After years of living with too many things that were anything but entertaining on our city streets, I was pleasantly surprised this week to read about a new initiative to bring some true entertainment to the streets of Shanghai. This new initiative could eventually see dozens or even hundreds of semi-professional performers begin plying our sidewalks, parks and other outdoor pedestrian areas, providing some fun and different entertainment for people moving about the city in their daily routines.
Some further on reflection on the subject made me realize just how often I write about the many nuisances and even dangers that lurk in the many public places like sidewalks, parks and subways used by Shanghai’s millions of pedestrians. This weird hodgepodge of obstacles runs the range from beggars and cars that park on our sidewalks, to noisy singers and dancers who fill our parks. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bright Food Targets Listing Cereal-Maker Weetabix By 2016 (English article)
Bottom line: China could have as many as 400 million 4G subscribers by the end of next year, as the nation’s 2 smaller carriers join China Mobile in offering aggressive promotions starting in January.
4G to explode in 2015
After a period of relative quiet following the iPhone 6’s delayed China launch last month, we’re seeing a sudden flurry of news on the development of 4G service in China. None of the headlines are unexpected, but they do collectively point to a coming explosion in 4G service in 2015. Leading the headlines are reports that the telecoms regulator will give 4G licenses to China’s 2 smaller telcos, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), by the end of this year. At the same time, another report is giving the latest national 4G figures, and yet another headline details Unicom’s aggressive 4G plans for 2015. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: NetEase’s withdrawal from microblogging represents a broader decline for the overall sector, and is likely to put downward pressure on Weibo shares over the medium to longer term.
NetEase microblog withdrawal looks bad for Weibo
Media reports that web stalwart NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) will finally shutter its microblogging service don’t come as a big surprise, since it’s been years since anyone has posed a challenge to the dominance of sector leader Weibo (Nasdaq: WB). But what does come as a slight surprise was the reaction to the news in Weibo’s share price. One would normally expect Weibo shares to rally on news of a competitor’s demise, but instead Weibo’s shares actually fell nearly 4 percent in the latest trading session. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Sony’s stalling fortunes in China’s smartphone market are the prelude to its eventual pullout, while Lenovo’s high-end push with the Motorola brand is likely to fall flat.
Sony smartphones in China setback
The latest news bits from the overheated Chinese cellphone market show an increasingly grim battle that’s claiming a growing number of victims at the lower and even middle ends. The latest bad news comes from struggling Japanese giant Sony (Tokyo: 6753), which has announced a significant pullback in the market as part of a broader global retrenchment. That could bode poorly for the equally struggling mid-range Motorola, as media report the brand will also target the mid- to upper-range of the Chinese smartphone market under its new ownership by PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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GM (NYSE: GM) China Sales Expand at Slowest Pace In 20 Months (English article)
China’s MIIT To Issue FDD-LTE 4G Licenses In December- Source (English article)
Gap (NYSE: GPS) Brand Surpasses 100 Stores In Greater China Region (Businesswire)
NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) To Shutter Microblogging Service (Chinese article)
Sony (Tokyo: 6753) Mobile China Layoffs To Reach 700-800, Denies Leaving Market (Chinese article)
Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Bottom line: Shares of Alibaba could be due for a pull-back as investors become aware of its aggressive spending and shrinking profits, which could benefit the more conservative Tencent and Baidu.
Alibaba wows Wall Street with mediocre results
Everyone is buzzing about the maiden earnings report from newly listed e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), which shows strong revenue growth and rapidly shrinking profits. So rather than repeat everyone else by simply reviewing the numbers, I’ll take this occasion to compare the Alibaba figures with those from leading rivals Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), often called the Internet “big 3” of China and increasingly referred to collectively by the name BAT. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Qatar’s new $10 billion China-focused investment fund and PICC’s new rights offer spotlight growing distress at Chinese companies, presenting a buying opportunity for opportunistic investors.
Qatar in fund venture with Citic
Two big finance stories are highlighting an interesting divergence in the China market, which has some investors bullish on new opportunities even as actual financial institutions and many other companies brace for a major downturn. The former instance has the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in a major new initiative to set up a $10 billion China investment fund with local financial giant Citic Group. At the same time, the growing distress in China’s financial sector is also apparent in a new plan to raise $1.2 billion by PICC (HKEx: 2328), China’s largest non-life insurance company. Read Full Post…
Global gadget leader Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and its chief Chinese imitator Xiaomi have been filling the online airwaves these last few days, though for very different reasons. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was drawing praise and admiration from a wide range of tech executives on their microblogs, following his widely publicized editorial in which he disclosed that he is gay.
Meantime, a number of top officials from the talkative Xiaomi were also talking up a storm, which verged on gloating, as their company once again poached another high-profile Silicon Valley talent. They also had plenty to say as their high-flying company claimed the undisputed spot as the world’s third largest smartphone maker, behind only sector leaders Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Announces September Quarter 2014 Results (Businesswire)
Nissan (Tokyo: 7201) Cuts Global Sales Outlook On China Slowdown (English article)
China’s PICC P&C (HKEx: 2328) Plans To Raise $1.2 Bln In Rights Offer (English article)
Qatar Investment Authority, Citic Group Set Up $10 Bln Investment Fund (Chinese article)
Former Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Exec Chen Tong Joins Xiaomi Content Team (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Bureaucracy at the homeowner level is providing a major obstacle to China’s ambitious new energy vehicle build-up plan, with new government directives unlikely to fix the problem.
Building bureaucracy blocks EV charge
A new report is showing just why new energy vehicles are failing to gain any traction among Chinese consumers, despite huge government efforts to promote the technology. The main culprit in this case is the country’s huge bureaucracy, which affects everything from the largest government programs all the way down to something as simple as installing a vehicle charger in an apartment building.
In most western cities, the installation of an electric vehicle (EV) charger at a person’s home would be a simple matter, involving a visit from a specialist to hook up the proper equipment. Apartments could be slightly more complex though still manageable, since they would involve modifications at collectively owned buildings. But in China, where most people live in apartments, the bureaucracy of installing chargers in such buildings rises to a whole new level, creating a major obstacle that’s unlikely to go away anytime soon. Read Full Post…
