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Global sector leaders Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have finally broken their silence with PR counter blitzes, after getting pummeled by the Chinese media for weeks in a series of local scandals. Before I go any further, I’d like to personally give myself the award for my inability to read the news, as I previously said the 2 crises now facing these 2 firms in China looked like non-news that would quickly subside. Clearly I was wrong. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Just a year after re-entering China’s cellphone market, faded Japanese electronics giant NEC (Tokyo: 6701) is in rumored talks to sell its cellphone business to Chinese computing giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). I previously predicted that such a tie-up could come after NEC’s original announcement last March that it would return to China, and this latest move could auger an eventual takeover of NEC’s entire struggling consumer electronics business by Lenovo. Read Full Post…
In the space of just a half year, Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular mobile messaging WeChat app has gone from obscurity, to red-hot rising star, to its latest position as a target of attack from just about everyone. The popular app has come under assault in the last 3 months from the nation’s 3 telcos, which complain that WeChat users are taking up a growing share of their network capacity. The trio have found a potent ally in the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which has stepped in to help “mediate” the dispute. On top of all that, a wave of envious rivals with copycat products is quickly appearing on the scene. Read Full Post…
The ongoing tiff between the US and China over the security of Chinese telecoms equipment took a new twist last week when Washington largely forbid several government agencies from buying products from industry giants Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). While Washington’s previous moves in the dispute have been controversial and often contrary to fair trade principles, this latest act looks more reasonable because it is limited to purchasing by a small number of government agencies. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 30-April 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I’ve often wondered these last few months about what happened to an anti-trust lawsuit filed against Tencent (HKEx: 700) by security software firm Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) about a year ago. Now I finally have my answer, with word that the Chinese courts have rejected Qihoo’s complaint, meaning that life will now continue as usual for Tencent and other major Chinese Internet firms. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
As we cruise into the final day of a hectic earnings season, let’s take a quick look at results from leading car makers SAIC (Shanghai: 600104) and Dongfeng Motor (HKEx: 489) that provide the latest evidence that China’s car market is rapidly overheating. I’ve described this looming problem before, most recently by looking at the ongoing rapid build-up of new capacity that is likely to exacerbate the current overheating. (previous post) Read Full Post…
Finally there are some interesting news bits on e-commerce leader Alibaba that don’t involve its highly anticipated IPO, including a push into developing markets and a new tie-up with global electronics giant MasterCard (NYSE MA). Of the 2 bits, the former is a bit more intriguing because it represents a major move for the company outside the Chinese-speaking world for its highly successful consumer-oriented e-commerce services. The latter tie-up is interesting because it involves a big name like MasterCard, even though actual details are scarce and probably won’t get worked out until some point in the future. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Beijing’s recent campaign to bash iPhone maker Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is starting to border on the bizarre, with the official Communist Party newspaper the People’s Daily launching the latest assault on the world’s biggest tech company. I’ve lived in China for quite a while now, and have seen occasional attacks on major foreign names in the official Chinese media, including my own former employer Reuters. But most of those attacks are related to specific incidents, and usually lasted a week or 2 at the most before the issue was quietly retired. Read Full Post…
