Bertrand Russell and “The Problem of China”

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Gadgets 360

A US judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc that alleged its Facebook social media business drove a now-defunct photo software application startup out of business in violation of federal antitrust law.

US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York, federal court said in her 67-page order that Phhhoto Inc had failed to timely bring its claims under relevant US antitrust law that sets a four-year window and under New York state competition provisions that have a three-year statute of limitation.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. She said, "no exception applies to toll the limitations periods."

The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint.

Lawyers for Phhhoto at plaintiffs' firm Hausfeld did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Thursday.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson described the suit as "meritless."

Phhhoto launched in 2014, providing an app that said it "created a five-frame, looping video." Meta two years earlier had acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,820 crore).

Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor."

"Meta used its control of critical infrastructure to degrade the quality of Phhhoto's content and the performance of its app, as well as to mislead and harm consumers," Phhhoto's attorneys told the court.

Facebook denied any anticompetitive conduct.

The case was among several actions accusing Facebook of violating competition law.

Facebook is defending against claims from the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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A US judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc that alleged its Facebook social media business drove a now-defunct photo software application startup out of business in violation of federal antitrust law.

US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York, federal court said in her 67-page order that Phhhoto Inc had failed to timely bring its claims under relevant US antitrust law that sets a four-year window and under New York state competition provisions that have a three-year statute of limitation.

"Phhhoto has failed in its 69-page amended complaint of 222 paragraphs to allege sufficient facts that cure the untimeliness of all of its federal claims," Matsumoto wrote. She said, "no exception applies to toll the limitations periods."

The court declined to allow Phhhoto to fine-tune its case and bring another complaint.

Lawyers for Phhhoto at plaintiffs' firm Hausfeld did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Thursday.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson described the suit as "meritless."

Phhhoto launched in 2014, providing an app that said it "created a five-frame, looping video." Meta two years earlier had acquired photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,820 crore).

Phhhoto's lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged Facebook aimed to "crush" the photo-sharing application, which called itself in court filings "an innovative nascent competitor."

"Meta used its control of critical infrastructure to degrade the quality of Phhhoto's content and the performance of its app, as well as to mislead and harm consumers," Phhhoto's attorneys told the court.

Facebook denied any anticompetitive conduct.

The case was among several actions accusing Facebook of violating competition law.

Facebook is defending against claims from the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., federal court that the company abused its personal social networking dominance.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we've seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Gadgets 360

A US court has sanctioned Google for a second time in recent days, after a judge in a decision unsealed on Wednesday said the Alphabet unit took too long to comply with a ruling last year in a data-privacy class action.

The order from US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, stems from a class action claiming Google unlawfully tracked its users while they were using the company's Chrome browsers in private, or "incognito," mode.

In a separate decision on Tuesday in California, US District Judge James Donato concluded Google had failed to preserve employees' "chat" records as evidence in antitrust litigation. Donato said the plaintiffs' lawyers will be awarded legal fees in an amount to be determined later. Google is challenging the claims.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. A Google spokesperson said the company has “provided and disclosed countless documents and discovery."

The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case.

The latest ruling said Google failed to comply with a deadline stemming from a court order last year that imposed sanctions on the company. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode.

Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 (roughly Rs. 64,94,550) fine.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The consumer plaintiffs are suing for an injunction that could among other things could require Google to delete private browsing information. A trial is scheduled for November.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/9VkWfKE

A US court has sanctioned Google for a second time in recent days, after a judge in a decision unsealed on Wednesday said the Alphabet unit took too long to comply with a ruling last year in a data-privacy class action.

The order from US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, stems from a class action claiming Google unlawfully tracked its users while they were using the company's Chrome browsers in private, or "incognito," mode.

In a separate decision on Tuesday in California, US District Judge James Donato concluded Google had failed to preserve employees' "chat" records as evidence in antitrust litigation. Donato said the plaintiffs' lawyers will be awarded legal fees in an amount to be determined later. Google is challenging the claims.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. A Google spokesperson said the company has “provided and disclosed countless documents and discovery."

The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case.

The latest ruling said Google failed to comply with a deadline stemming from a court order last year that imposed sanctions on the company. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode.

Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 (roughly Rs. 64,94,550) fine.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The consumer plaintiffs are suing for an injunction that could among other things could require Google to delete private browsing information. A trial is scheduled for November.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

Realme might not want the Mini Capsule to be the defining feature of the Realme C55, but will it end up being one of the phone's most talked-about hardware specifications? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Gadgets 360

E3 2023 has been cancelled — it's not happening in any form, in-person or digital, this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed the news on Twitter, following an original report from IGN based on emails sent to its members. It mentioned that while E3 was a beloved brand, the 2023 edition ‘simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary' to execute the event in a manner that would display the size and strength of the games industry. In January, the big three — PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo — pulled out of the summer video game event, leaving barely any major publishers.

Following IGN's report, E3 2023 organiser ReedPop issued a public statement. “This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what's right for the industry and what's right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of gaming, ReedPop said, adding that a lot of publishers and developers interested in the event wouldn't even have playable demos ready for showcase. “For those who did commit to E3 2023, we're sorry we can't put on the showcase you deserve and that you've come to expect from ReedPop's event experiences", he continued.

The show was supposed to be held from June 13–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, marking the first in-person E3 since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It took a virtual, digital approach in 2021, after which, the event got cancelled again in 2022.

