The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 0700) Will Definitely Charge Fees For WeChat – MIIT Official (Chinese article)
Oil Spill Lawsuit Against ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Finds Way To Texas Court (English article)
Nestle (Switzerland: NESN) Brews Fresh Investment As World Savors Pu’er Coffee (English article)
3 US Retailing Giants Enter China Using E-Commerce Channels (Chinese article)
China’s Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Eyes Return To Profit In H2 (English article)
A new lawsuit filed in the US by Chinese fishermen seeking compensation from an oil spill nearly two years ago is exposing big shortcomings in China’s court system, undermining the nation’s efforts to build a world-class, independent judiciary. The suit against oil exploration giant ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is also casting an embarrassing spotlight on the government ministry handling the case, whose refusal to arbitrate the matter has forced the fishermen to look to the US for justice. Read Full Post…
Dominant Chinese mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has a well established track record for its inability to do much outside its home market, but that could change soon with word that it’s teaming with European giant Vodafone (London: VOD) to bid for a mobile license in Myanmar. I’m often quite critical of China Mobile, as I think this cash-rich but lazy company has done little to take advantage of its huge size and resources to innovate and expand both at home and abroad. But in this case we’re finally seeing an initiative that looks well conceived, giving it a good chance of success as China Mobile looks to move into more competitive global markets.Read Full Post…
Paramount, Bona discover ups and downs of China film
New headlines from top Hollywood studio Paramount (NYSE: VIAb) and publicly listed China filmmaker Bona Film (Nasdaq: BONA) are showing both the huge potential of the China box office, and also the fickle nature of the broader film industry. In the more typical Hollywood style, Paramount has splashed across the headlines with word that it will join with 2 Chinese partners to co-produce the next installment of its blockbuster “Transformers” franchise. Meantime, Bona was decidedly lower key in announcing its latest quarterly results, highlighted by a slide into the red due to lack of hit movies. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941), Vodafone (London: VOD) To Bid For Myanmar License (HKEx announcement)
Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) Closes Biggest China Stores (Chinese article)
UBS Was Mystery Lender For Thai Group’s Ping An Buy (HKEx: 2318) – Sources (English article)
It may seem like a minor thing, but Jingdong Mall’s new decision to formally change its web address is one of the most welcome pieces of news that I’ve seen in China’s e-commerce space in quite a while. I realize that of course I’m exaggerating a little, but the latest decision from Jingdong does seem relatively significant because it demonstrates the company is trying to create a unified and consistent image for consumers and investors as it gears up for a large IPO likely to come later this year in New York. Read Full Post…
Despite a number of major advances in China-Taiwan relations these last few years, one area that has yet to see much progress is M&A by Chinese companies of their Taiwanese counterparts. Chinese banking giant ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) is aiming to break that taboo with its newly announced plans to buy 20 percent of SinoPac Financial Holdings (Taipei: 2890) for about T$20 billion, or about $680 million. (HKEx announcement;English article) Announcement of the sale came the same day that Bank of Taiwan became the first Taiwanese lender to offering direct Taiwan dollar exchange services for China’s currency, the yuan, through its Shanghai branch. (English article) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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ICBC (HKEx: 1398) To Buy 20 Pct of Taiwan’s Sinopac (Taipei: 2890) (HKEx announcement)
Paramount (NYSE: VIAb), China Movie Channel To Produce “Transformers 4” (English article)
China Telecom (HKEx: 728), Netease (Nasdaq: NTES) Partner on Mobile IM – Source (English article)
Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Qunar Meets Resistance From Suppliers (Chinese article)
Class Action Suit Against Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Dismissed (PRNewswire)
It wouldn’t be a proper week if I didn’t write at least one commentary on the problems plaguing the solar panel sector, so I’ll end this final work day before the Chinese Tomb Sweeping holiday with some of the latest headlines that reflect the turbulent state of affairs. In the positive news column, Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ), one of the healthier players, has announced that a shareholder lawsuit against it has been dismissed, removing the danger of a potentially costly court battle and an even costlier penalty. Meanwhile, suppliers of Suntech (NYSE: STP) are discovering the perils of doing business in the sector, as many begin to write down debts owed by the bankrupt former superstar. Read Full Post…
A new memo that has been reportedly leaked from China’s second largest mobile carrier, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), shows the nation’s 3 telcos may not be nearly as united as many may think in their approach to Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular WeChat mobile app. This revelation, if true, doesn’t surprise me at all, since industry giant China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has been leading the assault on WeChat from the very beginning, complaining the popular mobile instant messaging app uses huge amounts of its networking capacity. But it’s far from clear if the nation’s other 2 mobile carriers, Unicom and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) share China Mobile’s discontent. Read Full Post…
More international cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai have an advantage over smaller rivals in preserving this element of local culture, as many of these bigger places have big academic communities that actively work to protect the local dialect. Most of those academics are often older folks who have admirable goals but don’t know how to speak to a younger generation that’s interested in speaking the more cosmopolitan Mandarin than a local dialect that often has many associations of backwardness. Read Full Post…
