Talking Tech: TikTok, Alibaba and Grab

Let's go over to Europe, where the European Commission suspended staff from using TikTok over security concerns related to the social media apps data collection practices. Staff were ordered to delete the app from mobile phones and corporate devices, which includes personal devices that use commission apps. That's according to a spokesperson. The move comes among growing scrutiny, both here in the US, but also in Europe over the app's potential national security risks. In China, Ant Group's profit fell 83% after China's regulatory crackdown and a drop in valuation for overseas equity investments. Still, Ant contributed a billion yuan or $145 million to its pair in Alibaba, whose own profit jumped 69% after the e-commerce giant reigned in its spending and narrowed losses abroad to make up for, of course, anemic growth because of COVID-19. And benefiting also from reduced spending is Grab, which brought its profitability target forward after posting a narrower quarterly loss.

The food delivery provider, among money-losing Southeast Asian internet giants, have shifted strategies to focus on achieving profitability instead of spending on growth.

Bloomberg