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

Earlier this week, Ubisoft backed out of E3 2023, after having previously committed to it. The publisher has chosen to ‘move in a different direction,' and will now hold its own, separate Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in LA. Further details on the same will be revealed in time, albeit CEO Yves Guillemot promised ‘lots of things to show.' Following that announcement, even Tencent and Yakuza publisher Sega were confirmed to be skipping E3.

Just like Ubisoft, Microsoft will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, with an in-depth feature for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield, planned for later. Meanwhile, Nintendo and PlayStation will continue hosting their respective online events to showcase new games and updates. Alternatively, they could be joining hands with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest — at this point, there's no telling.

Since 2020 — the pandemic era — Keighley's month-long-running Summer Game Fest has dethroned E3 as the industry's key destination to reveal the biggest games and news. Also, being a digital, online-only event, publishers don't have to spend large amounts to secure a physical booth. The year's festival kicks off on June 8 and has already swiped Xbox and Ubisoft from beneath E3's feet as some of its main highlights. The Summer Game Fest 2023 will be streamed live from the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, and funnily enough, put out its new promotional trailer right after ESA's announcement.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/Y0jHusm

E3 2023 has been cancelled — it's not happening in any form, in-person or digital, this year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) confirmed the news on Twitter, following an original report from IGN based on emails sent to its members. It mentioned that while E3 was a beloved brand, the 2023 edition ‘simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary' to execute the event in a manner that would display the size and strength of the games industry. In January, the big three — PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo — pulled out of the summer video game event, leaving barely any major publishers.

Following IGN's report, E3 2023 organiser ReedPop issued a public statement. “This was a difficult decision because of all the effort we and our partners put toward making this event happen, but we had to do what's right for the industry and what's right for E3,” Kyle Marsden-Kish, Global VP of gaming, ReedPop said, adding that a lot of publishers and developers interested in the event wouldn't even have playable demos ready for showcase. “For those who did commit to E3 2023, we're sorry we can't put on the showcase you deserve and that you've come to expect from ReedPop's event experiences", he continued.

The show was supposed to be held from June 13–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, marking the first in-person E3 since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It took a virtual, digital approach in 2021, after which, the event got cancelled again in 2022.

News on #E32023 from the source. pic.twitter.com/BK7TUlb8mZ

— E3 (@E3) March 30, 2023

Earlier this week, Ubisoft backed out of E3 2023, after having previously committed to it. The publisher has chosen to ‘move in a different direction,' and will now hold its own, separate Ubisoft Forward Live event on June 12 in LA. Further details on the same will be revealed in time, albeit CEO Yves Guillemot promised ‘lots of things to show.' Following that announcement, even Tencent and Yakuza publisher Sega were confirmed to be skipping E3.

Just like Ubisoft, Microsoft will be hosting an Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, with an in-depth feature for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield, planned for later. Meanwhile, Nintendo and PlayStation will continue hosting their respective online events to showcase new games and updates. Alternatively, they could be joining hands with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest — at this point, there's no telling.

Since 2020 — the pandemic era — Keighley's month-long-running Summer Game Fest has dethroned E3 as the industry's key destination to reveal the biggest games and news. Also, being a digital, online-only event, publishers don't have to spend large amounts to secure a physical booth. The year's festival kicks off on June 8 and has already swiped Xbox and Ubisoft from beneath E3's feet as some of its main highlights. The Summer Game Fest 2023 will be streamed live from the YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles, and funnily enough, put out its new promotional trailer right after ESA's announcement.

---

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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The G20 led by India this year, Brazil next year, and South Africa in 2025 can reset global financial architecture

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Gadgets 360

Alphabet's Google Cloud has accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticised imminent deals with European cloud vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms.

In Google Cloud's first public comments on Microsoft and its European deals its Vice President Amit Zavery told Reuters the company has raised the issue with antitrust agencies and urged European Union antitrust regulators to take a closer look.

In response, Microsoft referred to a blogpost in May last year where its president Brad Smith said it 'has a healthy number two position when it comes to cloud services, with just over 20 percent market share of global cloud services revenues'.

"We are committed to the European Cloud Community and their success," a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

There is intense rivalry between the two US tech giants in the multi-billion-dollar cloud computing business, where Google trails market leader Amazon and Microsoft.

Microsoft has offered to change its cloud computing practices in a deal with smaller rivals which in turn will suspend their antitrust complaints, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters this week.

The move will stave off an EU investigation.

"Microsoft definitely has a very anti-competitive posture in cloud. They are leveraging a lot of their dominance in the on-premise business as well as Office 365 and Windows to tie Azure and the rest of cloud services and make it hard for customers to have a choice," Zavery said in an interview late on Wednesday.

"When we talk to a lot of our customers, they find a lot of these bundling practices, as well as the way they create pricing and licensing restrictions, make it difficult for them to choose other providers," he added.

Zavery said individual deals struck with several smaller European cloud vendors only benefit Microsoft.

"They're selectively kind of buying out those ones who complain and not make those terms available to everyone. So that definitely makes it an unfair advantage to Microsoft and ties the people who complained back to Microsoft anyway,"

"Whatever they're offering, there should be terms across for everybody, not just for one or two they've chosen and pick, and that shows you that they have so much market power they can kind of go and do those things individually."

"My point to the regulators would be that they should look at this holistically, even though one or two vendors might settle doesn't solve the broader problem. And that's the problem we need to really resolve, not individual vendors' problems."

