JPMorgan, China Mobile exec targeted in new probes
When the history books are written, 2013 could easily be named the “Year of the Probe” for firms in China, following a steady stream of new investigations into various companies that began in July. Most of the probes have involved major western firms, but news of the latest investigation against an executive at leading mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) shows that no one is immune from this recent bid to clean up China’s unruly corporate sector. The latest western firm to get caught in a China-related probe is JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM), which has become the first financial services firm to come under scrutiny in the recent string of investigations. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Telecom, NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) In JV For Instant Messaging App “YiChat” (PRNewswire)
It seems the word “imminent” can have several different meanings when it comes to M&A among Chinese Internet firms. In most cases, it means “very soon”, which seems to be the case with reports that a deal is imminent for e-commerce giant Alibaba to purchase video sharing site PPTV, also known as PPLive. Meantime, the word can also sometimes mean “a long time” or perhaps even “never”, which is the case for a deal that has seen reports appear several time for an imminent sale of Sogou, the search engine owned by web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), to several different buyers. Read Full Post…
China has embarked on a recent campaign to clean up its drug sector of aggressive selling tactics that often include bribing doctors and hospital officials to boost sales. The choice of the drug firms looks smart, as it takes aim at a rapidly transforming Chinese medical sector where many business practices are still in their formative stages. More broadly speaking, this kind of campaign also sends a strong signal that Beijing won’t tolerate the kind of bribery and other aggressive and often unethical business practices that have become far too common in many Chinese industries. Read Full Post…
Telecoms stalwart China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) and up-and-comer Xiaomi are creating new buzz in the sector these last few days, as speculation builds that the former may be near a long-awaited deal with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to finally offer the iPhone on its network. Meantime, Xiaomi is making headlines with word that it expects its revenue to double this year, following a strong reception for Hongmi, its latest smartphone that retails for just 799 yuan or about $130. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 17-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Goldman, Morgan Stanley In Talks To Buy Stake In China’s Huarong: FT (English article)
China Seen Probing IBM, Oracle, EMC After Snowden Leaks (English article)
E-commerce firms Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) and Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) have both just reported their latest quarterly results that look quite solid, as the former consolidates its position as China’s leading discount online retailer and the latter overhauls its business model. But you would never know the results were good based on shareholder reaction, with shares of China’s 2 largest US-listed e-commerce firms both tumbling after their reports came out. Read Full Post…
Suntech, Canadian Solar feel new heat in sector overhaul
The latest news from Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Suntech (NYSE: STP) is casting a shadow over a nascent recovery for the embattled solar sector, as each company struggles to fix its broken finances pummeled by a two-year downturn. Canadian Solar has announced a plan to raise up to $50 million through a stock sale, while domestic media are reporting that bidding for bankrupt Suntech is moving ahead quickly, indicating the end may be near as an independent company for this former solar high-flyer. All this shows that investors shouldn’t get too bullish on solar companies just yet, even as Canadian Solar says it is still on target to post a profit for all of 2013. Read Full Post…
Internet leaders Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Alibaba are in a recent war to see who can win the most headlines for online M&A, which has suddenly accelerated in China after years of inactivity. In the last 24 hours alone, media are reporting that Alibaba has finalized a deal to team with Hunan Satellite Television to purchase PPTV, one of China’s top video sharing sites. Not to be outdone, Baidu was reported earlier this week to be in late-stage talks to buy group buying site Nuomi (previous post), and has just announced the finalization of its previously announced $1.9 billion plan to buy online app store 91Wireless. (company announcement) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Could Target Oil Firms, Telecoms, Banks In Price Probes: Report (English article)
As we get bombarded with a slew of quarterly reports from the likes of NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) about their health in the present, I want to turn my attention to the future with a look at an interesting report on potential Chinese suitors for tumbling smartphone maker BlackBerry (Toronto: BB). The report that caught my attention mentions PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and telecoms equipment maker Huawei as 2 leading candidates to buy BlackBerry, which formally put itself up for sale earlier this week. Read Full Post…
