It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.
Journalist China
Phoenix New Media Clips VP 凤凰新媒体执行副总裁离职
Web portal Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG) appears to be going through a behind-the-scenes reshuffle, with word that a top executive has left the company as it continues to struggle with fallout from a national advertising slowdown. It’s hard to know what exactly is going on behind the scenes at Phoenix, which once wowed investors with triple-digit gains in its core advertising business following its 2011 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. But its most recent financial reports have clearly shown the company is having a much harder time than many of its larger peers in coping with China’s recent advertising slowdown, which I suspect is a major reason for the newly announced resignation of vice president Wang Yulin. (Chinese article)
Jiumei, Dianping Eye Investors, Mobile 酒美网和大众点评网为上市蓄势
On this day before Christmas, I’ll take a look at 2 of China’s more interesting privately held Internet plays, online wine seller Jiumei and restaurant ratings site Dianping, which are making innovative new moves that could make them attractive investments when they make eventual public offerings. In Jiumei’s case, the company is forming an interesting tie-up with European banking giant Rothschild to create a product for Chinese who want to invest in wine. Meantime at Dianping, founder and CEO Zhang Tao has given a rare interview in which he reveals his company is making big investments in the mobile Internet in a bid to translate its current desktop PC dominance to the fast-growing mobile space.
Weibo, WeChat Set For 2013 Showdown 微博、微信将于2013年决战
An epic battle on the Chinese Internet is shaping up for the New Year, pitting dominant social networking site (SNS) Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo against up-and-coming challenger WeChat, also known by its Chinese name Weixin. The looming battle in many ways reflects the rapid rise in China of the mobile Internet, where WeChat has found an eager new audience that likes to use SNS all the time instead of only at desktop computers where Sina Weibo dominates.
Xiaomi, Nokia In New Web Tie-Ups 小米和诺基亚触网或只是营销噱头
A couple of tie-ups from the hot smartphone space are making headlines these last few days, with up-and-comer Xiaomi and fast-fading global giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) both looking to Internet partners to boost their prospects. The first of the tie-ups will see Xioami partner with leading Internet portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) to sell Xiaomi’s second-generation smartphones online. Meantime, Nokia is tying up with Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, in a bid to reverse its downward slide in the world’s largest mobile market.
Focus Media Move Caps Tough Year For China 分众传媒为中国艰难的一年画上句号
This year will go down as one that most US-listed Chinese companies would like to forget, and now outdoor advertising specialist Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) is giving a suitable send-off for 2012 with word that its plan to privatize and de-list is nearing completion. This latest development followed earlier word that one of the investors planning to provide $200 million to help fund Focus Media’s plan had backed out of the deal due to concerns about inadequate returns. (previous post) Now media are reporting that Focus has just signed the last agreement it will need to complete the deal, which will formally be carried out by a company called Giovanna Acquisition Ltd. (Chinese article)
Yahoo: Preparing For China Exit? 雅虎关闭在华音乐搜索服务 全面撤离即将来临？
The headlines have been buzzing this week with word that tarnished former Internet titan Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) will shutter its Chinese Internet music service, with many pointing out the move reflects a broader reshuffling in the online music space. But from my perspective, the much more intriguing question is whether this move represents the first small step before Yahoo withdraws from the market completely — a step that seems increasingly likely as it focuses on turning around its core US search business.
LeTV Joins Set-Top Box Wars 乐视网加入机顶盒大战
The latest “me-too” war is brewing on China’s vibrant but crowded Internet with word that online video specialist LeTV is rolling out a new set-top box product that will allow consumers to surf the Web on their TVs. This new product roll-out comes just a month after up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its own set-top box product, and not long after PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) also entered this space that looks promising but has yet to find a major audience. (previous post)
Beijing Delivers Tough Solar Medicine 中国政府艰难救助太阳能行业
A new report in today’s China Daily is providing the clearest indication yet that Beijing is delivering some tough medicine to many of the nation’s smaller solar panel and polysilicon makers by letting them go backrupt to return the struggling sector to health. Up until now, much of the talk in China has focused on rescuing the money-bleeding sector through a comprehensive bailout plan designed to create about a dozen major players as the industry’s backbone. But little has been said about the bankruptcies and closures that also need to accompany such a clean-up, in a country where state support due to local factors often allows companies to keep running even after they become hopelessly mired in the loss column.
Qualcomm Charges China Mobile TD 高通TD芯片面世将照亮中移动业务前景
This may look like something only a techie can appreciate, but the recent start of production by leading global chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) for cellphone chips using a homegrown Chinese technology looks set to provide a major boost to dominant Chinese telco China Mobile (HKEx; 941; NYSE: CHL). This latest development comes as big and important news for TD, the homegrown technology being used by China Mobile in its 3G and 4G networks.
China Samples Food M&A With Yili NZ Buy 中国食品企业或掀起海外并购热潮
Just a month after Shanghai’s Bright Food Group gobbled up British breakfast cereal maker Weetabix, we’re hearing that rival dairy products specialist Yili (Shanghai: 600887) has developed its own appetite for global M&A with its purchase of a New Zealand dairy. This latest purchase could mark the beginning of a broader wave of M&A by Chinese food makers, who are looking outward not only to tap foreign food markets but also to hopefully learn a lesson on how to better control the quality of their food.
