Internet companies Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) and Renren (NYSE: RENN) are playing new games to try and boost their struggling prospects, with the former announcing a major executive appointment and the latter a major new product development campaign. In Shanda Games’ case, the move looks potentially interesting because it’s most likely coming from the parent company’s recently named new president who was brought in to make the group’s various parts work better together. (previous post) In Renren’s case, the move also looks like a potentially good one as the company chases its ultimate goal of becoming profitable. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
We’re seeing some interesting moves today on the dynamic e-commerce front, with new signals that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) intends to make a serious play into the space using its popular Weibo microblogging service as its primary platform. At the same time, the industry’s second largest player Jingdong Mall is throwing out a new challenge by preparing to enter the B2B space now dominated by industry leader Alibaba. Read Full Post…
Most of the attention in the solar sector these last few weeks has been focused on Suntech (NYSE: STP), the former high-flyer that was forced into bankruptcy earlier this month after it defaulted on more than $500 million worth of bonds. But now the similarly struggling LDK (NYSE: LDK) has made it back into the headlines as well, with word that the company has issued more new shares to an outside investor that could potentially take over the company. Read Full Post…
Former gymnastics star Li Ning (HKEx: 2331) may have won Olympic gold, but he’s quickly finding a formidable rival in China’s e-commerce revolution that is rapidly stealing business from his sportswear empire. That’s my major takeaway from Li Ning’s latest abysmal results, which include a massive 1.98 billion yuan ($318 million) loss for 2012, the company’s first annual loss since going public in 2004. (English article) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Chinese Banks’ Bad Loan Ratios Shrink as Defaults Averted (English article)
Bank of China (HKEx: 3988) Announces Annual 2012 Results (HKEx announcement)
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Announces Second Sale of Shares to Fulai Investments (PRNewswire)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Tests E-Commerce Ad Product – Source (English article)
Jingdong Mall To Enter B2B E-Commcerce Business – CEO (Chinese article)
A new major deal involving oil refining giant Sinopec (HKEx: 386; Shanghai: 600028; NYSE: SNP) is highlighting China’s unusual system of advantageous family relationships between its major publicly-listed firms and their untraded state-owned parents. In many ways these ties are similar to real family relationships that, for example, might see a parent lend money to a child interest-free and with no repayment schedule. China’s big publicly-listed companies like Sinopec often use these relationships to get assets or other benefits from their parents on terms they would never be able to find in the open market. Read Full Post…
Today’s headlines include a couple of new developments in the recent privatization wave for US-listed China firms, underscoring the difficulty of doing such deals that often require big fund raising. The most interesting of the 2 latest news bits has online real estate services firm E-House (NYSE: EJ) making a new management-led move that looks like a potential prelude to a buyout offer. Meantime, a much smaller education services firm called Ambow (NYSE: AMBO) has seen its own privatization plan implode amid a sudden series of high-level resignations that cast doubts on the company’s credibility. Read Full Post…
China’s economic miracle has captured global headlines for much of the last 30 years, but a much quieter revolution has also taken place in that time at the nation’s toilets. As China’s leading commercial center, Shanghai has been at the edge of this quieter revolution, which has just flushed past another milestone with the announcement of a new mobile app to help people locate the nearest public toilet. (English article) Read Full Post…
Dutch parcel delivery giant TNT Express (Amsterdam: TNTE) is calling the planned sale of its China business part of a newly announced global restructuring, but this move looks to me like a bid to dump a money-losing asset in a market plagued by cutthroat competition. Of course the purpose of this kind of restructuring is to improve a company’s performance, so in this case TNT may simply want to sell its China business to rid its books of a unit that is most likely losing big money. The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, though is still somewhat disappointing since China is likely to become a very lucrative parcel delivery market in the next 5 years thanks to the booming popularity of e-commerce. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sinopec (HKEx: 386) To Pay $1.5 Bln For Parent’s Oil, Gas Assets (English article)
SMIC (HKEx: 981) Announces Further Delays To Planned Hubei Chip JV (HKEx announcement)
E-House (NYSE: EJ) Announces Completion of New Share Issuance to Management (PRNewswire)
Beijing Unicom (HKEx: 762) Tracks Customer WeChat Mobile Data Use (English article)
Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Reports Q4 And Full Year 2012 Results (PRNewswire)
A new major deal involving oil refining giant Sinopec (HKEx: 386; Shanghai: 600028; NYSE: SNP) is highlighting China’s unusual system of advantageous family relationships between its major publicly-listed firms and their untraded state-owned parents. In many ways these ties are similar to real family relationships that, for example, might see a parent lend money to a child interest-free and with no repayment schedule. China’s big publicly-listed companies like Sinopec often use these relationships to get assets or other benefits from their parents on terms they would never be able to find in the open market. 
Today’s headlines include a couple of new developments in the recent privatization wave for US-listed China firms, underscoring the difficulty of doing such deals that often require big fund raising. The most interesting of the 2 latest news bits has online real estate services firm E-House (NYSE: EJ) making a new management-led move that looks like a potential prelude to a buyout offer. Meantime, a much smaller education services firm called Ambow (NYSE: AMBO) has seen its own privatization plan implode amid a sudden series of high-level resignations that cast doubts on the company’s credibility. 
Dutch parcel delivery giant TNT Express (Amsterdam: TNTE) is calling the planned sale of its China business part of a newly announced global restructuring, but this move looks to me like a bid to dump a money-losing asset in a market plagued by cutthroat competition. Of course the purpose of this kind of restructuring is to improve a company’s performance, so in this case TNT may simply want to sell its China business to rid its books of a unit that is most likely losing big money. The move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, though is still somewhat disappointing since China is likely to become a very lucrative parcel delivery market in the next 5 years thanks to the booming popularity of e-commerce. 
