The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 18-20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) 4G iPhones Go On Sale, Pricing Plans Announced (Chinese article)
New data is highlighting an online trend that I wrote about last year, namely that microblogs have peaked in popularity and are starting to decline, in a bad sign for leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) as it rushes monetize and list its popular Weibo service. Frankly speaking, I’m not too optimistic anymore about the prospects for Sina Weibo, which is really just a copy of US social media pioneer Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) and hasn’t shown much ability to innovate in the rapidly changing social networking (SNS) space. All that said, I imagine this latest report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) is prompting new urgency for Sina to separately list its Weibo unit, and that such an IPO could come later this year. Read Full Post…
I have to admit I was a bit surprised to read a report that Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006； Shanghai: 600754) has become the first of China’s hotel operators to expand on the global stage, with word that the Shanghai-based chain has signed a deal to enter Indonesia. I really expected one of the US-listed Chinese hotel companies like Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) or China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) to make that move first, since those companies are more entrepreneurial than the stodgier state-run Jin Jiang. But that said, this small move by Jin Jiang looks like a prudent way to test out international markets as it looks for global growth opportunities. Read Full Post…
Just days after making headlines for being selected to buy Portugal’s top insurer, Chinese investment firm Fosun International (HKEx: 656) is back in the news as a finalist in the bidding for Forbes Media, publisher of Forbes magazine. The deal is just the latest in a recent series of major purchases for Fosun, and more broadly kicks off a year that could see record overseas M&A by a rising group of Chinese investment firms. Fosun’s evolving strategy seems to target companies that are profitable but also laggards in their areas, which is relatively common among such investors. But in this case, I have serious doubts about its pursuit of Forbes due to the global rapid decline of the traditional media industry. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Nu Skin (NYSE: NUS) Probe Drags Down Herbalife,USANA Too (English article)
Xiaomi to Invest in Video Sharing Site Xunlei – Source (English article)
China Microblog Users Fall By 28 Mln, Or 9 Pct, In 2013 (Chinese article)
Shanghai Disneyland (NYSE: DIS) Starts Recruiting For 2015 Park Opening (Chinese article)
Jingdong Plans IPO In Second Half Of 2014 To Raise $2 Bln – Source (Chinese article)
Anyone who was hoping to get a big discount on an iPhone from China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) will be majorly disappointed to learn the popular smartphones will be quite pricey under the new partnership between China’s leading wireless telco Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). The pair have just announced pricing for the iPhones under a deal reached between China Mobile and Apple in December, with the 5s starting at 5,488 yuan ($914) for the cheapest model with 16 GB of memory. (English article; Chinese article) By comparison, a comparable US model, which has been on the market since September in most of the world, costs around $650. Read Full Post…
The microblogging space was buzzing with a bit of the past, the present and the future last week, with executives from some of China’s top gadget and Internet companies all hyping their various agendas in cyberspace. In a blast from the past, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak was all over the place in microblog postings from a number of tech companies executives he visited on a trip to China.
In the present, meanwhile, TCL (HKEx: 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) Chairman Li Dongsheng was at the CES trade show in Las Vegas and also attended a board meeting of Imax (NYSE: IMAX), using both opportunities to hype a new home theater tie-up with the US-based large screen movie format specialist. In the future, Long Wei, the low-key founder of leading online restaurant critic site Dianping, was hyping his company’s recent global expansion, perhaps hinting at more to come. Read Full Post…
Traditional Chinese appliance makers are showing a sudden interest in moving outside their usual comfort zone, with word that sector giant Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) is applying for a banking license. Midea joins a fast-growing queue that has seen rivals Haier (HKEx: 1169) and Gree (Shenzhen: 000651) make similar moves outside their traditional areas, in what looks to me like a typical herd mentality that one often sees in Chinese industries.
In this case the urgency to diversify doesn’t seem that critical, since I don’t expect consumer demand for big appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators to fade anytime soon. That contrasts sharply with a parallel diversification drive in the traditional retailing sector, where companies like electronics seller Gome (HKEx: 493) and supermarket operator Wumart (HKEx: 1025) are facing an unprecedented challenge from a new generation of e-commerce firms like Jingdong and Yihaodian. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Announces iPhone Plans, 16G Model For 5488 Yuan (Chinese article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) To Pay HK$1.5 Bln For China South City (HKEx: 1668) Stake (Chinese article)
AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Announces Completion of Merger (PRNewswire)
Huawei Estimates Operating Profit Rose Over 40 Pct Last Year (English article)
Former Nuomi Head Named As LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) China President (Chinese article)
Some new figures are showing just how dramatically China’s group buying sector has contracted over the past year, with word that another major player Wanzhong has folded due to lack of funds. Wangzhong’s closure comes as the number of group buying casualties finally starts to slow, simply because so many have now left the space. I do expect we’ll see at least one or two more major closures or mergers this year, and previously predicted that former high-flyer LaShou could be one of those. But that said, the year could also see 2 or 3 major players finally emerge that have the potential to make IPOs and post strong long-term growth, similar to what we’ve seen recently from global sector leader Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN). Read Full Post…
A slew of year-end news about China’s auto industry is shining a spotlight on the tough times that domestic car makers are facing not only at home but also abroad as they grapple with tough competition and other market factors. Domestic nameplates like Geely (HKEx: 175), Chery and BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594) have steadily lost share in their home market over the last few years to big foreign names like GM (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG), but posted strong export gains as they looked to overseas markets to partly offset the declines at home. But now even the export picture is looking bleak, with the latest word that no Chinese car makers will attend the industry-leading North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. (English article) Read Full Post…
