The mobile Internet is buzzing today with a couple of interesting news bits, including one that could see an emerging new giant forming with talk of a potential merger between search site operator Easou and UC Mobile, maker of a popular mobile web browser. Meantime, other media reports say up-and-comer Xiaomi aims to double its sales this year, as it looks to move from niche player to a more mainstream maker of lower-cost, high performance smartphones.
Journalist China
Suntech: Shinier Days Ahead? 尚德电力危机初现曙光？
With only a week before a key deadline for a big debt repayment, solar panel maker Suntech (NYSE: STP) appears to have cleared a major hurdle for a rescue plan by settling a big dispute with one of its major partners. I suspect that settlement with GSF, a builder of solar plants in Europe, was a major condition by Suntech’s bondholders for a deal that could see the company avoid both bankruptcy or a takeover by Chinese government entities. In the meantime, Suntech’s colorful founder Shi Zhengrong is speaking freely to the media about his forceful ouster earlier this week from the chairmanship of his company, in an ongoing series of power plays taking place behind the scene.
Dangdang Results: Investors Losing Patience 当当网业绩：投资者失去耐心
A sharp dip in Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) shares after it announced its latest results shows investors may be losing patience with this company that arrived early to China’s e-commerce space, only to be overtaken by more aggressive rivals in the last 2 years. Dangdang’s stock tumbled 4.8 percent after the announcement of its latest results, which showed the company’s losses were stabilizing as it took cost-cutting moves and competition eased a bit in China’s ultra-competitive e-commerce market.
Hotels: Hanting Slows, Home Inns Ad Play 汉庭增长放缓 如家涉足户外广告
The latest results from China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) are showing the highly cyclical hotel industry may be headed into a new downturn, while industry leader Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) is taking an interesting new tack into the outdoor advertising business in its search for new revenue sources. Let’s start our look at the latest hotel news with China Lodging, operator of the popular Hanting chain of hotels. The company’s stock is now trading near a 52-week high, as China’s hotel industry has made a steady comeback following a downturn that began in late 2010 after the Shanghai World Expo.
Portals: Sohu Stays Public, Weibo Unwanted 搜狐否认私有化传言 淘宝试水微信搜索
A couple of interesting news bits are coming from the Internet portal space, where a perennially underappreciated Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is denying reports of a plan to go private, as other separate reports indicate that Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) stalled talks for a tie-up with e-commerce leader Alibaba may be dead. Both developments underscore how difficult it is to do deals in the current climate, where many top company executives can’t agree on valuations and owners often believe their assets are worth much more than others in the market might agree with.
ZTE Pairs With Intel, Huawei Woos Europe 中兴与英特尔结盟 华为取悦欧洲市场
Leading telecoms equipment makers ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) and Huawei are making new tactical moves on different fronts, with the former announcing a new tie-up with chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) as the latter defends its position in the lucrative European market. Since I’m writing about telecoms, I should also draw attention to the latest comments from leading mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), whose new chairman once again has reaffirmed the company is actively looking for M&A opportunities abroad.
E-Commerce Tax: Slowdown Coming? 加强征税会给电商行业降温吗？
China’s unruly e-commerce sector could be set for some big changes in the year ahead, with executives from both inside and outside the industry calling for moves to bring order to an unruly space that has been plagued by cutthroat competition. Perhaps most significantly, a top executive from the traditional retailing sector is calling for e-commerce firms to pay more taxes, a move that could make online purchasing more expensive and less attractive to cost-conscious consumers. Other executives are calling for tighter regulation of the sector, which has evolved into a free-for-all due too much investment and lack of government oversight.
Google, Beijing Clash Over Android 谷歌与中国政府因安卓而冲突
Global Internet titan Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) just can’t seem to do anything right in China. Or perhaps the company is just a victim of its own success. The latter appears to be the case in Google’s latest China tussle, which has the telecoms regulator in Beijing accusing Google of unfairly dominating the Chinese mobile market with its popular Android operating system (OS). (English article) The regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is also accusing Google of discriminating against Chinese OS developers.
Alibaba In New Loan As Bankers Swoon 阿里巴巴或很快启动IPO
A flurry of news on e-commerce leader Alibaba indicates the company continues to grow at a rapid pace, with the spike of activity perhaps hinting that the process for a highly-anticipated IPO could soon start or may have already even begun. Topping the headlines is news that Alibaba is negotiating a massive $8 billion new loan. At the same time, recent new financial data for the company have just come out from struggling US search giant Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), one of the Chinese company’s largest stakeholders. And perhaps most intriguing, an analyst at Barclays has just published his estimated valuation for Alibaba, putting the figure as high as $55 billion.
Suntech’s D-Day Nears, Yingli’s Mixed Results 尚德电力清算日临近 英利绿色能源业绩好坏不一
New developments in the battered solar energy space indicate the day of reckoning is fast approaching for embattled Suntech (NYSE: STP), even as the latest results from rival Yingli (NYSE: YGE) are showing early signs of a rebound for the battered sector. Industry watchers will recall that cash-strapped Suntech has nearly $600 million worth of bonds that will mature on March 15, even though it lacks the money to repay the bondholders.
Snapple To Shake Up China Drink Market? 斯奈普将撼动中国饮料市场？
China’s beverage market could get an interesting new shot of competition with the announcement by a major US player that it could soon bring its premium Snapple brand to Asia. This move, if it happens, could provide a welcome shake-up for a market that has become dominated by a small group of both domestic and international firms, including global brands like Coke (NYSE: KU) and Pepsi (NYSE: PEP), and local giants including Wahaha and Huiyuan (HKEx: 1886). Snapple enjoys a relatively premium image in its home US market, which could provide it with an interesting boost in brand-conscious China if it enters the market and positions itself as a high-end drink.
