Solar pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP) was all smiles earlier this week when it announced an important sales milestone in North America, even as its outlook continued to dim amid a major fraud case that has spawned a new class action lawsuit against the company. (lawsuit announcement) Before I get to the latest details in this case, I want to step back quickly and look at the bigger picture, which is this: Suntech looks like a company on the cusp of falling off a cliff, potentially setting the stage for an acquisition by one of its rivals or even a potential bankruptcy.
Journalist China
Hotels: Stability and Indigestion at the Inn 中国经济放缓未损及经济型酒店稳定运营
I don’t know if it’s coincidence, but China’s top 3 US-listed hotel operators have all released their latest quarterly results on the same day, revealing a range of issues with a broader theme that points to stability in the industry despite China’s rapidly softening economy. The results from Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN), China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) and 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN) all tell slightly different stories, as each chain faces its own different issues. Based on my quick read, China Lodging seems to look the best right now, while Home Inns struggles with its recent mega-acquisition of Motel 168 and 7 Days faces operational issues.
“Titanic” Director Splashes Into China 知名导演卡梅隆进军中国
Hollywood’s growing love affair with China continues to steam ahead with word that James Cameron, director the blockbusters “Titanic” and “Avatar”, is setting up a joint venture in the city of Tianjin. Unlike the growing number of Hollywood companies that have flocked to China this year, Cameron’s venture won’t offer any mass-market products to consumers and instead will focus on supplying technology to Chinese filmmakers to help them make more 3D moves.
Caterpillar Joins China Export Crawl 卡特彼勒加入中国装备出口潮
US construction equipment giant Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) is taking an interesting new direction in China, following in the path of a growing number of firms that once relied on domestic sales but are now turning their attention to exports to offset a slowing home market. China’s big domestic car makers like Chery and Geely (HKEx: 175) have also increasingly looked to exports to offset their rapidly slowing sales at home, where they face not only weakening demand but also stiff competition from more experienced foreign competitors like GM (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG).
SMIC: Respectable Earnings, But No Respect 中芯国际：收益可观，但不被追捧
Investors once held out big hopes for China’s biggest chip maker SMIC (HKEx: 981; NYSE: SMI) when it went public back in 2004, but reaction to its latest earnings continue their more recent indifference to this giant that seems unable to earn respect from anyone. That’s my main conclusion after SMIC released second-quarter results that showed an encouraging return to profitability, as well as third-quarter guidance that looked stable despite the weaker Chinese and global economies. SMIC’s US-traded shares were largely unchanged after the report came out, dipping 1.6 percent and reflecting to me what looks like investor indifference over this disappointing giant that once held so much potential.
Banks: Citi Grows, ICBC Tries Dim Sum 花旗推积极扩张计划 工行首发点心债
Beijing’s new openness to global banks is leading a growing number of foreign lenders to test the China market, with US giant Citigroup (NYSE: C) becoming the latest to announce an aggressive expansion plan to tap the new open atmosphere. At the same time, China’s own banks are continuing their own global expansion by offering a wider array of yuan-denominated services to foreign investors, with leading bank ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) making its first major offering of so-called dim sum bonds in Hong Kong. The 2 trends are both part of China’s efforts to build a world-class financial services industry as it tries to wean its banks from their history of policy-based lending to big state-owned enterprises and make them more commercially driven.
China Mobile Tie-Ups: Apple Near, Cable Far 中国移动可能很快与苹果合作 推出固网宽带业务尚需时日
Just a day after I wrote about the latest mixed signals coming from China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), we’re getting still more mixed messages from China’s largest wireless telco, including an exciting one that indicates a highly anticipated new tie-up with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) could come soon. While the Apple tie-up would be highly welcome, another unrelated development appears to indicate that a deal that would have seen China Mobile link up with China’s new national cable TV operator may fail to materialize.
Ctrip Travels Overseas With Priceline 携程网与外国公司价格线合作
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has just announced a new tie-up with US travel services giant Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN), marking the latest partnership with an overseas partner by Chinese firms looking to tap growing demand from increasingly wealthy Chinese travelers. These tie-ups are also being driven by intense competition that has recently emerged in the travel space, as up-and-coming younger firms with names like Qunar and TravelSky and new sites opened by big Internet names like Jingdong Mall look to steal market share from older established players like Ctrip and eLong (Nasdaq: LONG).
Sohu Tests IPO Market With Big Dividend 搜狐用巨额股息试水IPO市场
Internet portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is testing one of the worst IPO markets in recent memory with plans for listing one of its online gaming units, serving up a massive dividend and mildly upbeat quarterly results to generate hype for what otherwise looks to me like a very so-so offering. This latest plan comes against a broader backdrop of a dismal IPO market that has seen just 1 major offering for a Chinese firm in the US this year, as international investors shun Chinese stocks after a steady stream of accounting scandals that began more than a year ago. Further limiting its chances for success, this latest offering plan comes in the relatively uninspired online game sector, which is already quite competitive and where overseas investors already have a number of other choices in the form of companies such as NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) and Perfect World (Nasdaq: PRWD), as well as Sohu’s own separately listed gaming unit Changyou (Nasdaq: CYOU).
New Mixed Signals from China Mobile, Unicom 中移动和联通释放复杂信号
Wireless leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) may have new leaders, but they seem to be following the company’s previous tradition of sending mixed signals with new aggressive expansion plans for its trial 4G network as it continues to neglect its current 3G system. The mixed signal syndrome seems also to have spread to rival China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), China’s second largest mobile carrier, which is reportedly in talks with Korea’s Samsung (Seoul: 005930) to launch its first tablet PC, giving the cold shoulder to longtime partner Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), maker of the more popular iPad. These latest news bits reflect the broader reality that China’s telecoms market is in a bit of a state of turmoil, as companies look for advantage following a major government-led industry reshuffle more than 2 years ago.
LaShou: End Near With CEO Departure CEO离职，拉手网接近尾声
The steady stream of executive departures at the ailing LaShou has reached a new high with the resignation of the company’s CEO, in the latest sign that the end may be near for China’s leading group buying site as it rapidly runs out of cash. I last wrote about LaShou back in late April, when it looked like the company may only have months left to live as it bled cash after a failed New York IPO and the departure of a number of top executives, including its regional managers in Shanghai and Beijing and a vice president. (previous post) Two months later, media are now reporting that company founder Wu Bo is leaving his post as company CEO, even as he retains his position as LaShou’s chairman. (Chinese article)
