Bottom line: Linekong’s IPO should price in the middle of its range and post modest gains on its trading debut, while Dalian Wanda will price near the bottom of its range and debut flat to down slightly.
Linekong aims for December 19 trading debut
The year-end rush of IPOs is steaming ahead in Hong Kong, with online game operator Linekong popping back into the headlines for a year-end listing, as property giant Dalian Wanda starts to sell its own IPO story to investors. The former deal is relatively large for an online game company, aiming to raise nearly $200 million. Meantime, the latter could become the biggest IPO Hong Kong has seen in several years, with the potential to raise nearly $4 billion. Frankly speaking, neither of these deals looks too exciting to me as both come in sectors plagued by overcapacity and stiff competition. But that said, at least Dalian Wanda could be a good longer-term bet due to its status as one of China’s best-run and biggest commercial property developers. Read Full Post…
This week’s microblogging round-up continues a recent trend that’s seen China’s high-tech executives keep relatively quiet in cyberspace as they wrap up various year-end business and prepare for the long holiday period between western and Chinese new years. During this busy period there’s less time for chatter, and executives often take to the road for one last trip before a needed year-end rest.
Two of China’s most recognized tech chiefs, Lenovo (HKEx: 992) CEO Yang Yuanqing and TCL (Shenzhen: 000100) Chairman Li Dongsheng, both detailed year-end road trips on their microblogs this past week, providing some insight to the daily routines that these executives go through during the course of the year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Apple’s Cook Meet China’s Internet Minister In US (English article)
Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) Pop-Up Window Service Shut Down For Pornography (Chinese article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Acquires 28 Pct Stake In Shuntai Leasing (PRNewswire)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) To Acquire Affiliated Le Vision Pictures (English article)
Game Operator Linekong To Make HK IPO December 19, Raise Up To $190 Mln (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Fosun should drop out of the bidding war for Club Med to avoid overpaying for the resort operator, despite big potential from a possible Asia expansion.
Fosun in bidding war for Club Med
Chinese investors aren’t the only companies with big money to spend on global M&A for undervalued western assets. That’s the lesson that high-flying private equity firm Fosun International (HKEx: 656) is quickly learning, as it gets sucked into a bidding war for French holiday resort operator Club Med (Paris: CU). This particular bidding war is one of the first I’ve seen for a major western asset involving Chinese bidders, and could presage more competition from local western investors who want to take advantage of the many assets now now being sold at bargain prices. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Feiyu’s weak IPO isn’t surprising and its shares will keep trading down, while Momo’s New York listing could get a slightly better reception but will open flat to up slightly in its trading debut this week.
Feiyu listing aims to raise up to $100 mln
The usual flurry of offshore Chinese IPOs has materialized as we head into the end of 2014, capping a banner year for such offerings. But the year-end rush has been surprisingly devoid of tech names, though we’ve just seen what could be one of the final such IPOs of the year with the Hong Kong debut late last week of mobile game developer Feiyu Technology. Feiyu’s weak debut comes as mobile social networking (SNS) firm Momo also gets set to make its New York trading debut this week, in what could well be the last 2 tech offerings in a banner year for the group. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Haitong’s purchase of a Portuguese investment bank marks the start of a new wave of cross-border tie-ups in the financial services sector, which could fuel a rally in stocks of Chinese brokerages.
Haitong eyes Portuguese investment bank
A new wave of Sino-foreign tie-ups in the financial services arena could be taking shape, with word that China’s Haitong Securities (HKEx: 6837; Shanghai: 600837) is in talks to buy a Portuguese investment bank. I predicted just a couple of weeks ago that such a wave of tie-ups could be coming, following the launch of a historic Hong Kong-Shanghai financial link that will give average western and Chinese investors access to each other’s stock markets for the first time. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Resumes Trading After Clarifying Up 3 Issues (Chinese article)
Anta’s (HKEx: 2020) Fall Shows Fragile Support For China Companies (English article)
Club Med (Paris: CU) Contest Takes New Turn With $1.1 Bln Bonomi Bid (English article)
Game Developer Feiyu Technology Raises HK$570 Mln Yuan in HK IPO (Chinese article)
Fluor (NYSE: FLR) Signs MOU With China National Nuclear Corp (Businesswire)
Bottom line: Intel’s new Chengdu investment is the latest step in its bid to find a market for its mobile chips, by working with China to create a major domestic designer of mobile device chips.
Intel in major upgrade of Chengdu plant
Global tech leader Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is showing growing signs of placing its bets on China, with word that it’s planning a major upgrade at one of its 2 Chinese chip plants in the interior city of Chengdu. This latest move comes just 2 months after Intel announced another similar-sized investment aimed at consolidating China’s wireless chip sector, leading me to suspect that these 2 moves could be related. When the final picture becomes clearer, I expect we could see similar upgrades also occur at Intel’s newer plant in the northeast city of Dalian, with China poised to become a major center for the company’s belated push into wireless chips. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Best Buy’s sale of its Five Star chain represents a long-overdue withdrawal from traditional retailing in China, and it would be wise to consider an e-commerce option if it tries to return later.
Best Buy sells Five Star chain
Some might see retailing giant Best Buy’s (NYSE: BBY) newly announced sale of its Five Star electronics chain as a retreat from China, but I would personally congratulate the company for a shrewd move that was long overdue. That’s because traditional retailing is rapidly dying in China, as shoppers opt for the convenience, better selection and lower prices of e-commerce. What’s more, the traditional electronics retailing sector is already overcrowded and highly competitive, dominated by big national chains led by Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and Gome (HKEx: 493) Read Full Post…
Reports about an innovative new app to assist shoppers in Xujiahui made me realize just how far China has come over the last 25 years in terms of providing convenience to average consumers. Of course it’s been more than a decade since I lived in the west, and systems similar to the one being rolled out now in the popular Xuhui District shopping area may also be available in the US.
Still, many of the electronic innovations coming out in China these days often seem even more advanced than those in the west, especially when it comes to shopping and socializing. That’s probably in large part because common western technologies like fixed-line phones and even simple cash registers were quite uncommon in China just a quarter century ago. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) To Sell Its Five Star Business In China (Businesswire)
Haitong Securities (Shanghai: 600837) In Talks For Portuguese Investment Bank (English article)
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) To Invest $1.6 Bln In China Factory (English article)
E-House (NYSE: EJ) Gives Details of Partial Spin-off Of Leju (NYSE LEJU) Shares (PRNewswire)
P&G (NYSE: PG) Sells China’s Biggest Battery Maker To CDH For $600 Mln (English article)
