Alibaba mapping logs record for daily users on first day of China holiday

HONG KONG (GWN) -Alibaba’s (BABA) mapping app Amap recorded more than 360 million daily energetic users on the first day of China’s eight-day National Day holiday on Wednesday, setting an all-time high for the platform, the company said in a assertion.

Alibaba and rival Meituan have been locked in a bitter battle for market share, with Amap transferring away from its conventional focus on navigation and encroaching on Meituan’s local-lifestyle territory by launching its own rating of eating places, accommodations and vacationer locations.

In Thursday commerce in Hong Kong, index heavyweight Alibaba jumped 4% after JPMorgan raised the tech giant’s goal share price to HK$240 ($30.85) from a earlier HK$165.

Coinciding with the normal Mid-Autumn Festival, the National Day holiday this 12 months has been prolonged from one week to eight days, fuelling a surge in journey. The holiday period, which ends this 12 months on October 8, is historically one of the busiest in China.

In September, Amap announced a new operate identified as “Street Stars,” which makes use of artificial intelligence algorithms to rank locations for its daily energetic users.

The app was offering users 1 billion yuan ($140.43 million) in subsidies for coupons for ride-hailing or in-store companies as half of the new service’s launch.

Chinese customers have long relied on apps such as Meituan’s Dazhong Dianping to research restaurant suggestions, make bookings and more.

China’s national railway recorded 23.13 million journeys on the first day of the National Day holiday, up practically 8% from a 12 months earlier and setting a single-day record, state media CCTV reported.

($1 = 7.7800 Hong Kong {dollars})

(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Kate Mayberry)