Asset seizure casts new clouds over Suntech retrench
Someone should write a book about solar panel superstar Suntech (NYSE: STP), whose the incredible rise and spectacular fall has taken yet another intriguing twist with word that some of its major assets have been seized by a court in Italy. The Italian angle is just the latest turn in this international story of a company founded by an Australian-educated Chinese engineer, which once look set to revolutionize the solar energy sector, only to be forced into bankruptcy when the sector plunged into a massive downturn. From a more practical perspective, I suspect this latest development will prolong Suntech’s bankruptcy reorganization, since its creditors may have been hoping to liquidate these Italian assets to repay some of the company’s massive debt. Read Full Post…
After years of being locked out of China’s lucrative gaming market, US software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) may have finally found an opening through a new joint venture with BesTV (Shanghai: 600637), the digital arm of the nation’s second largest media company. On the one hand I should congratulate Microsoft for its tenacity in pursuing China’s electronic gaming market, which is one of the world’s largest. But on the other hand, I have to return to one of my common refrains about the world’s biggest software maker in observing that this effort looks a bit late and will have difficulty finding an audience in China’s highly competitive gaming market. I also have my doubts about the selection of BesTV as its partner, but I’ll come back to that later. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US To Get Coveted Alibaba IPO After Hong Kong Talks Founder (English article)
5S Accounts For 91 Pct Of New iPhone Sales In China, 5C For 9 Pct – Report (Chinese article)
Smart TVs, which let consumers watch programs via Internet-based channels, has suddenly become the latest flavor of the day for China tech firms, with just about every major Internet player piling into the market in the last few months. Top e-commerce firm Alibaba and search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have both announced major new initiatives in the last 2 months, and now social networking leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is joining the frenzy with its own new tie-up. At the same time, retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) may also be making moves in the space, with word that it’s near a deal to purchase online video company PPTV. Read Full Post…
Solar group offers solution for US-China trade spat
Following a landmark compromise in July that averted a China-EU trade war over solar panels, a major US trade group is offering its own proposal to end a similar spat between the US and China. While I’m no expert on this matter, I do think this latest plan from the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) looks quite interesting and promising, both for its content and also because the group has engaged many of the parties involved in both the US and China. Not surprisingly, at least one major voice has already spoken out against the plan, with SolarWorld expressing skepticism about the proposal. Read Full Post…
I’ve been writing with growing frequency about the impending release of 4G mobile licenses, as local media report almost weekly on the latest developments in this highly anticipated event. The latest reports aren’t all that exciting, citing a regulatory source saying rumors that licenses will be issued this month are most likely untrue. Meantime, leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) doesn’t seem to care about the actual release date, and has already started its own aggressive campaign for advance sign-ups of 4G subscribers in major cities like Shanghai. Amid all this buzz, I thought I’d also take a look at what’s ahead for 4G once it actually launches, as I do see a rather bumpy road for the technology in its first year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) In Advanced Talks To Buy PPTV For $400 Mln – Source (Chinese article)
Microsoft, BesTV (Shanghai: 600637) to Invest up to $237 Mln in China Venture (English article)
US Solar Group Offers Proposal To End US-China Panel Dispute (Group announcement)
KKR, Modern Dairy (HKEx: 1117) To Build Large Scale Farms in Shandong (Businesswire)
Alibaba Launches Taobao C2C Service In Singapore (English article)
Social networking apps (SNS) have become the flavor of the day among Chinese Internet firms, especially in the mobile space, and it’s rare to go more than a week or two without reports of a big new move by a major player in the space. Amid all that chatter, I was intrigued to read the latest report of an interesting new tie-up between leading microblog operator Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo and appliance maker Hisense (Shanghai: 600060) into the unlikely field of smart air conditioners. Read Full Post…
I must admit I have little interest in or time for the legions of workers who regularly sweep up the dust and litter on Shanghai’s many streets. Perhaps part of the reason is snobbery, although I don’t have any particular bad feelings for these actual workers, whose trademark pastel blue smocks with florescent yellow stripes makes them hard to miss.
Instead, my lack of interest in these sweepers is mostly because they represent a lingering relic of China’s wasteful and inefficient socialist past, where keeping people employed was more important than actual productivity. Read Full Post…
Software outsourcing firm Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS) has quietly raised the value of its management-led buyout offer, as it nears its ultimate goal of going private due to lack of interest from Wall Street investors. Even with the increased offer, Camelot is still just worth just under $100 million, a tiny fraction of what it was once worth when investors were much more bullish on the company and China’s software outsourcing sector in general. The looming de-listing also comes just a week after Pactera (Nasdaq: PACT), one of China’s only other major publicly traded IT outsourcing firms, said a group seeking to buy the company had lowered its bid due to weakening outlook. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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4G License Timetable Not Set, Talk Of Q3 Release Unreliable (Chinese article)
GSK’s (London: GSK) China Sales May Be Down 30 Pct On Scandal: Analysts (English article)
Suntech (NYSE: STP) Announces Seizure Of Global Solar Fund Assets In Italy (PRNewswire)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, Hisense (Shanghai: 600060) Roll Out Smart Air Con (Chinese article)
Used Car Website Operator Souche Secures US Dollar 8-Digit Funding (English article)
