Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): [Blue Lotus Daily – TMT Update]:JD/BABA/PDD/700 HK/LKNCY and more

• JD/BABA/PDD : JD increases salaries for customer service staff (-)
• 700 HK: News has surfaced indicating that Tencent is in the process of developing a mobile game adaptation of “Elden Ring.” (+) 
• 700 HK/LKNCY: Tencent’s <Dream Star> has collaborated with Luckin Coffee for a co-branding initiative (+)

• The podcast features Lance Bronstein, head of Aladdin engineering at BlackRock, and Rob, discussing the impact of AI on business operations.
• They highlight the importance of using technology to amplify human capabilities and redefine roles, while also focusing on upskilling the workforce and recalibrating risk management and client interactions.
• They acknowledge that AI is not a new concept, but the recent advancements in data, compute power, and technology have enabled transformative changes in how people interact with computers, particularly through language and conversation.

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• ATAT/TCOM: Tourism: Local government will issue RMB600mn travel consumption subsidies during CNY(+)
• 9995 HK/BGNE/9926 HK/1801 HK/1877 HK:The National Medical Insurance Administration issued new regulations on the initial price of newly launched drugs to protect the independent pricing of innovative drugs.(/)
• 300750 SZ：Porsche’s new Taycan doubles cruising range, uses CATL Shenxing battery(+)

• Chariot (CHAR LN)C; target price of £0.50 per share: Receiving EIA approval for onshore drilling in Morocco – Chariot has received approval for its EIA for a total of 20 well at Loukos, onshore Morocco.
• The approval covers the initial drilling campaign of two exploration wells (Gaufrette and Dartois) as well as 17 further well locations and the re-entry of an existing gas discovery.
• Operations are expected to start at the end of 1Q24 as indicated previously.

• China’s cloud software vendors are feeling the brunt of the sharpest drop in venture capital (VC) investment in the sector in a decade, with many rushing to cut prices or costs to tide them over.
• The country’s current 13 software as a service (SaaS) unicorns — startups valued at more than $1 billion — raised just 495 million yuan ($69 million) from investors last year, the lowest amount since 2014, according to ITjuzi, a domestic provider of data on tech companies and investments, based on announced deals.
• The amount pales in comparison to the peak of 9.3 billion yuan they raised in 2021, when the Covid pandemic boosted demand for digital services.