Two Chinese internet companies that have emerged as corporate winners through the pandemic are adapting to renewed competition as the country begins to shed its zero-Covid policy.
Food delivery group Meituan and bargain shopping app Pinduoduo raked in a combined Rmb11.8bn ($1.7bn) in profit during the three months to the end of September, as shoppers shifted to spending on food delivery and bulk purchases of staple consumer goods.
Meituan and Pinduoduo also increased sales by 28 per cent and 65 per cent year on year, respectively, beating the country’s tech giants. During the same period, Tencent’s revenues declined while Alibaba’s grew by just 3 per cent.