Zavery dismissed the suggestion that the issue is merely a spat between Google and Microsoft.

"The question is not about Google. I just want to make it very clear. It's the cloud. The premise with cloud was to have an open, flexible way to deploy your software and have customers more choices so that they can run their software in any place they choose to in a much more easy way," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The iQoo Neo 7 packs a lot of power at an affordable price. But did the company cut the right corners to keep the price low? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/erSOYok

Alphabet's Google Cloud has accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticised imminent deals with European cloud vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms.

In Google Cloud's first public comments on Microsoft and its European deals its Vice President Amit Zavery told Reuters the company has raised the issue with antitrust agencies and urged European Union antitrust regulators to take a closer look.

In response, Microsoft referred to a blogpost in May last year where its president Brad Smith said it 'has a healthy number two position when it comes to cloud services, with just over 20 percent market share of global cloud services revenues'.

"We are committed to the European Cloud Community and their success," a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

There is intense rivalry between the two US tech giants in the multi-billion-dollar cloud computing business, where Google trails market leader Amazon and Microsoft.

Microsoft has offered to change its cloud computing practices in a deal with smaller rivals which in turn will suspend their antitrust complaints, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters this week.

The move will stave off an EU investigation.

"Microsoft definitely has a very anti-competitive posture in cloud. They are leveraging a lot of their dominance in the on-premise business as well as Office 365 and Windows to tie Azure and the rest of cloud services and make it hard for customers to have a choice," Zavery said in an interview late on Wednesday.

"When we talk to a lot of our customers, they find a lot of these bundling practices, as well as the way they create pricing and licensing restrictions, make it difficult for them to choose other providers," he added.

Zavery said individual deals struck with several smaller European cloud vendors only benefit Microsoft.

"They're selectively kind of buying out those ones who complain and not make those terms available to everyone. So that definitely makes it an unfair advantage to Microsoft and ties the people who complained back to Microsoft anyway,"

"Whatever they're offering, there should be terms across for everybody, not just for one or two they've chosen and pick, and that shows you that they have so much market power they can kind of go and do those things individually."

"My point to the regulators would be that they should look at this holistically, even though one or two vendors might settle doesn't solve the broader problem. And that's the problem we need to really resolve, not individual vendors' problems."

Zavery dismissed the suggestion that the issue is merely a spat between Google and Microsoft.

"The question is not about Google. I just want to make it very clear. It's the cloud. The premise with cloud was to have an open, flexible way to deploy your software and have customers more choices so that they can run their software in any place they choose to in a much more easy way," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The iQoo Neo 7 packs a lot of power at an affordable price. But did the company cut the right corners to keep the price low? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Gadgets 360

What are the biggest movies releasing in April 2023? Salman Khan headlines the biggest offering in Indian cinema this month, with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, a new action-packed affair which sees him as a self-appointed vigilante hoping to rid crime of the city. Directed by Farhad Samji (Pop Kaun), it is a remake of the 2014 Tamil film Veeram and is slated to release on April 21 in theatres. Follow that up with a mythological drama charting the epic love story of Shakuntala and King Dushyant, drawn from the pages of Mahabharata. Samantha Ruth Prabhu — best known for Super Deluxe — leads the cast of the Telugu film Shaakuntalam, hitting theatres on April 14.

Coming to the Hollywood side, we've got The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the main draw of which has been the discourse surrounding Chris Pratt's voice, which doesn't sound high-pitched or Italian enough. Director duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!), however, continue repeatedly defending their voice casting choice, claiming that it ‘made total sense,' given the new Mario origin story they crafted for this feature. The Nintendo-produced animated film hops into theatres on April 7. Evil Dead Rise takes Sam Raimi's universe to frighteningly new heights, by moving the gore-filled action from the cabin in the woods into the city. The film was originally set for an HBO Max release, but following some restructuring at Warner Bros., was switched to a theatrical debut on April 21.

Just like last month, April is also tame on the OTT front, with Amazon Prime Video's Air, a biopic chronicling the origin of Nike's Air Jordan line of shoes being one of the key releases. For your convenience, we have curated the biggest April 2023 releases coming to theatres, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar, which you can check out below. Also, feel free to browse our Entertainment hub to keep track of any other releases that might interest you.

Air

When: April 5
Where: Amazon Prime Video

In 1984, a year marking slow sales and growth figures for Nike, a maverick executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) stepped up to sign then-rookie Michael Jordan for a sneaker deal, and hopefully pivot his fledgling basketball division to new heights. Directed by Ben Affleck, Air offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at this blooming partnership, aided by a supportive mother Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) who believed in her son's talent; Michael Jordan would go on to become one of the greatest athletes in the history of basketball. Affleck also stars in the film as Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, constantly questioning and undermining Vaccaro's choices, whilst being humbled and reminded of the risks he took before becoming a business tycoon.

Air is based on a screenplay from debutant Alex Convery, which was named under 2021's The Black List of most-liked scripts. The film also stars Jason Bateman (Ozark) as Nike's director of marketing Rob Strauss, Marlon Wayans (Requiem for a Dream) as Nike's global basketball marketing director George Raveling, and Chris Messina (Sharp Objects) as David Falk, who represented Jordan throughout the legend's career. Air would also be the first time Affleck directs long-time friend and collaborator Damon in a feature film.

