 million in fresh funding, reaches 150 million users
China’s most globally-successful camera app nabs some major funding!
5. Beijing gets serious about real-name registration, old numbers no longer exempt
Beijing, it sounds like, is finally taking real name registration very seriously. The old days of sneaking around the restrictions might be over.
6. First impressions: Sina releases WeChat competitor, WeMeet
Sina has a new chat app out, and it actually has some cool features. But is it enough to tempt anyone away from WeChat?
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