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Tech, Media & Telecom

Security satellite scopes cannabis crops from orbit

China’s Ministry of Public Security discovered the largest known marijuana plantation in the country since its founding in 1949 using high-definition images from the satellite Gaofen 1, South China Morning Post reported, citing a now-deleted online announcement from the National Space Administration. Aside from the cannabis plantation in China’s northeast, the satellite also spotted opium […]

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Investment Tech, Media & Telecom

Tawain's Wei family to buy cable operator CNS

Taiwan’s Wei family, which controls Hong Kong-listed noodle maker Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding (0322.HKG), has agreed to buy the island’s biggest cable TV and broadband multiple-systems operator, China Network Systems, for US$2.4 billion, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source. China Network Systems has about 1.2 million subscribers and has about 20% market share. The deal is […]

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Consumer Tech, Media & Telecom

Apple starts storing user data in China

Apple (APPL.NASDAQ) has started storing some Chinese users’ data on servers in mainland China operated by state-run China Telecom Com (CHA.NYSE), Reuters reported, citing a Friday statement made by the company. Apple said the move was part of an effort to improve the speed and reliability of its iCloud service. Apple has also said it takes […]

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Tech, Media & Telecom

Weibo adds users, tempering Q2 losses

Chinese microblog operator Weibo (WB.NASDAQ) increased the number of daily active users of its microblog by 32%  in the second quarter from a year earlier, a gain that boosted advertising revenue and tempered losses, Bloomberg reported, citing a Thursday statement from the company. The net loss was US$15.4 million in the three months ended June […]

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Tech, Media & Telecom

China Mobile cuts subsidies for handsets

China Mobile (CHL.NYSE, 0941.HKG) will cut its device subsidy budget for the year to RMB21 billion (US$3.4 billion) from RMB34 billion previously, after government regulators told wireless carriers they were spending too much on subsidies and advertising, Bloomberg reported, citing a Wednesday press conference. Those costs have eroded profitability, with China Mobile reporting its fourth-straight […]