Mengniu Drives Needed Dairy Consolidation

Mengniu swallows Yashili

Mengniu’s (HKEx: 2319) new announcement of its third major tie-up in the last month marks the latest step in an important and necessary consolidation for a battered Chinese dairy sector that has been in turmoil for the last 5 years. This kind of retrenchment, which includes a healthy dose of participation by foreign firms, is exactly the kind of medicine that China needs to restore consumer confidence to its fragmented and often unruly food sectors. Continue reading →

HK Nets Another High-Tech IPO

Skytech picks Hong Kong for IPO

Hong Kong’s stock exchange looks set to snare another Chinese high-tech IPO, with media reports that a unit of Sinosoft Technology is planning a relatively large offering in the market. The reports, if true, would mark yet the latest sign of a shifting tide that could see more Chinese high-tech starts-ups list in Hong Kong as they eschew their previous favorite destinations on stock exchanges in New York. Continue reading →

News Digest: June 20, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China’s Wanda To Spend $1.6 Bln On UK Yacht Maker, Hotel (English article)
  • GM (NYSE: GM) Aims For 10 Pct Of China’s Luxury Car Market By 2020 (English article)
  • Shuanghui Getting $7.9 Bln Financing for Smithfield (NYSE: SFD) Bid (English article)
  • Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Introduces “Bing It On” Campaign to China (English article)
  • Asustek (Taipei: 2357) Stops Supplying PCs To Jingdong Over Low Pricing (Chinese article)

eBay’s Paypal: China Payment License In Sight

PayPal still waiting for China license

China’s regulators have never been known for moving fast on anything, and that case seems to apply even more when it comes to allowing foreign players into emerging markets like third-party payment services. More than 2 years after China began awarding licenses for its domestic companies to offer such, foreign companies are still waiting for equal rights in the lucrative domestic market. But now US e-commerce giant eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY)  is saying it could soon become the first foreign licensee to enter the market, providing both a big opportunity but also a major challenge as it seeks to catch up to Chinese rivals with more than a 2-year head-start. Continue reading →

China, EU Solar Talks Get Positive Lift

China, EU solar talks take positive turn

After a disastrous round of talks last month that broke down almost as soon as they began, China and Europe look set to try again with a new round of negotiations to resolve their dispute over the EU’s claims of unfair state-support for Chinese solar panel makers. Much has changed since the failed round of talks in late May, including a growing number of individual European leaders who want to resolve this dispute through negotiations rather than trade wars. As a result, this new round of negotiations will take place between top-level government officials, an important change for both practical and symbolic reasons that I’ll explain shortly.

Continue reading →

New Oriental Comments Fuel Privatization Talk

New Oriental privatization rumors grow

More than a month after I predicted that education services provider New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) could become the next US-listed Chinese company to privatize, media are buzzing with comments and other rumors that indicate such a bid could indeed be in progress. I made my remarks in late April after New Oriental reported relatively solid quarterly results that failed to impress US investors who have become wary of many Chinese companies after a series of accounting scandals. (previous post) That lack of investor appreciation has led a growing number of US-listed Chinese companies to launch privatization bids, and I predicted that New Oriental could become one of the next to joint that list. Continue reading →

News Digest: June 19, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) Adds Another Deal With Offer For Carlyle’s Yashili (English article)
  • EU Trade Chief To Discuss Solar Dispute In Beijing (English article)
  • Software Developer SkyTech to IPO in HK – Source (English article)
  • Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) To Roll Out Portable Wi-Fi Router Device (Chinese article)
  • Huawei, Responding To Rumors, Says No Plans To Buy Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) (English article)

Campbell’s China Buy: Soup On The Way?

Campbell’s soups: coming to China?

Campbell (NYSE: CPB) maybe a household name in the west, but its famous soup cans are unknown in China where homemade broths are the norm and instant soups are a foreign concept. But that could change soon, with word that Campbell has purchased a Danish cookie company with a strong presence in China. Normally I’d say this purchase alone doesn’t mean that Campbell will necessarily use Denmark’s Kelsen as a platform to roll out its soups in China. But in this case Campbell seems to be making extra effort to highlight the China angle in its announcement of the deal, which makes such a move seem more likely. Continue reading →

Xiaomi Eyes Internet TV

Xiaomi preparing Internet TV?

Media are all abuzz that trendy smartphone maker Xiaomi may be preparing to launch an Internet TV, after a photo was leaked showing boxes of the packaging for such a product in a warehouse. Of course it’s always possible the photos are doctored and were created by someone trying to stir up gossip about this up-and-coming company co-founded by the marketing savvy Lei Jun. But I’ve had a look at the photo, which features stacks of boxes with the words “Xioami TV – L47M1-AA 47-inch” printed on them, and have to say the pictures look authentic, meaning the rumors may be true.  (English article; Chinese article) Continue reading →

News Digest: June 18, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) To Become First Foreign Financial Payments Licensee (Chinese article)
  • China Solar Stocks Rally On Aid Hopes (English article)
  • Central Huijin Boosts Stake in Bank Of China (HKEx: 1398) (HKEx announcement)
  • Campbell (NYSE: CPB) Buys Cookie Maker Kelsen, Eyes Growth in China (Businesswire)
  • Ambrx, Zhejiang Medicine Co To Commercialize Ambrx Breast Cancer Drug (PRNewswire)