| Hi there, it's Ed in San Francisco. Chinese consumer companies are trying to make a mark as advertisers for Europe's most popular football tournament. But first... Three things you need to know today: • SK Hynix plans to invest $75 billion on chips through 2028
• The EU wants Temu and Shein to show they are complying with the Digital Services Act
• Japan launched its flagship rocket carrying a satellite into low-Earth orbit I've just returned from Europe, where it's hard to miss the attention on the major football (soccer for our American readers) tournament, UEFA Euro 2024, which has entered the knockout stages. What caught my eye watching matches in continental European bars, London pubs and my parent's living room were the company brands and logos that the American consumer of live sports wouldn't necessarily recognize: China's AliExpress, Alipay and electric vehicle-maker BYD Co. Each of the Chinese tech giants is a member of the "UEFA Euro 2024 official global sponsors" list. Alipay, a platform owned by Ant Group Co., is also a national team football sponsor. In the Chinese media, the focus has largely been on the names providing smart technology solutions for the tournament. But some outlets have noted that more than a third of the tournament's official sponsors are Chinese brands, flying the flag for that country. The trio are trying to cash in on the eyeballs watching teams like Germany, England and France because Europe represents a key growth market opportunity. If you're reading this in America and you've not seen their logos or branding before at US sporting events, it's because that market is a much tougher place to penetrate amid a tense political climate and increasing competition with China. It's worth pointing out that Chinese companies sponsoring prominent football events isn't new. Hisense Group, an electronics and appliance maker, has previously supported European football and continues to be listed by UEFA as a global sponsor of the tournament and a UEFA national team football official sponsor. Vivo sponsored the 2020 edition of the tournament (played in 2021 due to Covid). Oppo, another Chinese electronics manufacturer, is a major sponsor of the Champions League, the most widely watched annual football tournament in the world. The average attendance in stadiums at the Euro 2024 tournament this year is just more than 50,000 fans per match. On television, host nation Germany's matches are pulling in more than 20 million viewers per game on public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. England's opening game against Serbia on public broadcaster BBC attracted a peak audience of 15 million people. In France, TF1 had an audience of about 10 million for Les Bleus group games. "New players in the market, such as BYD, recognize the potential of expanding their reach, enhancing brand awareness and building their image in Europe," a UEFA spokesperson told me. "For them, sporting events like UEFA EURO 2024 can serve as powerful platforms to achieve marketing objectives." European football's governing body is quick to point out that the tournament is normally followed by "hundreds of millions of fans around the world," making it attractive for advertisers. But UEFA also outlined the logic that they do business with companies headquartered worldwide because that's where a lot of their eyeballs are coming from. It's a two-way deal after all. From June 1 to June 24, AliExpress app downloads surged more than 100% year-over-year across the 24 countries that are participating in Euro 2024. In that same time period, app downloads declined for Amazon.com Inc. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts had argued in May, before a ball was kicked, that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. would need to boost weekly active users 70% month-on-month for its online shopping site across the duration of the tournament to prove their marketing spend was actually boosting growth outside of China. Their target number was based on the comparison with rival Temu, which saw its weekly active users jump that 70% in February 2023, after rolling out its first SuperBowl-related campaign in the US. Temu has made inroads to the US market in less than two years and is a rare example of a Chinese company doing so from a standing start, particularly in this political environment. Its aggressive marketing around the Super Bowl paid off. The e-commerce upstart now attracts more repeat shoppers than eBay. It will be interesting to see if BYD, Alibaba and Ant Group can replicate that strategy in Europe. For BYD, by comparison, the US consumer market is almost a nonstarter while the European market for electric and hybrid vehicles is a viable one. The Biden administration has boosted tariffs on China-made EVs. So all of those European football fans are a key area of focus in an area where BYD sells two models and is growing. So far in 2024, BYD has sold around 12,500 vehicles across the UK, EU and other European countries: a tiny fraction of the market at about 1.06%, but already double what it did in 2023, according to data by Rho Motion. "BYD wants to enhance brand awareness with European customers by partnering with UEFA EURO 2024," a spokesperson said by email. "By showcasing the technologies and products on this global stage, BYD can promote the concept of green mobility to football fans across Europe." On Instagram, England and Manchester City star player Phil Foden posted a photo of himself "loving (his) new car," a BYD which he thanked the company's UK arm for putting him in touch with. What's curious, having returned home to California, is that I'm still seeing the same Chinese logos at the tournament. Just like in Europe, US soccer fans can't avoid the revolving digital advertising boards along the pitch during live coverage of the games — even though they're not the targeted audience.—Edward Ludlow Microsoft's hack by cybercriminals tied to Russia, first disclosed in January, keeps expanding. At least a dozen about Texas state agencies and public universities were told last week that their emails were exposed in the hack. Microsoft's $13 billion OpenAI investment is under EU antitrust scrutiny. The EU warns that its chipmakers may lose Chinese market share. The parent of China's CXMT will invest $2.4 billion in a new Shanghai chip plant. Amazon hired top executives and employees from an artificial intelligence startup. The CDK hackers have ties to the notorious Russia-based cybercrime gang. (The cutline of the "One to watch" section in the Tech Daily published June 29 was corrected to show that Jeff Thomas works for Nasdaq.) | 
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