Gumraah

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

Aditya Roy Kapur (The Night Manager) stars in this Hindi-language remake of the 2019 Tamil crime thriller Thadam, appearing in a double role. A murder investigation poses big trouble for Inspector Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur) when she discovers that her prime suspect has a lookalike — albeit neither of them is aware of the other's existence. In the original film, one of them is an innocent civil engineer enjoying life as a young adult, whereas the doppelganger is a gambling thief, adept at conning people with his sidekick.

Vardhan Ketkar marks his directorial debut with Gumraah, from a script co-written by Aseem Arora (Dehraadun Diary) and Magizh Thirumeni. The latter wrote and directed the original Tamil film. Gumraah also stars Ronit Roy (Shehzada) as ACP Dhiren Yadav, and Vedika Pinto (Operation Romeo) as the protagonist's love interest.

The Pope's Exorcist

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

You can never go wrong with a campy exorcist film during summer, and the feeling only gets better when it's grounded in reality. Drawing from the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, the former Chief Exorcist of the Vatican who performed over 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, the upcoming Julius Avery supernatural horror film is a twist on the humans vs demons premise. In it, Amorth (Russell Crowe) is tasked with examining a possessed child, and incorporating rational ideas under the presumption that his subject is just mentally disturbed. Trying to figure out the demon's origins, Amorth stumbles into a centuries-old conspiracy that the Vatican tried keeping hidden — sending him on an Indiana Jones-like excavation mission into the church's various secret tombs and passageways.

Ralph Ineson (The Witch) lends his gruff voice to the demonic spirit, as it puppeteers the host to puke out a dead bird, send people flying, and twist and mangles bodies into a crawling spider position. It is implied that at some point Amorth himself comes in contact with the devil, albeit he's adamant on the idea that his biggest fear is France winning World Cup. Rounding out the cast for The Pope's Exorcist are Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Henry the possessed child, Alex Essoe as his sister Julia, and Daniel Zovatto as fellow priest Father Esquibel.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

After the epic conclusion of HBO's The Last of Us season 1, gamers have yet another treat awaiting them in April. It's hard to ignore the cultural significance of the words “It's-a-me, Mario", spawning a generation of games about a Koopa-stomping, tunnel-warping Italian plumber. From Illumination Entertainment — creators of the beloved Despicable Me franchise — comes The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a bit of an origin story about two blue-collar immigrant plumbers in Brooklyn, New York, who get warped into the vibrant Mushroom Kingdom. Hot on their trails is the loudmouth Bowser (Jack Black), who is on a mission to collect Super Stars and steers his floating magma-fuelled island toward the kingdom.

Teaming up with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Mario (Pratt) must wage war against the evil turtle — hopping across platforms, dodging projectiles, and getting smooched by pufferfishes. Fan service is in full effect here, be it racing along the lively Rainbow Road, references to an intergalactic adventure, and his adorable shapeshifting Tanooki suit. Seth Rogen voices the tie-wearing gorilla Donkey Kong, who is seen partnering with Mario in the trailer — after a brief slapdown, that is. Meanwhile, Charlie Day's Luigi is held captive by Bowser and haunted by the idea of imminent death.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the original Mario and Zelda games, serves as a producer on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, whereas the original voice actor from the video game franchise Charles Martinet is involved in an undisclosed role.

Watch the Trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Original Mario voice actor Charles Martinet is involved in an undisclosed role
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Renfield

When: April 14
Where: Theatres

Watching Nicolas Cage being melodramatic and going through a full-blown meltdown is always entertaining, and this time, he does so as Dracula, the immortal boss from hell. Sick and tired of his century-long bidding for the vampire lord, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) the devoted servant intends to break free from his toxic relationship and carve out a new, 'normal' life in modern-day New Orleans. However, leaving isn't as simple as resigning from his post, as the Dracula who bestowed Renfield with supernatural powers, is equally capable of manipulating and abusing him into submission. He is the dark lord, after all.

But when Renfield falls in love with a perennially angry cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), he finally musters up the courage to fight back for his happiness — snacking on bugs for a power boost, before beating up countless mobsters running afoul. Based on an original concept from acclaimed comic book writer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible), Renfield also stars Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog) as mob enforcer Teddy Lobo, Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse) as mob boss Ella, and Adrien Martinez as Quincy's co-worker Chris Marcos. Chris McKay, best known for The Lego Batman Movie and The Tomorrow War directs the film.

Shaakuntalam

When: April 14
Where: Theatres

If the name wasn't a dead giveaway, Gunasekhar's upcoming mythological epic is a cinematic reimagining of Kalidasa's play, Abhijnanashakuntalam. Samantha Ruth Prabhu leads the cast as the beautiful Shakuntala, the forest-dwelling woman who instantly captures King Dushyanta's (Dev Mohan) attention, falls in love, and is wedded based on the Gandharva marriage system. As per the epic, the king was forced to return to his kingdom for some official matters, leaving behind a ring as a token of promise to bring her back to the palace as his queen. Spending most of her time fantasising about her new husband, one day, Shakuntala fails to greet the powerful Rishi Durvasa (Mohan Babu), who in a fit of rage, curses Dushyanta to forget about her.

Their reunion forms the crux of the film, as Dushyanta is unable to recognise a now-pregnant Shakuntala, leaving her to care for the child alone. Much of Shaakuntalam was filmed within a five-month period, after which, it required another two years for visual effects and general post-production — although, the CGI and green screen effects presented in the trailer look pretty unconvincing. It was created on a budget of Rs. 80 crore.

