With the 4G telecoms era now formally begun, China’s 3 major telcos are suddenly rushing to give out more details about their plans in this new era of high-speed mobile communications. In the latest news from this fast-moving story, media are reporting that China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), the smallest of the nation’s 3 wireless carriers, will formally launch its 4G brand as soon as later this week. Meantime, leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has disclosed pricing plans that look quite aggressive for its 4G service in the city of Chongqing. I should also add I’m not surprised that we haven’t heard anything yet from the nation’s third telco, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), which has a recent history of slowness and disorganization in response to such major new developments. Read Full Post…
One of the longest and strangest de-listings in the current wave of privatizations by Chinese firms could finally be nearing an end, with word that telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) has received regulatory approval for a deal to buy out the company. This new announcement is just the latest bizarre twist in this story, as a deal of this size would normally be far too small to require such approval from China’s anti-monopoly regulator. But the approval seems to show that Beijing wants the deal to proceed in its current form, which means we may finally see an end to this strange story. Read Full Post…
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is not the world’s most talkative man, so when he says something in a rare media interview it’s worth taking notice. In this case Ren has personally stated that Huawei is temporarily halting its efforts to sell its telecoms equipment in the US, providing the final word on a controversial topic that has made headlines for much of the past year. But of course nothing is ever final, and a top US-based Huawei spokesman has quickly added that the company is ready to enter the US if and when Washington ever relaxes its informal ban on the company’s networking equipment. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 7-9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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This week will go down in the history books as the week when China finally entered the high-speed telecoms era with its granting of 4G licenses after years of waiting. But China still has the dubious distinction as one of the world’s few markets where Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) wildly popular iPhone isn’t available to more than half of the country’s 1 billion mobile subscribers. That looks set to finally change soon, with media reporting that China’s dominant carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has finally signed an iPhone deal with Apple. Read Full Post…
Just a couple of days after I wrote that a wave of summertime attacks on foreign companies appeared to be firmly in the past, Chinese media are turning up the pressure on several luxury car makers with new accusations of high prices. This kind of attack is more in line with what we’re used to seeing from Chinese media, which like to periodically criticize big western names for quality problems or high prices. That’s quite different from what we saw over the summer, when Chinese regulators launched a series of probes into western firms for illegal activities like price fixing and bribery. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 5, 2013. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China State TV Accuses Foreign Carmakers Of Price Gouging (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Sign iPhone Agreement (Chinese article)
In an unusual day for overseas traded Chinese firms, we’re getting interesting listing news bits from 3 of the world’s top financial markets, with companies making headlines in New York, London and Hong Kong. In New York, we’re hearing that unappreciated online game operator Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) may be considering a privatization bid; in Hong Kong, Cinda, a manager of non-performing state-run assets, is getting a strong reception in the run-up to its large IPO; and last but not least, visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a person appeal to e-commerce giant Alibaba to make its highly anticipated IPO in London. Read Full Post…
Top executives at controversial software security maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) have been blitzing cyberspace these past few days with a campaign to convince the world that it’s suddenly become a defender of justice and occupier of the moral high ground. This sudden offensive almost looks coordinated, with Qihoo aiming its newest assaults at 3 of its favorite targets, search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), top social networking firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) and fast-rising super-cool smartphone maker Xiaomi. 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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China Issues 4G Network Licences For TD-LTE To 3 Major Telcos (English article)
Disney In China Digital Entertainment Venture With BesTV (Shanghai: 600637) (English article)
I don’t know if I’m the only one who noticed this, but the flurry of attacks on foreign companies that began quite suddenly during the summer has ended just as quickly, replaced by what looks like a longer-term series of investigations against high-level officials at major state-owned firms. This second wave of attacks is obviously much more politically sensitive since it targets well-connected local Chinese officials, many of them high-ranking executives at some of the country’s leading state-run firms. Sensing that this anti-foreign campaign has now officially passed, visiting UK Prime Minister David Cameron has become a vocal supporter of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (London: GSK), the British drugmaker that was at the center of one of the biggest attacks against a multinational during the summertime campaign. Read Full Post…
