In the news: Yum Brands goes upmarket, Sina gets scolded over lack of censorship and taxes follow Alibaba shares

Yum seeks China revival with upmarket restaurant

Yum Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is testing new concepts and menus at its high-end Italian eatery Atto Primo on Shanghai's Bund as it tries to arrest a slump in revenue. Repeated food scares, rising local competition and what some analysts call brand fatigue contributed to a 16% sales drop in 2014's last quarter in China, Yum's biggest market with nearly 7,000 restaurants. The company's new CEO said last month that reviving sales is “priority number one, two and three” – the firm plans to build 700 new fast-food stores this year and rival Starbucks with more coffee offerings. The fancy Atto Primo hides all links with Yum, raising the question of how consumers would react if they knew the diner that they are paying top dollar at is owned by a company that runs fast-food stores. Upscale restaurants, especially on the Bund, do well. The true test would be whether it can succeed with the Yum label.

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Sina scolded by regulators for insufficient censorship

China's Cyberspace Administration has threatened to shut down news services provided by the company that runs Weibo, one of the nation's most popular microblog platforms, if Sina Corp. does not fix what was described as problems with inadequate censorship and the spreading of false information. The agency has led efforts to control the country's 649 million online users. In February, it announced new rules that require users to register their real names with service providers and refrain from posting information that violates national interests. Such stringent moves can hurt internet companies like Sina that attract users with open discussion forums and by promoting self-expression, social interaction and rapid content distribution. These services are utilised by the public as well as officials. Weibo has 176 monthly active users as of December 2014 and the figure continues to rise.

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China's taxman comes for Alibaba

Two of Alibaba's 'lock-up' agreements have expired, releasing an additional 437 million shares for trading. Another 1.6 billion will be eligible to hit the market in September. Alibaba sold 320 million shares, or about 13% of the company, in its IPO in September last year. During an IPO, companies can lock up shares from trading for a certain period to prevent major shareholders from flooding the market in the initial trading period. Altogether, these Alibaba stocks represent 80% of the company, and they would get US$165 billion if sold at current prices. China will definitely look to collect tax on this as it continues to crack down on evasion. The government requires those with share incentive schemes to register with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Thanks to this channel and the high number of domestic companies listed overseas, China can keep track of who needs to pay up. Once this is in place, the regulators can hunt down the smaller private companies and rich individuals that slip through the net.

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