Ant Group, Big Brother Technology and TikTok.

Chasing Dragons, Tigers and Wolves.

Where Do Banned Companies Go?

By Dominic Alvieri, @AlvieriD
January 1st, 2021

The Ant Group IPO is being restructured.

Jack Ma can look back at his infamous "pawn shops" comment in Shanghai as the final straw as President Xi Jinping pulled the plug on the record IPO. The outspoken Mr. Ma can only abide and wait for word from Mr. Jinping now. Five new mysterious shareholders were requested to be added late before the hook. Several of the shareholders are virtually unknown.

Those shareholders hold the key. The Ant Group IPO will be coming soon.

Chinese officials in Beijing have cracked down on technology controls right before the ByteDance TikTok deal ran into issues. The US department of Defense is still weighing in and out of court on the matter. Jack Ma spoke in Shanghai in October 2020 and berated many before being benched. 

President Xi Jinping showed his power during the flip flop of TikTok which should have been a flashing red signal for Mr. Ma. TikTok is still battling for survival. 

My Big Brother and His Technology

Leon Technology Co Ltd. website.

Where do Banned Companies Go?

The United States has banned many companies, subsidiaries and people from doing business. Many other measures, companies and people will be barred in the last weeks of this current administration.

What does a company do if it is banned?  Surveillance is big business. Leon Technology Co Ltd exports their systems to over 50 countries around the world including Congo, the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe. 

Leon Technology Co Ltd. headquartered out of Xinjiang, China and has some amazing capabilities.

Leon is headquartered in Xinjiang, China with website traffic routed to Hong Kong servers. Leon has technology solutions and services combining software from Beijing based Megvii and another software company called SenseTime bundled in with their camera systems for a one stop surveillance solution. Leon has built combined surveillance systems with tracking and tracing software so powerful and detailed that it can determine your ethnicity.

Reeducation or Concentration?

Technology can be a weapon in evil hands. Leon has been investigated for what the company and Beijing call reeducation centers for Uighur Muslims. The rest of the world has a different term for it.

Over the past year many companies have been moving their corporate bases and obfuscating their origins to continue selling their products. For an example of the adventures of  "Leon Technology," look no further than LinkedIn. The companies appear to be connected.

No response for comment was issued from any of the companies involved before press time. This Leon Technology is based in Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou, or Xinjiang? The company is either 2 years old or over 20. One company executive lists 25 years of service for Leon Technology.

Leon Technology on LinkedIn.

Two of Several Websites for Chinese based Leon Technology.

4 month old new website for a company that looks to be in business for over 20 years.

Ground Support for Singapore Airlines

Leon Ground Support for Singapore Airlines and others.

Airline Ground Support and Golf Carts

Secure Area Ground Support

Airline ground support as well.

Capital and Companies are on The Move.

Capital and companies are moving. There is a mass rebranding of capital and corporate identities.

Prior year investments into Hong Kong and Taiwan are now flooding into countries like Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Saigon High-tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoa Lake Hi-tech Park in Hanoi and even the smaller Da Nang High-tech Park are buzzing with activity. Two out of the three have questionable new arrivals. 

Some companies moving into Vietnam and Cambodia are well know like Mitsubishi, others are not. Many seem to be diverse like Cambodian New Juihuan Trading Co Ltd. Others are more opaque. 

Many companies appear to be new with little knowledge and new unknown shareholders and chain of command but big bank rolls. One new shareholder has obvious dubious underworld ties and that is a mild understatement. Yatai International is just one example with dubious ties in the area. Yatai  primarily deals with gaming and other investment services.

Facebook page for the Development of Cambodia, headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Cambodia has embarked on an aggressive campaign to draw investment into Cambodia. Special economic zones are set up all over the south east region. China has set an additional 50 special economic zones as part of their aggressive belt and road initiative. Follow the casino road and the money trail.

Cambodia has approximately 30 casinos with another 70 being planned. The technology parks and initiatives are growing as well. Japanese entrepreneur Izuka Takeshi has an interesting venture at Kirirom University training Cambodians for free in computer science and cybersecurity with job offers in Japan upon graduation. By all accounts a worthwhile venture for all parties involved.

There are a few new trails to traverse to get to the bottom of the shell flipping challenges of today.

Several new leads have been uncovered with complex twists and ties.   

This type of entanglement would have scared Einstein as well. 

Happy New Year. 2021 will be better. Stay safe and stay tuned. 

The Cyber Show, The CyberSecurity Show.

Dominic Alvieri, @AlvieriD

The Cyber Show on Google Blogger

The CyberSecurity Show

Flip Flop on TikTok.

