China Company Transformation Indicator

Technology Industry 2024

Technology companies ranking 2024

BATs and other household name Chinese tech companies focus on transformations while battling other business challenges

Chinese tech sector companies, once the darlings of China’s private sector, are facing challenges, as many of them have been battered by strict regulatory oversight and flailing international expansion coupled with data security concerns and lack of chip availability.

How the Chinese tech sector fared in 2023 and what its future might look like are the questions addressed through IMD’s latest China Management Transformation Indicator.

We investigated 37 listed tech companies in key sectors, including the internet, smart home and city, semiconductors and electronic components, and original design manufacturers (ODMs). The Chinese tech sector is still dominated by internet technology firms with the ‘BATs’ (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) in the top five, along with JD.com and NetEase. But it’s also worthy of note that we already see three hard tech companies in the top rankings, including semiconductor giant SMIC, transformed incumbent Lenovo, and the global security technology leader Hikvision.

The narrative of Chinese tech is evolving – the challenges of strict regulatory oversight and international expansion woes accelerate a drive into a future powered by investments in advanced technologies and firming up management models. The future of Chinese tech may well be in the hidden champions of technology. Although they are slower, more focused, and less appealing to the media, they could become the global tech contenders in the years to come.

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How Chinese companies are reinventing management

Chinese companies have long been acclaimed for their manufacturing prowess, and, more recently, for their pragmatic approach to innovation. Now, it’s time to recognize how they are also reinventing the role of management through an approach we call “digitally enhanced directed autonomy,” or DEDA.

How Chinese retailers are reinventing the customer journey

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In a crisis, ecosystem businesses have a competitive advantage

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Understanding China’s next wave of innovation

In recent years, a handful of Chinese companies have emerged as global innovators and have garnered a lot of attention. This group includes online retail giant Alibaba, appliance maker Haier, search and data technology provider Baidu, and Tencent, the social communication and gaming ecosystem.

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The role of Ping An technology in enabling Ping An group’s digital ecosystem

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Five trends to watch in China in 2024

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Asian hub China’s leveraging of technology to reinvent retail can serve as inspiration for other Asian markets

By putting the consumer’s needs at the center, China’s retail companies have rethought the value chain and reinvented the retail model to deliver a greater and more relevant retail experience to consumers, argued Mark Greeven, IMD’s Professor of Innovation and Strategy, at an exclusive Industry Dialogue Series with senior leaders from around Asia.