TikTok founder becomes China’s richest man

Published

6 months ago

October 29, 2024

editor

The surging global popularity of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its parent company, ByteDance, become China’s richest person.

According to a rich list produced by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming is now worth $49.3bn (£38bn) – 43% more than in 2023.

The 41-year-old stepped down from his role in charge of the company in 2021, but is understood to own around 20% of the firm.

TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, despite deep concerns in some countries about its ties to the Chinese state.

While both companies insist they are independent of the Chinese government, the US intends to ban TikTok in January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it.

Despite facing that intense pressure in the US, ByteDance’s global profit increased by 60% last year, driving up Zhang Yiming’s personal fortune.

“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new Number One we have had in China in just 26 years,” said head of Hurun Rupert Hoogewerf.

“The US, by comparison, has only four Number Ones: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

“This gives an indication of some of the dynamism in the Chinese economy.”

Tech fortunes
Mr Zhang is not the only representative of China’s huge tech sector on the list.

Pony Ma, boss of the tech conglomerate, Tencent, is third on the list with an estimated personal wealth amounting to £44.4bn.

But their fortunes are not just explained by their companies successes – their rivals have made less in a year in which China’s economy has sputtered.

In fact, only approximately 30% of the people on the list had an increase in their net worth – the rest saw a decline.

“The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third year running, as China’s economy and stock markets had a difficult year,” said Mr Hoogewerf.

“The number of individuals on the list was down by 12% in the past year to just under 1100 individuals and 25% from the high point of 2021.”

He said the data showed it had been a good year for smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, while the green energy market had stumbled.

“Solar panel, lithium battery and EV makers have had a challenging year, as competition intensified, leading to a glut, and the threat of tariffs added to uncertainties,” he said.

“Solar panel makers saw their wealth down as much as 80% from the 2021 peak, whilst battery and EV makers were down by half and a quarter respectively.”

(BBC News)

Restored 4K version of ‘Gehenu Lamai’ to premiere at 2025 Cannes Festival

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2025

editor

‘Gehenu Lamai’, directed by the late Dr. Sumitra Peries, will be screened next week in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 13 to May 24 in Cannes, France, under the Cannes Classics category.

Released in 1978, ‘Gehenu Lamai’ is a Sri Lankan Sinhala teenage drama film directed by Sumitra Peries and produced by her husband, Lester James Peries, for Lester Films.

The restoration of ‘Gehenu Lamai’ was undertaken by the Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Dr. Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation. It was funded by a grant provided by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the Embassy of France in India, under the aegis of FISCH (France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage).

Sumitra Peries, the first female filmmaker in Sri Lanka and wife of Dr. Lester James Peries, also served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France in the 1990s. She was decorated as a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government.

Born in 1934, she emerged to stardom in the country with over 10 films to her credit and expertise as a screenwriter, director, producer, and editor.

In a triumph for Sri Lanka’s film heritage, Sumitra Peries’ “Gehenu Lamai” (1978) restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation has been selected for a world premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2025.

The film has been restored under the aegis of FISCH: France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders – a pioneering international collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation, the Embassy of France and the French Institute in India and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, dedicated to restoring and preserving cinematic heritage.

The selection of “Gehenu Lamai” for the 78th Cannes Film Festival marks the fourth year in a row that Film Heritage Foundation is returning to Cannes Classic, but its first with a Sri Lankan film.

Film Heritage Foundation’s earlier restorations – Aravindan Govindan’s “Thamp”, Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou” and Shyam Benegal’s “Manthan” had red-carpet world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Recognized as the Outstanding Film of the Year at the 1978 London Film Festival, the debut film of Sumitra Peries – referred to as the Poetess of Sri Lankan Cinema – tells the heartbreaking tale of two young sisters in a Sri Lankan village whose romantic dreams and aspirations are crushed by the class barrier and the conflict between tradition and progress. The poetic black and white imagery beautifully captures the confusion and fragility of adolescent love and yearning coupled with an outstanding performance by a 16 year-old Wasanthi Chathurani as Kusum in her debut role.

(adaderana.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

Entertainment

Disney to open theme park in the Middle East

Published

2 days ago

May 7, 2025

editor

Walt Disney has announced plans to open its first theme park in the Middle East.

The resort, which will be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, is a collaboration between Walt Disney and local leisure and entertainment company Miral.

Disney already has six theme parks spanning North America, Europe and Asia. Its most recent opening was in 2016 in Shanghai.

Miral is responsible for the development of Yas Island as a tourist destination and already operates SeaWorld and Warner Bros World where it is developing a Harry Potter-themed park.

In a statement announcing the new facility, Disney said the UAE was located within a four-hour flight of one-third of the world’s population, making it a “significant gateway for tourism”.

It added that 120 million passengers travel through Abu Dhabi and Dubai every year, making the Emirates the biggest global airline hub in the world.

Disney chief executive Robert Iger described the plans for the new park as a “thrilling” moment for the company and said Disneyland Abu Dhabi would be “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati”.

The 10-sq-mile (25-sq-km) Yas Island is 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai.

Miral’s boss Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi said bringing a Disney theme park resort to the area marked a “milestone in our journey to further advance the island’s position as a global destination for exceptional entertainment and leisure”.

He said the development would “support sustained economic growth in Abu Dhabi and beyond”.

The company’s first theme park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California in 1955. It was followed in 1971 by Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

International expansion began in 1983 with a park in Tokyo; Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, then came Hong Kong in 2005 and, most recently, Shanghai in 2016.

Also on Wednesday, Disney announced better than expected results for the first three months of 2025, with revenue up by 7% to $23.6bn (£17.7bn).

The Disney+ streaming business added 1.4 million customers. Previously Disney had predicted a slight decline in subscribers due to a price increase.

Attendance rose at US parks with visitors spending more and there was also a rise in cruise ship bookings following the launch of the new ship Disney Treasure.

“Despite questions around any macroeconomic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business,” said Mr Iger.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell said at a time when so many businesses in the US were “worried about the potential impact of tariffs on consumer spending, on household budgets, Disney is feeling confident”.

(BBC News)