Ghosted

When: April 21
Where: Apple TV+

You'd have to be pretty crazy to travel 5,000 miles to London, hoping to reunite with a woman who ghosted you after the first meeting. Well, that's the premise of Apple TV+'s latest romantic comedy, which sees Cole (Chris Evans) going in pursuit of the enigmatic Sadie (Ana de Armas), only to get embroiled in a tussle involving gangsters who mistook him for 'The Tax Man'. Things take a wild detour when he discovers that Sadie is, in fact, a CIA agent — turning what was meant to be a second date into a series of life-threatening situations, as they're swept away on an international mission to save the world.

Adrien Brody (Detachment) plays Leveque, the main antagonist, who dispatches bounty hunters to capture and bring Sadie back alive. Meanwhile, Mike Moh (Boogie) appears to be playing one of his henchmen, expertly adept at hand-to-hand combat. Ghosted is helmed by Dexter Fletcher — best known for his 2019 Elton John biopic musical Rocketman — from a script written by a team of four: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers. The former two wrote the Deadpool movies, while the latter pair worked on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man trilogy.

Topping off the cast of Ghosted are Amy Sedaris (The Mandalorian), Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), Tate Donovan (Rocketman), and Anna Deavere Smith (Inventing Anna). This would be the third time Evans and de Armas are working together, following Knives Out and Netflix's The Gray Man.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

When: April 21
Where: Theatres

Following a cameo in the blockbuster film Pathaan, Salman Khan returns as a self-proclaimed vigilante in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, often getting into scuffles to keep crime rates to the bare minimum. Based on the 2014 Tamil film Veeram, Khan's latest role hits a bit close to home — that of an ageing bachelor, with his siblings eagerly wanting to see getting married. To solve this conundrum, his brothers try setting him up with a woman (Pooja Hegde) bearing a similar name as his past love interest. What follows next is a series of wild revelations that take him across the country, as he sets out to protect his lover's family.

The film was originally announced in 2020 with the title Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali but suffered multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farhad Samji (Pop Kaun?) directs the summer Bollywood blockbuster that is Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, enlisting a cast featuring Venkatesh Daggubati (Rana Naidu), Jagapathi Babu (Radhe Shyam), Shehnaaz Gill, and Bhumika Chawla (Sita Ramam).

Evil Dead Rise

When: April 21
Where: Theatres

Unlike other chapters in the franchise, Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise is not set in a secluded cabin in the woods, instead relocating to a small apartment in Los Angeles, and limits the chances of escape. In it, a road-weary Beth (Lily Sullivan) visits her estranged sister and single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), who struggles to raise her three children. Their reunion, however, is cut short when they discover a sinister book — the Necronomicon — from the bowels of Ellie's building, releasing flesh-possessing demons and turning the night into a primal fight for survival.

Evil Dead Rise promises to be a bloody family affair, starting with the possession of mother Ellie, which soon spreads like an infection amongst her children — played by Nell Fisher, Morgan Davies, and Gabrielle Echols. Expect torn-off scalps, skin being grated off, and demonic possessions crawling on the ceiling — akin to Ari Aster's Hereditary — in this 97-minute-long gory horror film. While it seems short when compared to the modern movie landscape, that runtime makes Evil Dead Rise the longest in the franchise.

With Bruce Campbell no longer returning as series protagonist Ash Williams, it is insinuated that Beth will have to wield the roaring chainsaw and take over the role of the Deadite-slayer. Campbell is instead serving as executive producer on Evil Dead Rise, alongside Sam Raimi.

Peter Pan & Wendy

When: April 28
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Disney continues its trend of reimagining its animated classics to live-action, and this time, it's the enchanting Peter Pan & Wendy. Co-written and directed by the acclaimed genre filmmaker David Lowery (The Green Knight), it follows Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), an adventurous girl from London who's afraid to leave her childhood home behind. That is until she meets the free-spirited Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), a young boy residing on the magical Neverland island, who refuses to grow up. Hand-in-hand with her brothers, and the little fairy Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), she joins Peter on an adventure of a lifetime — even using pixie dust to fly around.

Trouble awaits in the form of the evil pirate Captain Hook (Jude Law), who seeks revenge on Peter Pan for the loss of his left hand. Judging by the trailer, this new adaptation seems to follow the same plot beats as the original 1953 animated film, which is something that I feared from the beginning — that it would be a corporate, safe Disney movie instead of being a personal, arthouse Lowery project. That said, some of the visuals put on display - courtesy of the cinematographer Bojan Bazelli - look stunning, featuring beautiful landscapes and sequences shot on Hook's flying ship being a key standout. Just like Pinocchio from last year, Peter Pan & Wendy will be a Disney+ release.

---

The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/yuqPgNV

What are the biggest movies releasing in April 2023? Salman Khan headlines the biggest offering in Indian cinema this month, with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, a new action-packed affair which sees him as a self-appointed vigilante hoping to rid crime of the city. Directed by Farhad Samji (Pop Kaun), it is a remake of the 2014 Tamil film Veeram and is slated to release on April 21 in theatres. Follow that up with a mythological drama charting the epic love story of Shakuntala and King Dushyant, drawn from the pages of Mahabharata. Samantha Ruth Prabhu — best known for Super Deluxe — leads the cast of the Telugu film Shaakuntalam, hitting theatres on April 14.

