If struggling car maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594) ultimately fails in its dream to become a leader in new energy vehicles, at least it will have lots of global assets to leave as a record of its efforts. Perhaps I’m sounding a bit too cynical in my latest musings on this company, since I really am starting to become more convinced that perhaps BYD’s electric dreams could actually someday become a reality, especially with its new announcement of plans to build an electric bus manufacturing plant in the US. (English article)
Journalist China
CDB, China Gas Power More Energy 中国企业持续进行能源并购交易 M&A
Just a week after Canada approved the $15 billion purchase of oil exploration firm Nexen (Toronto: NXY) to Chinese rival CNOOC (HKEx: 883; NYSE: CEO), we’re seeing a couple of interesting new M&A deals in the energy sector, one involving policy lender China Development Bank and the other from Hong Kong-listed China Gas (HKEx: 384). The common theme is that many Chinese energy investors are relatively flush with cash right now, and are looking for bargains in a global sector where asset prices have become depressed due to lingering effects of the global downturn. But that said, these 2 deals are both quite different, with the first most likely being driven at least partly by Beijing while the latter looks like a more traditional private sector deal.
Spring Comes Early For NQ, Vipshop 网秦和唯品会的春天来临
The official start of winter may fast be approaching, but there are growing signs that an early spring has arrived for US-listed China stocks, with Internet security provider NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) and e-commerce firm Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) making headlines that look good for both themselves and the broader sector. NQ, which was formerly called NetQin Mobile, has proven once more that short sellers no longer hold the same kind of influence over these stocks the way they did just 6 months ago, with its shares bouncing back strongly after a recent attack. Meantime, Vipshop, one of only 2 major Chinese firms to list in the US this year, has suddenly become a darling of investors, who have sent its shares to new highs as they scramble to buy a piece of what has quickly suddenly China’s largest listed e-commerce company.
Amazon Kindle Store Hits Regulatory Snag 新闻出版总署叫停亚马逊Kindle商店
Global e-commerce giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) was decidedly low-key in the launch last week of its Kindle bookstore in China, and now perhaps we know why. Just days after Amazon formally opened the store on its China site selling books for its Kindle tablet PCs, media are reporting the government agency that regulates the publishing industry has said Amazon’s new store violates Chinese regulations, implying the store may have to close until the situation gets sorted out. Whether or not such a closure, if it comes, would be temporary or permanent remains to be seen, though I think it would probably be temporary. But this case does once again underscore the regulatory risk of doing business in China, where numerous government agencies often oversee specific industries and anyone who operates needs to take care to keep all those regulators happy.
Apple Tarnished on Late iPhone Arrival iPhone 5姗姗来迟 苹果在华形象蒙尘
Note: Since first writing this posting, Apple has announced that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the 3 days after the product’s launch. (company announcement) The announcement appears aimed at quieting negative reports of a weak product launch, though some Chinese media are saying many of the sales may have gone to vendors who plan to re-sell the phones. The original article is below.
Chinese media are blaming it on the weather, but no matter how you look at it the launch for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 in China was pretty much a flop. I tend to blame the disappointing launch last Friday on a number of other factors, most notably ineptitude from China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) that probably cost them millions of yuan in lost sales. At the end of the day, perhaps half the people who buy this kind of trendy product do so as much based on hype than any other factor, since there are many other phones in the market with very similar functionality to the iPhone. But its hard to sustain hype for 3 months, which is how long it took Unicom and China Telecom to get permission to formally launch the iPhone after the product’s high profile global launch.
Alibaba, Sohu Win US Anti-Piracy Nod 阿里巴巴、搜狐被从美国盗版名单上移除
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba and web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) won a major victory last week when web sites operated by both were removed from an annual US list of companies that facilitate rampant piracy. The victory came after both firms made efforts to aggressively police their sites and quickly remove any pirated or counterfeit materials. While the companies should be commended for their effort, the achievement came with an important footnote that shows there is still work to be done.
Amazon Turns Up China Press With Kindle 亚马逊在华上线Kindle电子书店
Media are buzzing with the latest news on Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) in China, which is turning up the heat in the country’s overheated e-commerce space with the opening of a store on its Chinese site selling electronic books for its Kindle tablet PCs. (English article; Chinese article) Since Kindle products are not yet available in China, the site also offers free software that allows consumers to read Kindle-formatted books using other devices, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) smartphones and tablet PCs, and similar devices based on Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) popular Android operating system.
Good News Hides Woes at Spreadtrum, LDK 展讯通信和江西赛维释放利好掩盖问题
Cellphone chipmaker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) and solar panel maker LDK (NYSE: LDK) are both using good news as a smokescreen to draw attention away from bigger bad news, with the former announcing a new dividend and the latter a minor victory in a business dispute. In both cases, each company is grappling with much bigger problems that have caused their share prices to sag as investors lose interest in their tarnished growth stories. In LDK’s case the situation is much worse, with the company essentially being supported by the government as it teeters on the brink of insolvency.
Mobile Bits: Apps, Sina Cuts and LBS 移动领域：应用程序，新浪裁员和LBS
Let’s close out the week with a look at a few developments in the mobile space, including news of a pending crackdown on applications developers that looks quite counterproductive, along with word of layoffs at mobile services pioneer Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). I’ll wrap things up with a look at the hot new location based services (LBS) space, where a company called Jiepang is teaming up with Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) for a promotion that underscores the big growth potential of this new kind of service. All of these tidbits underscore the huge growth potential of China’s mobile services space, which has spawned a huge range of new products but also a somewhat unruly marketplace where competition has also become fierce.
News Digest: December 14 报摘： 2012年12月14日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- iPhone 5 Hits China As Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Market Share Slips (English article)
- Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) China Adds Kindle Store Channel (English article)
- Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Enters E-Commerce, Sells Gas, Goods Online (Chinese article)
- Spreadtrum Communications (Nasdaq: SPRD) Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend (PRNewswire)
- LDK (NYSE: LDK) Solar Announces Arbitration Award (PRNewswire)
Google Quits E-Commerce, Jingdong 谷歌关闭中国购物搜索 京东投资云计算
Several e-commerce items are in the headlines today, including Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) latest retreat in China as it shutters its Chinese online shopping search service. At the same time, domestic players Jingdong Mall and Suning are continuing their aggressive expansion, with the former pouring big new money into cloud-based services as the latter launches a major initiative based in its new chain of brick-and-mortar superstores. The common theme to all of these news bits is that e-commerce remains an incredibly competitive business in China, and is likely to remain that way for at least the next year or 2 until cash-rich companies fighting for supremacy in the space finally tire of losing massive amounts of money.
