CX Daily: Chinese Customers Sold on ‘Elixir of Youth’ Despite Expert Warnings
TOP STORIES
Anti-aging?/
Chinese consumers have bought into the global craze for nicotinamide mononucleotide, or NMN, a product with supposed “anti-aging” properties that’s been touted by sellers as an “elixir of youth,” which has topped sales on cross-border e-commerce platforms in recent years.
Users mention improved sleep quality as one of its benefits, while others rave in online testimonials that it is a miracle remedy that boosts energy, sharpens hearing and vision and even accelerates nail growth. Despite lacking a breakthrough in human clinical trials, the global NMN market size was estimated to grow to more than?$400 million by 2028, market research firm Bosson Research said in a 2022 report. ?
Stabbing?/
Four teachers from an American college were stabbed while walking in a park in Jilin city in Northeast China Monday morning. A suspect was arrested shortly after, local police said.
The teachers, who are from Cornell College in Iowa, were visiting China as part of a collaboration with Beihua University in Jilin city, were treated at a local hospital and none is in a critical condition. ?
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Corruption?/
An executive of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) (中国工商银行股份有限公司) has been placed under a corruption probe, as the government presses on with its anti-graft campaign in the finance industry.
Ying Weiyun, a vice president of ICBC’s Beijing branch, is being investigated for suspected “severe violations of (Communist Party) discipline and law,” China’s top anti-graft watchdog announced Tuesday. The term is official jargon for corruption. ?
IPO?/
Chengdu Uestc Optical Communications Corp., which makes optical fiber and electronics for the defense sector, is the first IPO to be reviewed by the Beijing Stock Exchange after a four-month listing drought.
The exchange will review the IPO application on June 17, more than 130 days after since its last review in early February. ?
HSBC?/
A wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC has completed its acquisition of Citigroup Inc.’s retail wealth management business on the Chinese mainland, the London-headquartered bank announced Tuesday.
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The deal has brought customers, deposits and investment assets from 11 mainland cities into the wealth and personal banking operations of HSBC Bank (China) Co. Ltd., according to the announcement. HSBC has also taken on more than 300 former Citigroup employees as part of the acquisition. ?
Quick hits?/
BUSINESS & TECH
Batteries?/
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has stolen LG Energy Solution Ltd.’s crown as the biggest supplier of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in markets outside China for the first four months of 2024.
Fujian province-based CATL’s share of non-China markets rose to 27.4% of installed capacity, up from 26.9% during the same four months in 2023, according to a report published Monday by Seoul-based consultancy SNE Research Inc. South Korea-based LG Energy Solution Ltd.’s share of installed capacity slipped to 25.7% for the period. ?
Flying cars?/
German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft maker Lilium NV said that it has signed a deal establishing its APAC regional headquarters in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong province.
The regional headquarters, located in the Bao’an Low Altitude Economy Industry Public Service Center, will support Lilium in sales and services across China and the Asia-Pacific region, with local recruitment expected to begin this year, the company said in a statement on Monday. ?
Quick hits?/
Long Read?/
GALLERY
China’s men’s soccer team lost 1-0 to South Korea on Tuesday, in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seoul, South Korea. However, China squeezed into the third qualifying round on head-to-head points after Thailand defeated Singapore 3-1.