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The US may be one of the world’s most competitive markets, but tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is quickly discovering that fast-growing China is far more complex for a wide range of reasons that are often more political than economic. CEO Tim Cook was in Beijing this week to address some of those issues, in what looks like a hastily arranged trip to put out a growing number of fires facing his firm in the world’s largest smartphone market. Read Full Post…
A flood of low-cost smartphones into the China market looks set to accelerate with word that the trendy Xiaomi is preparing to launch a low-end model that will sell for just 1,000 yuan, or about $160. Xiaomi’s new phone, called Hongmi or “Red Rice” has been rumored for a while, and was actually supposed to launch in June but ran into unspecified regulator snags. (previous post) Now media are reporting the Hongmi phones could launch this week, adding a new player to an already overheated market for low-end smartphones. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Investors are taking a decidedly negative view on the latest news from web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and game operator Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME), in a wave of buyer fatigue following recent rallies for these 2 Internet companies. Shares of both companies lost 10 percent or more in the latest trading day in New York, after Sohu released a very solid set of financial results and Shanda announced an acquisition that should help to boost its struggling core game business. In all fairness, both companies’ shares have rallied sharply this year for different reasons, so some might view this sell-off as a classic case of the “buy on the rumor, sell on the news” mentality. As such, the setback may be a one-time correction, and different factors will determine whether the companies resume their rallies in the weeks ahead.
Everyone is looking for ways to keep cool as Shanghai bakes under a nonstop summer heat wave, and retirees are particularly vulnerable to the high temperatures due to their advanced age. But recent reports of thrifty senior citizens clogging up air conditioned public spaces to escape the heat points to a larger social problem, prompting me to look more closely at this phenomenon that can be annoying to ordinary people and even a safety hazard.
This tendency for elders to economize in every possible way certainly isn’t unique to China, as such people live on very limited incomes throughout the world and thus need to watch their spending. But in China the issue seems rather extreme, the result of an ultra conservative mentality among elders who grew up in far less prosperous times. My advice to these elders is: Stop skimping and spend some of your hard-earned money to enjoy a few basic simple pleasures like air conditioning on a hot summer day. Read Full Post…
A couple of news bits are highlighting China’s rapidly blossoming love affair with Hollywood, and also hinting at the turbulence we’re likely to see in the next couple of years as Chinese firms invest too much as they become smitten with show business. One of those deals has US digital effects house Digital Domain being taken over by a new Chinese owner less than a year after it was purchased out of bankruptcy by a Beijing-based film producer. The other has leading theater chain owner Wanda Group significantly boosting its ties with Canada’s Imax (Toronto: IMX), as it invests heavily in Imax’s big-screen technology. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I should have a bit more confidence in my predictions, following word that leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) has become a major shareholder in top global electronic game designer Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) as part of a deal to buy out the company from its parent. I had predicted last year that Tencent could buy Activision outright, after France’s Vivendi (Paris: VIV) put the US gaming company up for sale to raise cash and divest non-core assets. But then when more than a year passed without any word of a deal, I concluded that Tencent was either unable to raise the financing for a transaction, or perhaps had lost interest. Read Full Post…
China and the West broke a decades-old pattern of troubled trade relations over the weekend with a landmark deal to settle a trade dispute between China and the EU involving Chinese manufactured solar panels. Leaders in China and the West should use this breakthrough agreement as a template for resolving future trade disputes, turning to compromise rather than destructive accusations and punitive tariffs to end their disagreements. Read Full Post…
As if its China troubles weren’t bad enough following a weak earnings report, global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is now coming under political fire from central bureaucrats in Beijing for failing to deliver promised donations after an earthquake earlier this year. Frankly speaking, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for Apple or any of the other firms that get this kind of criticism, since I find their quickness to announce donations after any major disaster somewhat insincere and largely a publicity ploy. But the fact that yet another foreign firm is coming under attack from central government sources this month certainly adds to my previous assertions that Beijing has recently embarked on a drive to discredit foreign firms and divert attention from other domestic problems. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 27-29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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