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The microblogging realm has been buzzing these past few days with speculation on a brief China visit late last week by Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt, who checked out counterfeit goods at a gadget market in Beijing’s Zhongguancun high-tech area. Equally interesting was the inclusion in Schmidt’s group of 2 former Google executives who now work for Xioami, the fast-rising smartphone maker that hopes to someday become China’s equivalent of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). 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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When is a 92 percent profit increase reason for pessimism? The answer to that question would normally be “never”, but we’re seeing a rare case where a near-doubling in profit for leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has sparked a sell-off in the company’s shares. Ctrip isn’t alone in the bearish trend, with rival Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) also moving steadily downward in the last 2 days after a spectacular IPO last week. If I were an investor, I wouldn’t worry too much about this sell-off, which looks largely technical. But both stocks could be set for a few months of slow or no growth, following their recent spectacular run-ups. Read Full Post…
I like to write occasionally about the market for traditional Chinese liquor known as baijiu, often more out of personal interest than because I see any big potential in the sector. While many of China’s other food and beverage sectors have consolidated around a few key players over the last 15 years, baijiu has been strangely resistant to such a movement. As a result, the industry remains highly fragmented and not very interesting for investors. But recent signs are pointing to a potential consolidation finally on the way, including the latest word that food and beverage giant Wahaha is entering the field in a bid to develop a new national brand based in southwest China’s Maotai county, an area famous for the traditional liquor. Read Full Post…
A couple of items from China’s booming auto market are shining a spotlight on the sector’s big potential and also the looming risk of a government-led slowdown in a bid to control the nation’s worsening air quality. In the former category, online information provider Autohome has just made its first public filing for a New York IPO, becoming the latest in a sudden burst of tech firms to raise money outside China. The second news bit looks a bit more ominous, with media reporting the city of Beijing is sharply cutting its quota for new car sales in a bid to improve local air quality. That could be the first sign of a looming slowdown for national auto sales if other cities follow suit, which could easily happen. 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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Spring is most definitely in the air this week for embattled solar panel makers, with Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) emerging as new sector leaders with different pieces of upbeat news. From my perspective the Canadian Solar news is the most exciting, even though some may say it doesn’t come as a big surprise. The company announced it will post a net profit for the third quarter, becoming the first major solar firm to return to the black after 2 years of losses. Meantime, Shunfeng has announced details of its highly anticipated deal to buy the main assets of bankrupt former solar pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), marking a major step forward in the industry’s restructuring. Read Full Post…
Shanghai residents who like to show their visiting friends some of the city’s better preserved traditional neighborhoods, known locally as shikumen, will be disappointed to hear that one of the best ones is now off the market. I’m referring to a recent clean-up of the shikumen neighborhood on West Nanjing Road near Shaanxi Lu, where a new gate has been installed to keep out everyone except local residents. Read Full Post…
A trio of Chinese tech firms with global dreams is taking a page from the western marketing playbook, signing a recent series of celebrity and sports team endorsements aimed at winning over US and European consumers. Such a strategy looks smart, and could help ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Huawei shed their image as Chinese firms and look more international as they try to sell their smartphones to the west. 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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In the more than 2 years since I started this blog, today marks the first time I’m writing about telecoms equipment and services provider UTStarcom (Nasdaq: UTSI), which has just announced that a plan to privatize the company has derailed. The reason I point out this fact is that when I first started writing about Chinese tech firms a decade ago, UTStarcom was an investor darling, riding high on a low-end wireless technology. But investors quickly abandoned the company after it failed to find a new blockbuster product, and now it appears that even its potential rescuer has decided to give the company a pass. Read Full Post…
