Shanghai’s local dialect has been back in the news these last few weeks, rekindling the debate about whether the city should make special efforts to save a colorful language that is quickly being overtaken by Mandarin. I’ve previously said that the disappearance of local dialects is inevitable throughout China as the nation modernizes, even though there’s nothing wrong with local governments and individuals trying to preserve such languages. But I’ll also add my view that those same preservationists should change their approach to target a younger, more modern audience if they really want to succeed. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Spins Off Online Education Business – Memo (English article)
The group of big Chinese web firms driving a recent wave of M&A has a new member, with word that fast-rising e-commerce site Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) has made its first major acquisition. The move marks the latest step in consolidation in China’s overheated e-commerce sector, which is crowded with around a half dozen major players and many smaller ones that are mostly losing money. Vipshop is one of the few players that is quite profitable, even though it doesn’t have a huge cash pile as it spends heavily to quickly build up its business. That leads to my next prediction that we could see the company raise some money soon through a share or bond sale, as it seeks to build up a war chest to help fund future acquisitions. Read Full Post…
As if the solar trade war between the US and China wasn’t bad enough, tensions just got worse with a preliminary ruling in Washington aimed at closing a loophole to a previous ruling imposing anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese solar panels. I’ll admit I was a bit surprised by the preliminary ruling just announced by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), as I’d previously predicted this latest action in the Sino-US solar trade dispute would quickly fizzle. Meantime, industry consolidation is continuing in China, where more than half the world’s solar panels are currently made, with word that Trina (NYSE: TSL) is buying a controlling stake in another smaller rival. Read Full Post…
WeChat in new commercial moves with Unicom, Wangfujing Dept Store
Much has been written about the meteoric rise of Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat mobile instant messaging service, with many drawing parallels to the equally rapid ascent of Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging service starting in 2010. But while Sina has struggled to wring money out of Weibo, Tencent is having much more success with WeChat, as evidenced by news of its latest commercial tie-ups with retailer Wangfujing Department Store and mobile carrier China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU). I have a lot of respect for Sina, which has emerged as a leading information provider in China since it first went public in 2000. But the company has shown itself less adept at earning money, unlike Tencent, which has proven much more skillful at milking cash from its innovative core social networking service (SNS) products. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US To Pursue Trade Dispute Over Chinese, Taiwanese Solar Imports (English article)
China’s Wanxiang Wins US Bankruptcy Auction For Fisker Automotive (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Acquires Controlling Interest In Lefeng For $133 Mln (PRNewswire)
Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) Guangdiantong Unveils WeChat Public Account Ad Product (English article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Sets Up Transport Services Headquarters (Chinese article)
The pace of new Internet IPOs coming out of China continues to build up steam, with word that yet another e-commerce company has hired investment banks for a mega offering to raise up to $600 million. The move by Jumei.com, an online seller of cosmetics, comes just a week after JD.com, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, made its first public filing for a New York IPO to raise up to $1.5 billion. A new separate report is now saying that JD.com founder and chief executive Liu Qiangdong could enter the realm of China’s richest men following the offering, with his stake in the company expected to give him a net worth of up to $7 billion. Read Full Post…
A new flurry of reports are saying that 4G service launches are coming soon from the nation’s 2 smaller telcos, China Telecom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHA) and Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), as both seek to stop leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) from gaining any advantage from its earlier roll-out of similar service. The move initially came as a slight surprise to me, as I really didn’t expect either company to aggressively promote 4G until the second half of this year for technological and cost reasons I’ll explain soon. But this sudden acceleration in their plans actually looks like a smart strategic move to prevent China Mobile from gaining new momentum, even if such a tack could create both technical and financial challenges for both smaller carriers. Read Full Post…
The final death knell for one of China’s oldest software developers is casting a spotlight on just how difficult it is for companies to break into the global market for computer operating systems (OS). The end for Red Flag Software also bodes poorly for a number of more recent Chinese initiatives to create a mobile OS to rival Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) wildly popular Android and Apple’s (Nasdaq: APPL) own iOS. No specific reasons were given in the reports for Red Flag Software’s final demise, though I suspect defections by the company’s core state-run customers and a broader decline in the traditional desktop PC market were both factors. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Auto Market Growth Slows Sharply In January (English article)
Cosmetics Retailer Jumei.com Hires Banks For $600 Mln US IPO (English article)
China Telecom (HKEx: 728), Unicom (HKEx: 762) Plan Q1 4G Launch – Source (English article)
Liu Qiangdong To Be Worth 7 Bln Yuan After JD.com IPO (Chinese article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Projects End to Motorola Losses With China Phone (English article)
The latest earnings season for US-listed Chinese Internet firms has begun with a big yawn, hinting at a looming wave of investor fatigue after a surge in positive sentiment at the end of 2013. I’ve been writing about these companies for quite a while now, and can truthfully say it’s quite common to see their stocks rise or fall by 3 percent or more after they announce their quarterly results. It’s much rarer for shares to remain unchanged after such announcements, though that’s largely what has happened after web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and online real estate services firm Soufun (NYSE: SFUN) kicked off the latest earnings season with release of their fourth-quarter results. Read Full Post…
