Media are reporting that online retailers Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) is launching a major overhaul and Vancl is facing issues from its own big retrenchment, as each searches for elusive profits that have become increasingly hard to find in the current cutthroat e-commerce space. In Dangdang’s case, the company is attempting to focus on several key product groups, giving up its previous aim of becoming a general merchandise giant like Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN). Meantime, online clothing retailer Vancl’s own ongoing slimming exercise has left it so lean that it is reportedly running into logistical problems that are resulting in delayed shipments to some of its customers. All of this reflects just how difficult China’s e-commerce environment has become, with most companies resorting to desperate measures in their bids to conserve cash and become profitable in the ultra-competitive space.
China Scandal Takes Bite Out of Yum 中国食品丑闻让百胜很受伤
Two news items from the retail space are showing how China remains a challenging and competitive market despite its huge potential, with KFC operator Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) and German retailer Metro (Frankfurt: MEO) both suffering setbacks for different reasons. In Yum’s case, the company is quickly discovering the meaning of the word “saturation”, as its rapid expansion in China has forced it to open restaurants in less profitable locations that are ultimately hurting its performance. Adding to its woes, KFC recently found itself at the center of China’s latest food safety scandal, which I’ll discuss shortly. In Metro’s case, the company simply discovered that the Chinese retail market is quite competitive, especially in the electronics space where Metro was trying to find a niche in a partnership with the consumer products unit of Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai (Taipei: 2317).
Apple’s Cook Meets China Regulators 苹果CEO库克会见中国工信部部长
It may be cold and wintry in Beijing as the Year of the Snake approaches, but that isn’t stopping some of the world’s top high-tech CEOs from passing through the Chinese capital in pursuit of their own varied agendas. First Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt made a high-profile stop in Beijing en route to a visit to North Korea, and now we’re learning that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has also come calling on the nation’s capital this week. But whereas Schmidt’s visit seemed a bit whimsical to me, Cook’s trip looks much more practical, including an all-important stop at the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). (Chinese article)
Apple’s Cook Meets China Regulators
It may be cold and wintry in Beijing as the Year of the Snake approaches, but that isn’t stopping some of the world’s top high-tech CEOs from passing through the Chinese capital in pursuit of their own varied agendas. First Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt made a high-profile stop in Beijing en route to a visit to North Korea, and now we’re learning that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has also come calling on the nation’s capital this week. But whereas Schmidt’s visit seemed a bit whimsical to me, Cook’s trip looks much more practical, including an all-important stop at the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). (Chinese article)
News Digest: January 9 报摘：2013年1月9日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) Warns China Sales Fell More Than Expected (English article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook In China For Another Visit (Chinese article)
- MIIT Issues Draft For MVNO Service Trials (English article)
- China’s CDB Wavers On Funding HSBC’s Ping An (HKEx: 2318) Stake Sale: Sources (English article)
- Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) To Reduce Focus On 3C, Apparel (English article)
Lenovo Thinks High-End, In-House 联想瞄准高端市场 放弃OEM似将惹麻烦
A couple of interesting items on Lenovo (HKEx: 992) are making the headlines these last few days, as the company tries to figure out how to hold onto its crown as the world’s biggest PC maker after taking the top spot from longtime holder Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) last year. The first and more intriguing of the moves is seeing Lenovo split its PC products into 2 distinct groups — one a higher-end product centered on its Think brand and the other a more mainstream product based on its older Lenovo brand. The second item has media reporting that Lenovo is moving towards a model that will see it make all of its own computers in-house, in contrast to the current industry model that sees most major PC brands outsource their manufacturing to other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
IPOs Revive With Galaxy, Xinhuanet 银河证券、新华网引领IPO强劲复苏
After a 2012 that most investment bankers would probably prefer to forget, the new year is starting off on a more hopeful note for IPOs with news of offerings from brokerage Galaxy Securities and the website of state-owned media giant Xinhua both generating positive buzz. These latest signs of life follow other similar positive signals in the US late last year, after a commercially-focused social media site named YY (Nasdaq: YY) completed only the second major offering for a Chinese firm in New York during the year and saw its shares perform reasonably well. (previous post) All of this points to a potential rebound for Chinese stocks both inside and outside China in the year ahead, which could unleash a flood of new IPOs by companies that had to wait on the sidelines due to the chilly market last year but are keen to tap financial markets for new funds.
News Digest: January 8 报摘：2013年1月8日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Xinhuanet Applies For IPO (English article)
- Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Self-Manufacture All Computers in 3-5 Years – Source (English article)
- LDK (NYSE: LDK) Solar Regains Compliance with NYSE Listing Requirements (PRNewswire)
- Bloomingdale’s Celebrates the Chinese New Year (Businesswire)
- Agricultural Bank (HKEx: 1288) Completes Investment in Jiahe Life (HKEx announcement)
China Flexes Regulatory Muscle With Dole, LCDs 罚款与搁置审批 中国监管部门开始发力
Two new cases are showing how Chinese regulators are becoming increasingly assertive in the global marketplace, with Beijing agencies fining the world’s top LCD makers for price fixing in one instance and holding up a major sale by global US fruit giant Dole Food (NYSE: DOLE) in the other. The former case, which involves Korea’s Samsung Electronics (Seoul: 005930) and LG Display (Seoul: 034220) and 4 Taiwanese firms, looks like a very tentative step for China into an arena that is already strictly patrolled by western regulators who combat market manipulation. The latter case is a bit more interesting and potential troublesome, as it has slightly political overtones that could be the result of recent tensions between China and Japan over a territorial dispute.
Qihoo Seeks Potent Partner in Google 奇虎或牵手谷歌 瞄准中国市场
The Year of the Snake could well go down as the time when Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) finally lost its dominance over China’s lucrative online search market, following the rapid rise of a new challenger from up-and-comer Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) that may soon tie-up with global search titan Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Such an alliance would mark the latest assault in Qihoo’s campaign that has seen its so.com site soar past other more established players to become China’s second largest search engine in just half a year.
China Films Find Success in Comedy 黑马《泰囧》或令喜剧片成国内片商增长点
The headlines this first week of January have been filled with figures on China’s box office for 2012, with many media predictably focusing on the fact that foreign films overtook domestic ones to win the box office crown last year. But from my perspective, more interesting is the fact that a low-budget domestically produced comedy quietly surged at the end of the year to steal the title as the nation’s biggest earning film of the year, taking the crown from the far more expensive and highly hyped 3D makeover of James Cameron’s “Titanic“.
