Bottom line: The NDRC should force Qualcomm to change some of its licensing practices but not force it to lower prices in its upcoming antitrust settlement against the company.
Qualcomm judgment coming soon
All eyes will be on China’s anti-monopoly regulator in the days ahead, when it’s expected to rule in a case involving the pricing and licensing policies of global smartphone chip leader Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). The case is the latest in a string of recent similar antitrust probes by Beijing against major companies. But it’s also quite different because it involves licensing practices for proprietary technology, which aren’t typically included in the conventional definition of monopolies. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Dianping’s major new fund raising is likely to be its last before a New York IPO, which could come as soon as the first half of next year and raise up to $800 million.
Dianping in major new fund raising
I’m having a slight feeling of deja vu today, after reading the latest reports that restaurant ratings and group buying site Dianping has just won a major new funding round worth nearly $800 million. This particular news comes just a week after similar reports came out saying that rival group buying site Meituan was on the cusp of closing a new funding round totaling $700 million, in one of the biggest such private investments for China’s Internet sector this year. Internet watchers will recall that the last time we saw this kind of fund-raising flurry around a single industry came nearly 4 years ago, when investors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the very same group buying space. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tesla and other EV makers are likely to face an uphill road in China for the next year, but prospects could start to improve in mid 2015 as new initiatives gain momentum.
Tesla launches trade-in program
Reports on a new trade-in promotion from Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) are adding fuel to talk earlier this month that the high-flying electric vehicle (EV) maker isn’t doing as well as hoped in China, where sales have gotten off to a slow start. This kind of a sluggish start isn’t too unexpected, since EVs are rare in China and face many obstacles despite a strong push by Beijing to boost the sector. Tesla should be commended for its numerous efforts to promote EV development in China through a wide range of initiatives, but is also largely to blame for the building disappointment after it built up huge expectations for itself in the market. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Huawei’s low-cost Honor brand is likely to gain global market share in 2015 at the expense of multinationals like Samsung, which is likely to lose its spot as China’s top smartphone seller in the new year.
Sales soar at Huawei’s Honor brand
Two of China’s leading smartphone sellers are in the headlines today moving in opposite directions, reflecting turbulent conditions in the world’s largest but also most competitive market. On the upside, media are reporting that sales are booming for domestic giant Huawei’s low-end Honor brand, as the company borrows a low-cost marketing strategy from domestic rival Xiaomi. Meantime, other reports say market leader and Korean giant Samsung (Seoul: 005930) is sending an emergency team of rescuers to China in a bid to reverse the company’s sudden slide in the market. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 27-29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Helps Chinese Buyers Trade In Old Cars For Model S (English article)
Bottom line: Wanda will face a steep uphill climb in electronic payments following its purchase of 99Bill, while UnionPay will continue to grow rapidly overseas as more Chinese travelers and businesses go abroad.
Wanda buys control of 99Bill
Two big news bits from the electronic payments space are in the headlines as we round out 2014, led by news of a major new acquisition by property giant Wanda Group just days after a Hong Kong IPO for its core shopping mall unit. The other new revolves around industry giant UnionPay, which has feasted on outbound Chinese tourist and business spending to pass larger global rivals MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V) for issuing credit cards in nearby South Korea. Read Full Post…
A new program to encourage entrepreneurship at the city’s universities has been in the headlines these last few weeks, and on the surface at least looks like a good idea. But the new initiatives at several of our local schools have met with a lukewarm reception, probably because they look like yet another way to add stress to the lives of our city’s youth who already feel incredible pressure to succeed.
As a teacher in one of Shanghai’s major universities, I get to see the huge pressures that many of our students face on a daily basis as they try to satisfy the huge expectations heaped on them by both their parents and society. Encouraging students to take time off from school to start companies would simply add one more thing for them to stress out about. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Kingfisher’s sale of control of its China home improvement chain to a local partner will produce an uneasy alliance that will ultimately see the UK retailer withdraw its B&Q name from the market.
Kingfisher hands over B&Q China to Wumart
Just weeks after US electronics retailing giant Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) made a final retreat from China, British rival Kingfisher (London: KGF) is making a similar move with word that it’s selling control of its China B&Q store operations to a local buyer. These 2 deals mark an interesting twist on a trend that has seen other global retailers like Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Germany’s Metro (Frankfurt: MEO) also abandon the tough China market. Whereas the earlier cases saw companies simply close down their China operations and leave, this new wave of deals has firms selling their operations to eager Chinese buyers. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: BBVA’s cut-back in its alliance with Citic represents the latest divorce between western banks and Chinese partners, with little new foreign investment likely in the sector for the next 2-3 years.
BBVA sells stake in Citic unit
A trend that’s been quiet for more than a year has popped back into the headlines, with word that Spain’s second largest bank has dumped its stake in a holding company tied to Chinese financial services conglomerate Citic Group. This particular deal is being driven by a number of factors, including a need for cash by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA). But the bottom line is that BBVA and other major foreign banks have ended most of their similar alliances with Chinese partners over the last 3 years after such tie-ups failed to produce any strategic benefits. Read Full Post…
