China Weekly IT News Roundup for the 3rd Week of August

- Lenovo sees 19% increase in revenue year-over-year
Lenovo announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2018, which ended June 30, on August 17. Lenovo's revenue for the first quarter was $11.91 billion, a 19% increase year-over-year. With improved profitability across all business sectors, pre-tax profit for the period increased by $182 million year-over-year, recording a growth of $113 million. Yang Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO of Lenovo, stated, "We will maintain profitability and premium in the PC market and improve profits in the smartphone business within the health sector." He added, "We plan to generate sustainable profits in the long term by building the data center business as a sustainable growth and profit engine and continuing investments in 'Smart IoT + Cloud' and 'Infrastructure + Cloud'."

- Alibaba Cloud Supports Southeast Asian Retailers
Alibaba Cloud announced the 'ASEAN Partner Affiliate Program' targeting e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia at the 'Alibaba Cloud Summit Infinity 2018' held in Singapore on August 16. Through this program, Alibaba Cloud plans to build a sustainable ecosystem that accelerates digital innovation. We plan to recruit 150 solution partners and train 600 sales and technical personnel over the next 12 months to improve the quality of the market.

Honor 10, Recognized in Europe as well
Honor 10, the latest flagship model from Huawei's subsidiary Honor, was recognized as a smartphone suitable for the younger generation after receiving the 'EISA Lifestyle Smartphone 2018-2019' award at the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) awards ceremony on August 15. EISA highly praised the Honor 10's "intelligent camera system" and "AI software capable of understanding and adjusting shooting settings based on up to 500 everyday situations." It also noted the Honor 10's "aluminum frame and glass-back design available in four colors." Founded in 1982, EISA is a multimedia association that tests consumer electronics products.

- JA Solar Sweeps Japanese Solar Market in First Half of Year
On August 14, JA Solar surpassed 3.3 GW in cumulative shipments of solar power products in Japan, taking responsibility for 4.3 billion kWh of electricity generation capacity in the country. JA Solar was the largest supplier of solar modules to Japan in the first half of this year. JA Solar supplies bifacial PERC double glass and PERC half-cell modules to Japan. JA Solar established a subsidiary in Tokyo in 2012 to lay the groundwork for entering the Japanese market, and currently has over 200 strategic partners in Japan.

- Trina Solar supplies modules to Europe's largest solar power project
Trina Solar announced on August 9 that it will supply 167 MW of solar modules for Europe's largest solar power project. Spain's ACS Group and its subsidiary Cobra are constructing a power plant with a total capacity of 500 MW in Mulla, Murcia, Spain. The plant, which will supply power to a 1,000-hectare area, is expected to begin operations in late 2019. Trina Solar plans to supply 496,000 units of its TSM-PE14H polycrystalline modules, which feature an electrical output of 355–340 W.