 Trump flip flops on TikTok.

By Dominic Alvieri @AlvieriD

ByteDance would own 80% of the new entity, with Oracle being the trusted US technology partner and 12.5% owner, and Walmart would own 7.5%.

TikTok would go public in the US next year. Now is the time for US Data Policy Regulation.

ByteDance will still own the majority.

In an amazing turn of events, President Trump has flip flopped on TikTok an now gives his blessing. The pressure to approve this deal is overwhelming. The possible backlash from Beijing. The backlash from devoted users. The backlash from Wall Street. 

The security concerns remain. ByteDance will still retain the majority and incorporating a new entity in any jurisdiction will not change the business fact. If ByteDance requests any data it does not already have, how can a minority owner block that process? Maintaining data in the United States alone would not deny the immutable fact that majority rules and the data grab is already complete.

  

The security nightmare begins. MAC addresses have been secretly copied. Data concerns remain.

What would stop any request from the majority owners domiciled government? 

The deal still has several steps towards final approval. China is in support of this 80/20 structure.

TikTok would go public next year and be listed on a US exchange. 

Wall Street has already called. Wall Street loves this deal. Wall Street loved Luckin Coffee too.

There are cybersecurity issues that remain. Valuable assets with a security nightmare. 

How can you deny a ByteDance request? MAC addresses have been secretly copied. 

what if they want more from the host?

Now is the time for US Data Policy Regulations. 

Dominic Alvieri, @AlvieriD

Analyst, Independent Researcher and Tracker.

The Bumbled Bubble, All Around.

 

The Bumbled Bubble.

     By Dominic Alvieri @AlvieriD

        The Bumbled Bubble is not just about valuations. 

        Out of date policies, practices and procedures are holding our country back. 

 

The Federal minimum wage has NOT CHANGED since 2009 at $7.25 per hour. The chart below from NASDAQ.com during that same period of time shows a staggering return of 541%, not including dividends. Chart below courtesy of NASDAQ.com. During that time that the minimum wage has not changed. That must be repeated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 325.78%, not adjusted for inflation (CPI), and 225.45% from July 24, 2009, to the last trading day of August, 2020.

 If one were to adjust the minimum wage by the lower end DJIA return over the same period the minimum wage would be $23.60 per hour. The jobs that are being pushed at $8-12 an hour. That is not a job. We all can hear of the record $364 million dollars raised by a party. The other party is not far behind. They have good paying jobs and benefits. Companies are keeping wages down and hours below the benefit threshold. A common trick. Many old tricks are being exposed daily and the bad actors continue to act as if everything is just swell.

The data is from the US Government, DJIA, NASDAQ.com websites. Twitter Fact Check That. @AlvieriD

The Pandemic funding shows flaws in the systems and society. PPP loans were being pushed to prevent companies from laying workers off. The massive Federal Reserve cash injection has inflated stocks to such lofty levels and artificial record highs. A couple of four that has not lost their jobs they received an extra $3,400. The FEMA Emergency Fund level is a new important number to watch. If the economy does not improve by that point, will the Fed be able to step in again? What about stepping in to more than double the minimum wage? You can please highlight the more than 11 year run at this minimum that said owner has been taking advantage of. 

What then? Ten dollars an hour for anyone who lost a twenty dollar an hour job? People who didn’t lose their jobs and could buy stocks at the lows did well. What if I don’t have any stocks? What is a stock? 

Middle income workers had to drain savings accounts and sell stocks at the low in March to survive because of the uncertainty, delays, and capacity issues flooding the unemployment systems. Some systems are outdated technologies including Cobalt. Many states have different networks, within a standard, but they are not the same as the government systems. Technologically or by fiscal implementation standards. Is the same politician around? Probably.

 

Part 2. As the markets soared to unsustainable heights, tens of millions of workers are still looking to replace multiple jobs with living wages. Productivity and cost reductions by corporations during the Pandemic brought about the realization that staffing levels can be lowered and you can increase the bottom line. You can paint any picture you want. I see people with the new cars and items, and I see the people unable to maintain their homes. Franchise and business owners get to buy another Maserati or Mercedes while others have to beg that same owner to get to eleven dollars an hour?

Do the math. Is that a living wage? Is $15? How much is that new iPhone?

Fake accounts count but people without a social media account don’t? 

Did anyone else hear that?

Wall Street pays better. They avoid struggling areas in the Bronx, West Philadelphia or Crenshaw. Go to any state. You don’t know what the real issue is. Wall Street has an issue as well. No more Chinese companies to go public like Un-luckin Coffee. 

