I’ve been writing for most of the past year about China’s bloody e-commerce battles, and now we’re getting some figures that finally show how bad the situation is with news that up-and-comer Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) has missed its 2012 online sales target by a relatively large margin. This bad stumble reflects the fact that China’s e-commerce market may have big potential, but the overall space is still limited in size. What’s more, with so many big names fighting for a piece of the pie, everyone is having to sell their products at very low prices that ultimately result in lower overall revenues and operating losses.
Lenovo M&A Addiction Targets Sharp 联想或收购夏普南京电视机工厂
Despite his recent promises that he wouldn’t pursue any new major M&A, Lenovo (HKEx: 992) chief Yang Yuanqing appears to be addicted to purchasing global assets, as reflected by the latest news that he is exploring a potential new tie-up with struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp (Tokyo: 6753). I’ve previously said that Yang’s addiction to M&A will result in some major challenges for Lenovo in the next few years, as it faces the difficult task of integrating various recently acquired assets in such diverse markets as Japan, Brazil and Germany.
News Digest: January 18 报摘：2013年1月18日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Sharp (Tokyo: 6753), Lenovo (HKEx: 992) In TV Joint Venture Talks – Report (English article)
- Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) Misses 2012 Sales Target By Big Margin (English article)
- Group Buying Transaction Volume Reaches 21.4 Bln Yuan in 2012, Up 93 Pct (Chinese article)
- Iron Man Joins China’s TCL (HKEx: 2618) to Challenge Apple Smartphones (English article)
- Singapore Government Sells Some Of Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Stake (HKEx announcement)
Baidu Becomes Latest Sina Weibo Suitor 百度有意投资新浪微博
The list of companies looking to invest in Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging platform continues to grow with word that online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has become the latest suitor to woo the popular social networking site (SNS). Word of Baidu’s interest comes weeks after e-commerce leader Alibaba was also reportedly seeking a similar tie-up with Sina, though that deal was said to have reached an impasse after the companies failed to agree on a price. (previous post) Frankly speaking, all 3 of these leading Internet companies seems to be a bit hyperactive at the moment with unrelated internal activities, prompting me to wonder if each potentially has too many distractions to craft a deal that will ultimately be good for anyone.
News Digest: January 17 报摘：2013年1月17日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba Group Said to Hire Credit Suisse, Goldman (NYSE: GS) for IPO (English article)
- Tencent (HKEx: 700 Apologizes For Blocking Sensitive Content On WeChat (Chinese article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) President In Taiwan, Promotes TD 3G/4G Integration (Chinese article)
- China MediaExpress a Fraud, Hong Kong Arbitration Rules (English article)
- Chrysler Announces Deal To Build Jeeps In China (English article)
Apple Invests in China — Finally 苹果终于在华投资
For a company of its size, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has been surprisingly conservative about its investments in China, opening just a few of its trademark stores in a country that is already one of its top global markets but otherwise making few major investments. But that could soon change with talk that the world’s biggest tech company is aiming to open a research and development center in China, which has become an unspoken prerequisite for any company that hopes to successfully do big business in the country. Apple clearly needs to think about such high-profile, big investments in China if it ever wants to streamline some of the bureaucracy that has kept some of its most popular products out of the market for months after their global launches.
Ma Yields For New Alibaba Top Manager 马云宣布将卸任阿里巴巴CEO
It seems like nothing happens at e-commerce giant Alibaba these days that isn’t interpreted in terms of its implications for the company’s upcoming mega-IPO, and the latest announcement that founder Jack Ma will step down from his CEO position isn’t any different. From my perspective, this kind of move was almost inevitable, and should be a good one for Alibaba in the run-up to what is likely to be China’s biggest-ever IPO for an Internet company sometime between this year and 2015. After all, Ma has always been a very strong salesman and a “big picture” guy, and it’s become increasingly clear that he wants to focus on the strategic direction for his company rather than day-to-day managerial issues that have become increasingly important as Alibaba grows in size and complexity.
News Digest: January 16 报摘：2013年1月16日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba’s Jack Ma To Stand Down As CEO, Move To Chairman Role (English article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Hopes To Set Up Beijing R&D Center (Chinese article)
- Trina (NYSE: TSL) Obtains Rights to Develop 50 MW Solar Project in Gansu (PRNewswire)
- Wi-Fi + Cellular Models of iPad Mini & 4th Generation iPad Available in China On Friday (Businesswire)
- BYD (HKEx: 1211) Delivers 500 Electric e6 Police Cars to Shenzhen PSB (Businesswire)
Baidu Sniffs Kingsoft, Xioami Next? 百度与金山软件洽商合作 接下来与小米联姻？
The headlines have been buzzing this week with word that Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) could soon form a tie-up with software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888), with many speculating the move by China’s leading search engine would be a direct assault on recent Baidu nemesis Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). But a far more interesting possibility in this potential new tie-up would be a future related deal that would bring together Baidu with the up-and-coming young smartphone maker Xiaomi, whose co-founder Lei Jun has strong ties with Kingsoft.
Solar Shares Shine, JA Shuffles 光伏企业股价回光返照 行业尚待重组
After more than a year of coming under constant assault, shares of solar panel makers have suddenly received an unexpected boost from investors who are suddenly showing renewed interest in the battered sector. Many are attributing the sudden surge in solar stocks to growing signs that China will soon embark on a massive building spree of new solar power plants, which should theoretically provide a major new business opportunity for solar panel makers who have been posting massive losses for more than a year now.
News Digest: January 15 报摘：2013年1月15日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Xinhua Slams Yum (NYSE: YUM), VW (Frankfurt: VOWG) For Business Practices (English article)
- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in Talks to Invest in Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) – Blogs (English article)
- Guangzhou Automobile (HKEx: 2238) Looks Outside China For Growth (English article)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) Regains Compliance With NYSE Share Price Requirement (PRNewswire)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Enters Telecoms in Bid For Virtual Network License (Chinese article)