Coming to the Hollywood side, we've got The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the main draw of which has been the discourse surrounding Chris Pratt's voice, which doesn't sound high-pitched or Italian enough. Director duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!), however, continue repeatedly defending their voice casting choice, claiming that it ‘made total sense,' given the new Mario origin story they crafted for this feature. The Nintendo-produced animated film hops into theatres on April 7. Evil Dead Rise takes Sam Raimi's universe to frighteningly new heights, by moving the gore-filled action from the cabin in the woods into the city. The film was originally set for an HBO Max release, but following some restructuring at Warner Bros., was switched to a theatrical debut on April 21.

Just like last month, April is also tame on the OTT front, with Amazon Prime Video's Air, a biopic chronicling the origin of Nike's Air Jordan line of shoes being one of the key releases. For your convenience, we have curated the biggest April 2023 releases coming to theatres, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar, which you can check out below. Also, feel free to browse our Entertainment hub to keep track of any other releases that might interest you.

Air

When: April 5
Where: Amazon Prime Video

In 1984, a year marking slow sales and growth figures for Nike, a maverick executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) stepped up to sign then-rookie Michael Jordan for a sneaker deal, and hopefully pivot his fledgling basketball division to new heights. Directed by Ben Affleck, Air offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at this blooming partnership, aided by a supportive mother Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) who believed in her son's talent; Michael Jordan would go on to become one of the greatest athletes in the history of basketball. Affleck also stars in the film as Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, constantly questioning and undermining Vaccaro's choices, whilst being humbled and reminded of the risks he took before becoming a business tycoon.

Air is based on a screenplay from debutant Alex Convery, which was named under 2021's The Black List of most-liked scripts. The film also stars Jason Bateman (Ozark) as Nike's director of marketing Rob Strauss, Marlon Wayans (Requiem for a Dream) as Nike's global basketball marketing director George Raveling, and Chris Messina (Sharp Objects) as David Falk, who represented Jordan throughout the legend's career. Air would also be the first time Affleck directs long-time friend and collaborator Damon in a feature film.

Gumraah

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

Aditya Roy Kapur (The Night Manager) stars in this Hindi-language remake of the 2019 Tamil crime thriller Thadam, appearing in a double role. A murder investigation poses big trouble for Inspector Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur) when she discovers that her prime suspect has a lookalike — albeit neither of them is aware of the other's existence. In the original film, one of them is an innocent civil engineer enjoying life as a young adult, whereas the doppelganger is a gambling thief, adept at conning people with his sidekick.

Vardhan Ketkar marks his directorial debut with Gumraah, from a script co-written by Aseem Arora (Dehraadun Diary) and Magizh Thirumeni. The latter wrote and directed the original Tamil film. Gumraah also stars Ronit Roy (Shehzada) as ACP Dhiren Yadav, and Vedika Pinto (Operation Romeo) as the protagonist's love interest.

The Pope's Exorcist

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

You can never go wrong with a campy exorcist film during summer, and the feeling only gets better when it's grounded in reality. Drawing from the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, the former Chief Exorcist of the Vatican who performed over 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, the upcoming Julius Avery supernatural horror film is a twist on the humans vs demons premise. In it, Amorth (Russell Crowe) is tasked with examining a possessed child, and incorporating rational ideas under the presumption that his subject is just mentally disturbed. Trying to figure out the demon's origins, Amorth stumbles into a centuries-old conspiracy that the Vatican tried keeping hidden — sending him on an Indiana Jones-like excavation mission into the church's various secret tombs and passageways.

Ralph Ineson (The Witch) lends his gruff voice to the demonic spirit, as it puppeteers the host to puke out a dead bird, send people flying, and twist and mangles bodies into a crawling spider position. It is implied that at some point Amorth himself comes in contact with the devil, albeit he's adamant on the idea that his biggest fear is France winning World Cup. Rounding out the cast for The Pope's Exorcist are Peter DeSouza-Feighoney as Henry the possessed child, Alex Essoe as his sister Julia, and Daniel Zovatto as fellow priest Father Esquibel.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

When: April 7
Where: Theatres

After the epic conclusion of HBO's The Last of Us season 1, gamers have yet another treat awaiting them in April. It's hard to ignore the cultural significance of the words “It's-a-me, Mario", spawning a generation of games about a Koopa-stomping, tunnel-warping Italian plumber. From Illumination Entertainment — creators of the beloved Despicable Me franchise — comes The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a bit of an origin story about two blue-collar immigrant plumbers in Brooklyn, New York, who get warped into the vibrant Mushroom Kingdom. Hot on their trails is the loudmouth Bowser (Jack Black), who is on a mission to collect Super Stars and steers his floating magma-fuelled island toward the kingdom.

Teaming up with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Mario (Pratt) must wage war against the evil turtle — hopping across platforms, dodging projectiles, and getting smooched by pufferfishes. Fan service is in full effect here, be it racing along the lively Rainbow Road, references to an intergalactic adventure, and his adorable shapeshifting Tanooki suit. Seth Rogen voices the tie-wearing gorilla Donkey Kong, who is seen partnering with Mario in the trailer — after a brief slapdown, that is. Meanwhile, Charlie Day's Luigi is held captive by Bowser and haunted by the idea of imminent death.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the original Mario and Zelda games, serves as a producer on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, whereas the original voice actor from the video game franchise Charles Martinet is involved in an undisclosed role.