Now what? 

There is something about a person in cybersecurity that is not common...you see things. You find things. You can sometimes hear things, but you have to listen.

                     

Part 3. Please Do Not Part. The Federal Reserve ad infinitum is not possible. 

 My children would like an iPhone as well, not a black and white tv.

Again. The Federal Reserve has pumped a record amount of money into the economy, read markets. Money has nowhere else to go. not to the intended bottom line. At least  not your bottom line. Valuations continue to be distorted. Reports that 6 out of 7 major stocks account for the majority gains in the S&P 500. Apple soared to a market capitalization of 2 Trillion dollars this past week. 

With the flood of companies rushing to cash out at record highs accountability must be noted today, not years from now. AirBnB and Stripe are discussing going public. Bumble and Skillz have filed this past week with more coming as reported. Valuations continue to be created out of thin air in some cases, ala the 1990’s Dotcom Bubble “new metric.” It is different this time. Pay Per Account. Reports value the Bumble IPO at over 6 Billion dollars. What metric was that again?

 Wait, am I the buyer? Who am I buying from?

Mr Buffet, what is the going rate for a fake account? Recent reports of new fraudulent and fake accounts sexually exploiting minors have been dubbed “Instagram Joe” and “TikTok Tony” on social media. They are everywhere. Every platform suffers from that plague. Even on LinkedIn. A fake recruiter contacted me that I scared off was on LinkedIn. Something about Cybersecurity that makes the bad guys run. That was an easy spot. Not even a good Troll. Social, racial and political Trolls abound. It is hunting season.

The MO is usually the same. Multiple fake social accounts on multiple platforms. Several fake email accounts. Silicon Valley needs to work together. Two systems on the same network can get in trouble, no? Closing the account is simply kicking the can to the next, if he is not already there. They have multiple outlets.  

Will that account be there next month? Is that account and traffic real? Validating an IPO with metrics that need to be purged of what is now known before the sale. If I have 10 accounts and 2 are fake and fraudulent accounts doing more harm then good, how can they be included? What would you pay?

A fake account is not a valuable asset. It is fraud on both sides. The user behind the account, and the accountant who validates a known fake. Every platform has fake accounts.  

 

American middle class be aware. Middle class is now low income.

The old adage is true, the rich keep getting richer while the poor get poorer. 

 

 

CNBC, CNN and other major news outlets continue to push what sells. Push what is paid for. Why don’t we talk about Pelosi’s hair cur or Trumps Tweets. That sells. The homeless and most unemployed do not have social accounts to make their voice heard. Corporate America will see the woman in NC making $33 a week in unemployment and does not even qualify for the new $300 wage loss provision. The wage loss provision does not kick in unless you make over $100 a week in unemployment. That doesn’t sell, but that is the truth.

Black Lives Matter supporters, does anyone know what is going to happen to that nice woman? Does she not count? Don't we all count?

Dominic Alvieri. Analyst, Independent Researcher and Tracker. @AlvieriD

  

Attention Walmart shoppers...

 

TiKTok Still going, going...

August 29^th, 2020 By Dominic Alvieri @AlvieriD

 

         Attention Walmart shoppers…

              …and Microsoft, Oracle, Triller, SoftBank, Twitter…

    One way or another, TikTok is changing in the next few months.

 

The process is just insane. The company is unable to protect its data from Chinese law. The president of the United States is forcing the sale. CEO Kevin Mayer quit this week after only a few months. Lawsuits have been filed and investment banking teams are meeting around the clock all over the world. All risks are not known to all parties.

 

TikTok has been caught logging MAC addresses and has not been helpful with fake accounts on its platform. Some of the videos are so stupid and bullying, but they remain on the site and it has been growing like crazy. ByteDance, parent of TikTok has finally released subscriber rates to increase its sale price. With all the bad press surrounding the company, this is a last ditch effort to glorify the value of its assets under its waning control.

The data grab is complete.

Legacy accounts will have to be changed.

It will be a security nightmare for the acquirer of US TikTok assets.

 

Bloomberg has reported that SoftBank has filed to sell $14 Billion in assets to raise cash. Microsoft, Oracle, Twitter and even Walmart has stepped up to the table. Reuters reported early this morning that Triller made a $20 Billion bid late last night with the help from another firm. That is not a serious bid. The stakes are higher.

No doubt there will be more twists and turns to this saga this week. Stay tuned.

 

            

Analyst, Independent Researcher and Tracker.

       @AlvieriD