The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lilly (NYSE: LLY) Says Deeply Concerned By Bribery Allegations In China (English article)
Geely (HKEx: 175) to Offer Vehicles Jointly Developed With Volvo in 2015 (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Unveils Light App Distribution Platform (English article)
Chinese Internet companies have never been afraid to venture outside their core business areas, and that trend continues with word that e-commerce heavyweights Alibaba and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) are making new forays into education and finance, respectively. Frankly speaking, this recent venturing of some companies so far outside their core competencies doesn’t look all that smart to me, and is the result of a “follow the herd” mentality that’s being driven by a few companies with lots of cash that they want to invest. But that said, these 2 latest cases do look relatively logical and probably have good chances for success. Read Full Post…
The headlines are buzzing about a new joint venture between wireless carrier China Telecom (HKEx: 728) and Internet company NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), in one of the bigger media frenzies I’ve seen in quite a while for this kind of tie-up. But everyone loves a good contest, and this particular joint venture offers just that with a major new challenge to Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) hugely popular WeChat mobile instant messaging service, known in Chinese as Weixin. Just to make sure everyone understands what this story is about, China Telecom and NetEase have even given their new service the name of YiChat or Yixin in Chinese, which both sound quite similar to the English and Chinese names Tencent’s service. Read Full Post…
An interesting war of wills is shaping up between the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKEx) and e-commerce giant Alibaba, which looks increasingly determined to make its highly anticipated multibillion-dollar IPO in Hong Kong rather than New York. Alibaba’s apparent determination to keep its listing closer to its home China market is understandable, since the Hong Kong stock exchange is already home to China’s biggest listed Internet company, Tencent (HKEx: 700). But that said, Alibaba’s only personal experience with a public listing was also in Hong Kong, and that listing involving its B2B unit Alibaba.com was largely a failure. Shares of Alibaba.com initially soared after their 2007 IPO, but then were largely ignored by investors due to slowing growth, prompting Alibaba to ultimately privatize the company last year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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New China Trust Pulls Out Of $4.8 Bln AIG Unit Bid: Source (English article)
YiChat Mobile IM Users Reach 1 Mln In First Day Of Launch (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Forecasts Profit in First 9 Months of 2013 In Earnings Rebound (Businesswire)
Vancl In Talks For $200 Mln New Funding Round (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Applies for Banking License (English article)
I’ve been saying for a while now that China’s booming smartphone market will undergo a major correction soon due to huge oversupply, and now we’re starting to see the first signs of stress from 2 major players. Among domestic manufacturers, media are reporting that struggling giant ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is preparing an overhaul of its handset business to improve its performance in China. Meantime, faded Taiwanese superstar HTC (Taipei: 2498) is also announcing its own major overhaul and making bold predictions about its plans to become a top player in China. Read Full Post…
Mobile telecoms fans who have been waiting for years for China to issue 4G mobile licenses may finally have reason to celebrate, amid the latest media reports that say licenses will finally be awarded around the upcoming Oct 1 National Day holiday. But the awards will be somewhat bittersweet for true mobile fans, since only users of a homegrown technology called TD-LTE will be able to sample the super-high speeds offered by 4G for at least the next few months. People waiting for service based on more mature western-developed technology called FDD-LTE will probably have to wait at least another half year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the wait is even closer to a year or more. Read Full Post…
Beijing regulators are making an example out of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) （London: GSK) by accusing the British drug giant of massive bribery related to its aggressive sales tactics, spotlighting one of the major risks that foreign firms face when doing business in China.
While many of the allegations against GSK may well be true, the timing and high-profile nature of the probe against such a well-known and trusted western name look like a warning to all drug companies to stop this kind of behavior as China overhauls its healthcare system. Unfortunately for GSK, the company’s reputation and business in China will be severely damaged by the scandal. Many employees have already been fired since the scandal began, and some could even end up in jail for practices that are quite common not only in China but also in many western countries. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) On Cusp Of Deal To Sell iPhone By Year End (Chinese article)
Alibaba In Talks With HKEx On Ownership Structure Ahead Of IPO-Sources (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Reorganize Handset Business (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Q2 Results (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360, Sogou Search Traffic Share Up 1 Percentage Pt In July (English article)
E-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), the only major Chinese company to list in New York this year, is learning that Wall Street can be a volatile place, following the release of its maiden earnings report that showed slowing growth. Meantime, another much smaller Chinese micro-lender called China Commercial Credit (Nasdaq: CCCR) is making a similar discovery following a strong reception for its own microscopic New York IPO last week. Read Full Post…
This week’s Street View takes us underground to Shanghai’s vast subway system, where metro police are in the midst of a crackdown on people who ride the trains without paying. I’m fully supportive of this crackdown, as it irks me to no end whenever I see someone jump over or duck under the subway turnstiles without paying when they think no one is looking. Still, based on the big numbers of these fare dodgers I see all the time, I have serious doubts about whether this latest campaign will work. Read Full Post…