Watch the Trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Original Mario voice actor Charles Martinet is involved in an undisclosed role
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Renfield

When: April 14
Where: Theatres

Watching Nicolas Cage being melodramatic and going through a full-blown meltdown is always entertaining, and this time, he does so as Dracula, the immortal boss from hell. Sick and tired of his century-long bidding for the vampire lord, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) the devoted servant intends to break free from his toxic relationship and carve out a new, 'normal' life in modern-day New Orleans. However, leaving isn't as simple as resigning from his post, as the Dracula who bestowed Renfield with supernatural powers, is equally capable of manipulating and abusing him into submission. He is the dark lord, after all.

But when Renfield falls in love with a perennially angry cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), he finally musters up the courage to fight back for his happiness — snacking on bugs for a power boost, before beating up countless mobsters running afoul. Based on an original concept from acclaimed comic book writer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible), Renfield also stars Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog) as mob enforcer Teddy Lobo, Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse) as mob boss Ella, and Adrien Martinez as Quincy's co-worker Chris Marcos. Chris McKay, best known for The Lego Batman Movie and The Tomorrow War directs the film.

Shaakuntalam

When: April 14
Where: Theatres

If the name wasn't a dead giveaway, Gunasekhar's upcoming mythological epic is a cinematic reimagining of Kalidasa's play, Abhijnanashakuntalam. Samantha Ruth Prabhu leads the cast as the beautiful Shakuntala, the forest-dwelling woman who instantly captures King Dushyanta's (Dev Mohan) attention, falls in love, and is wedded based on the Gandharva marriage system. As per the epic, the king was forced to return to his kingdom for some official matters, leaving behind a ring as a token of promise to bring her back to the palace as his queen. Spending most of her time fantasising about her new husband, one day, Shakuntala fails to greet the powerful Rishi Durvasa (Mohan Babu), who in a fit of rage, curses Dushyanta to forget about her.

Their reunion forms the crux of the film, as Dushyanta is unable to recognise a now-pregnant Shakuntala, leaving her to care for the child alone. Much of Shaakuntalam was filmed within a five-month period, after which, it required another two years for visual effects and general post-production — although, the CGI and green screen effects presented in the trailer look pretty unconvincing. It was created on a budget of Rs. 80 crore.

Ghosted

When: April 21
Where: Apple TV+

You'd have to be pretty crazy to travel 5,000 miles to London, hoping to reunite with a woman who ghosted you after the first meeting. Well, that's the premise of Apple TV+'s latest romantic comedy, which sees Cole (Chris Evans) going in pursuit of the enigmatic Sadie (Ana de Armas), only to get embroiled in a tussle involving gangsters who mistook him for 'The Tax Man'. Things take a wild detour when he discovers that Sadie is, in fact, a CIA agent — turning what was meant to be a second date into a series of life-threatening situations, as they're swept away on an international mission to save the world.

Adrien Brody (Detachment) plays Leveque, the main antagonist, who dispatches bounty hunters to capture and bring Sadie back alive. Meanwhile, Mike Moh (Boogie) appears to be playing one of his henchmen, expertly adept at hand-to-hand combat. Ghosted is helmed by Dexter Fletcher — best known for his 2019 Elton John biopic musical Rocketman — from a script written by a team of four: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers. The former two wrote the Deadpool movies, while the latter pair worked on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man trilogy.

Topping off the cast of Ghosted are Amy Sedaris (The Mandalorian), Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), Tate Donovan (Rocketman), and Anna Deavere Smith (Inventing Anna). This would be the third time Evans and de Armas are working together, following Knives Out and Netflix's The Gray Man.

Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan

When: April 21
Where: Theatres

Following a cameo in the blockbuster film Pathaan, Salman Khan returns as a self-proclaimed vigilante in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, often getting into scuffles to keep crime rates to the bare minimum. Based on the 2014 Tamil film Veeram, Khan's latest role hits a bit close to home — that of an ageing bachelor, with his siblings eagerly wanting to see getting married. To solve this conundrum, his brothers try setting him up with a woman (Pooja Hegde) bearing a similar name as his past love interest. What follows next is a series of wild revelations that take him across the country, as he sets out to protect his lover's family.

The film was originally announced in 2020 with the title Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali but suffered multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farhad Samji (Pop Kaun?) directs the summer Bollywood blockbuster that is Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, enlisting a cast featuring Venkatesh Daggubati (Rana Naidu), Jagapathi Babu (Radhe Shyam), Shehnaaz Gill, and Bhumika Chawla (Sita Ramam).

Evil Dead Rise

When: April 21
Where: Theatres

Unlike other chapters in the franchise, Lee Cronin's Evil Dead Rise is not set in a secluded cabin in the woods, instead relocating to a small apartment in Los Angeles, and limits the chances of escape. In it, a road-weary Beth (Lily Sullivan) visits her estranged sister and single mother Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), who struggles to raise her three children. Their reunion, however, is cut short when they discover a sinister book — the Necronomicon — from the bowels of Ellie's building, releasing flesh-possessing demons and turning the night into a primal fight for survival.

Evil Dead Rise promises to be a bloody family affair, starting with the possession of mother Ellie, which soon spreads like an infection amongst her children — played by Nell Fisher, Morgan Davies, and Gabrielle Echols. Expect torn-off scalps, skin being grated off, and demonic possessions crawling on the ceiling — akin to Ari Aster's Hereditary — in this 97-minute-long gory horror film. While it seems short when compared to the modern movie landscape, that runtime makes Evil Dead Rise the longest in the franchise.

