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Journalist China
Business news from China By Doug Young.
Doug Young, journalist, has lived and worked in China for 20 years, much of that as a journalist, writing about publicly listed Chinese companies.
He is based in Shanghai where, in addition to his role as editor of Young’s China Business Blog, he teaches financial journalism at Fudan University, one of China’s top journalism programs.
He contributes regularly to a wide range of publications in both China and the west, including Forbes, CNN, Seeking Alpha and Reuters, as well as Asia-based publications including the South China Morning Post, Global Times, Shanghai Daily and Shanghai Observer
Beijing is showing that Washington isn’t the only one that can play games over national security concerns, with word that networking equipment giant Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) is loosing big business in China due to revelations about US spying. Frankly speaking, this latest development in the networking equipment Cold War between Beijing and Washington doesn’t surprise me too much, and some might even say that China’s national security concerns are justified. But no matter what you think, it seems likely that Cisco’s new China freeze is at least partly and quite possibly completely in response to similar moves by Washington against Chinese networking equipment giants Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). Read Full Post…
As the sun rapidly sets on former solar pioneer Suntech (OTC: STPFQ), I thought I’d take a look at the latest reports that show just how closely the company relied on state support. At the same time, another major development has seen Suntech’s shares finally de-list from New York, where they have traded since its 2005 IPO. The de-listing is something that should have happened long ago, even though investors continued to bet that Beijing would rescue Suntech ever since the company was forced into bankruptcy back in March. Read Full Post…
Today marks the official highpoint of earnings season for US-listed Chinese companies, with at least 4 of the ones I cover reporting their results. With all that information flooding into the market, I thought I’d look at video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and e-commerce company Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), 2 money losers that are trying desperately to claw their way to profits. The news looks positive for both, with Dangdang reporting its losses continue to shrink as Youku has finally come out and dared to utter the word “profit” in its latest report. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Spy Scandal Weighs On US Tech Firms In China, Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) Takes Hit (English article)
Suntech (NYSE: STP) Confirms 9.5 Bln Yuan In Debt, CDB Largest Creditor (English article)
In what looks like a highly coordinated ambush, a group of China’s top online video sites have teamed up with Hollywood to sue Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) for video piracy. This is the first time I can recall seeing big western names team up with Chinese companies to launch such a major lawsuit, creating not only legal headaches but also a huge wave of negative publicity for Baidu. The action also comes as Baidu makes a series of major moves in the online video space in a bid to challenge industry leader Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU), which is also one of the co-plaintiffs in this new lawsuit. Read Full Post…
Two new stories in the consumer space are offering an interesting look at the difficulty of taking over Hong Kong-listed companies, providing headaches for potential acquirers but also interesting opportunities for minority investors. The 2 cases involve dairy giant Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) and Swedish paper products company SCA (Stockholm: SCAA), which have each bought a controlling stake of their Hong Kong-listed targets rather than the taking outright ownership that both probably would have preferred. In the former case, Mengniu was aiming to buy raw milk supplier Yashili (HKEx: 1230), while SCA was aiming to buy tissue products maker Vinda (HKEx: 3331) Read Full Post…
Tencent (HKEx: 700) founder Pony Ma is suddenly shedding his low-key style with a flurry of public appearances and speeches, which have been the talk of the microblogging world over the past week. I’ve admired Pony for quite a while now, as he’s quietly built up Tencent into one of the world’s biggest Internet companies with his strong product development skills and early bet on social networking services (SNS). But public speaking has never been a strong suit for this Internet visionary who is one of China’s richest men, which is evident in his mundane series of appearances and mostly mundane comments over the last week. Read Full Post…
After a roaring few weeks in late October, the market for offshore Chinese IPOs has lost some momentum in the last 2 weeks as investors return their focus to important issues like company quality and growth prospects. In the latest sign of the market’s fickle nature, Chinese bank Huishang (HKEx: 3698) has sputtered in its trading debut in Hong Kong, boding poorly for other mainland banks lining up to list there. Another piece of IPO news is less ominous, with media reporting that education services firm Tarena is preparing to list as early as next year, most likely in New York. While that news is relatively neutral, reports are also pointing out that one of Tarena’s top executives recently joined the company from NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), the former New York-listed Chinese high flyer whose stock has tanked recently on doubts raised by a short seller. Read Full Post…
A pair of tired tech titans, namely software maker Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and electronics maker Sony (Tokyo: 6753), are making new pushes in the Chinese instant messaging (IM) and gaming spaces, as each tries to remain relevant in the fast growing market. Both of these companies are struggling for direction not only in China but also globally, with each recently seeking new leadership in a bid to regain their former glory. Back on the China front, Microsoft is formally ending a longstanding local partnership in a bid to bolster its flagging IM services in China. Meanwhile, Sony is making headlines in gaming, one of its few remaining strong areas, with word that it plans to roll out its popular PlayStation consoles in China. Read Full Post…
During my trip to Australia over the recent National Day holiday, I had an experience at Pudong International Airport that I would never care to repeat, even though it has a happy ending. While I probably gained a few gray hairs in the process, the entire ordeal was also quite remarkable because it shows just how far telecommunications in China have advanced in just the last 2 decades. Read Full Post…
Sometimes it seems like I’m living in slow motion when I write about China telecoms, since major developments in the sector often drag on for months past their expected launch dates. That’s been the case for 3 major new initiatives that could inject important new life into the space, even though rumored launch dates for all 3 have passed numerous times. The latest news bits on all 3 indicate things are still moving ahead, meaning perhaps we will someday soon see the announcement of licenses for 4G mobile service and new virtual network operators (VNOs), as well as the launch of a new national broadband network operator.Read Full Post…