With Bruce Campbell no longer returning as series protagonist Ash Williams, it is insinuated that Beth will have to wield the roaring chainsaw and take over the role of the Deadite-slayer. Campbell is instead serving as executive producer on Evil Dead Rise, alongside Sam Raimi.

Peter Pan & Wendy

When: April 28
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Disney continues its trend of reimagining its animated classics to live-action, and this time, it's the enchanting Peter Pan & Wendy. Co-written and directed by the acclaimed genre filmmaker David Lowery (The Green Knight), it follows Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson), an adventurous girl from London who's afraid to leave her childhood home behind. That is until she meets the free-spirited Peter Pan (Alexander Molony), a young boy residing on the magical Neverland island, who refuses to grow up. Hand-in-hand with her brothers, and the little fairy Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi), she joins Peter on an adventure of a lifetime — even using pixie dust to fly around.

Trouble awaits in the form of the evil pirate Captain Hook (Jude Law), who seeks revenge on Peter Pan for the loss of his left hand. Judging by the trailer, this new adaptation seems to follow the same plot beats as the original 1953 animated film, which is something that I feared from the beginning — that it would be a corporate, safe Disney movie instead of being a personal, arthouse Lowery project. That said, some of the visuals put on display - courtesy of the cinematographer Bojan Bazelli - look stunning, featuring beautiful landscapes and sequences shot on Hook's flying ship being a key standout. Just like Pinocchio from last year, Peter Pan & Wendy will be a Disney+ release.

---

The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Gadgets 360

Alibaba Group said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70 percent off its shares.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company's breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually list on their own.

His comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units, each with their own boards and CEOs.

"Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies," Zhang told investors on a conference call on Thursday.

On the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would "continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies" and "decide whether or not to continue to retain control".

Alibaba's indication that it could divest from assets and sell control of business units after they go public comes more than two years after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on its tech giants, targeting monopolistic practices, data security protection and other issues.

While the new business units will have their own CEOs and boards, Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added.

The group's Hong Kong-listed shares opened 2.7 percent higher after the investor call and were still up 2% as of 0147 GMT.

Matter of survival

Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago, Zhang told investors during a conference call.

As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they're ready, Xu said, when asked about the timeline for the listings. The changes will come into effect immediately.

"We believe the market is the litmus test so each company can pursue financing and IPO as and when they are ready," said Xu.

Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public, Xu said.

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to continue to monetise non-strategic assets in its portfolio to optimise its capital structure, said Xu.

Alibaba's major rival Tencent, has in the past year divested from a number of portfolio companies including selling a $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,672 crore) stake in SEA, transferring $16.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1,34,843 crore) worth of JD.COM shares and $20 billion worth of Meituan shares to shareholders.

Alibaba's reorganisation will not change its share repurchase plan, Xu added on the call.

Qi Wang, CEO of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment, said the sector's strategic move to reorganise was about survival.

"These internet firms are not going to just sit there and let regulation erode away their growth and profits," Wang said. "Companies including Tencent, Alibaba, JD, Didi and ByteDance have been making bottom-up changes to mitigate the regulatory risk, cost cutting (layoffs), improving operating efficiency, divesting non-core businesses."

Alibaba, once valued at more than $800 billion (roughly Rs. 65,77,240 crore), has seen its market valuation decline to $260 billion (roughly Rs. 21,37,629 crore) since Beijing started a crackdown on its sprawling tech sector in late 2020.

Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently.

The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/tUHrmMk

Alibaba Group said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70 percent off its shares.

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company's breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually list on their own.

His comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company's history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units, each with their own boards and CEOs.

"Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies," Zhang told investors on a conference call on Thursday.

On the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would "continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies" and "decide whether or not to continue to retain control".

Alibaba's indication that it could divest from assets and sell control of business units after they go public comes more than two years after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on its tech giants, targeting monopolistic practices, data security protection and other issues.

While the new business units will have their own CEOs and boards, Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added.

The group's Hong Kong-listed shares opened 2.7 percent higher after the investor call and were still up 2% as of 0147 GMT.

Matter of survival

Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago, Zhang told investors during a conference call.

As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they're ready, Xu said, when asked about the timeline for the listings. The changes will come into effect immediately.

"We believe the market is the litmus test so each company can pursue financing and IPO as and when they are ready," said Xu.

Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public, Xu said.

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to continue to monetise non-strategic assets in its portfolio to optimise its capital structure, said Xu.

Alibaba's major rival Tencent, has in the past year divested from a number of portfolio companies including selling a $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,672 crore) stake in SEA, transferring $16.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1,34,843 crore) worth of JD.COM shares and $20 billion worth of Meituan shares to shareholders.

Alibaba's reorganisation will not change its share repurchase plan, Xu added on the call.

Qi Wang, CEO of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment, said the sector's strategic move to reorganise was about survival.

"These internet firms are not going to just sit there and let regulation erode away their growth and profits," Wang said. "Companies including Tencent, Alibaba, JD, Didi and ByteDance have been making bottom-up changes to mitigate the regulatory risk, cost cutting (layoffs), improving operating efficiency, divesting non-core businesses."

Alibaba, once valued at more than $800 billion (roughly Rs. 65,77,240 crore), has seen its market valuation decline to $260 billion (roughly Rs. 21,37,629 crore) since Beijing started a crackdown on its sprawling tech sector in late 2020.

Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently.

The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

The newly launched Oppo Find N2 Flip is the first foldable from the company to debut in India. But does it have what it takes to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.