The latest “me-too” war is brewing on China’s vibrant but crowded Internet with word that online video specialist LeTV is rolling out a new set-top box product that will allow consumers to surf the Web on their TVs. This new product roll-out comes just a month after up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its own set-top box product, and not long after PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) also entered this space that looks promising but has yet to find a major audience. (previous post)
Beijing Delivers Tough Solar Medicine 中国政府艰难救助太阳能行业
A new report in today’s China Daily is providing the clearest indication yet that Beijing is delivering some tough medicine to many of the nation’s smaller solar panel and polysilicon makers by letting them go backrupt to return the struggling sector to health. Up until now, much of the talk in China has focused on rescuing the money-bleeding sector through a comprehensive bailout plan designed to create about a dozen major players as the industry’s backbone. But little has been said about the bankruptcies and closures that also need to accompany such a clean-up, in a country where state support due to local factors often allows companies to keep running even after they become hopelessly mired in the loss column.
News Digest: December 20 报摘： 2012年12月20日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Reaches Final Privatizing Agreement, Deal to Close in Q2 (Chinese article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad Mini, iPad 4 Receive Chinese Network Access Permits (English article)
- Xiaomi to Sell MI2 Handsets on Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Platform (English article)
- LeTV (Shenzhen 300104) Launches Set-Top Box Costing 399 Yuan, Challenges Xiaomi (Chinese article)
- LG Electronics (Seoul: 066570) Says No Plans to Leave China Mobile Phone Market (Chinese article)
Shanghai Street View: Reality Microblogging 沪经动向：现实微博秀
Shanghai is once again showing off its status as China’s premier mixing ground between east and west, staging a recent microblogging event that combines the Chinese love of Internet chatter with the broader global explosion of reality TV. The origins of this creative new story began last week, when a distressed migrant took a worker hostage in a Shanghai hotel and held her in one of the guest rooms for more than 6 hours as police tried to negotiate his surrender. The man was desperate after failing to find work in the city, and was hoping that police would shoot him to death during the drama. The situation finally ended after negotiations failed and police stormed the room and rescued the hostage.
Qualcomm Charges China Mobile TD 高通TD芯片面世将照亮中移动业务前景
This may look like something only a techie can appreciate, but the recent start of production by leading global chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) for cellphone chips using a homegrown Chinese technology looks set to provide a major boost to dominant Chinese telco China Mobile (HKEx; 941; NYSE: CHL). This latest development comes as big and important news for TD, the homegrown technology being used by China Mobile in its 3G and 4G networks.
China Samples Food M&A With Yili NZ Buy 中国食品企业或掀起海外并购热潮
Just a month after Shanghai’s Bright Food Group gobbled up British breakfast cereal maker Weetabix, we’re hearing that rival dairy products specialist Yili (Shanghai: 600887) has developed its own appetite for global M&A with its purchase of a New Zealand dairy. This latest purchase could mark the beginning of a broader wave of M&A by Chinese food makers, who are looking outward not only to tap foreign food markets but also to hopefully learn a lesson on how to better control the quality of their food.
News Digest: December 19 报摘： 2012年12月19日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Chinese Internet Users Reach 550 Mln – MIIT (Chinese article)
- Qualcomm Powers 40 Pct China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941) TD-LTE Terminal Tender (English article)
- WuXi PharmaTech (NYSE: WX), PRA Form JV to Offer Clinical Research Services for China (PRNewswire)
- China Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) to Halt Music Search Service (English article)
- US Slaps Duties On China Wind Towers, High-Level Talks Begin (English article)
BYD Boosts EV Network With US Plan 比亚迪拟在美建厂生产电动大巴
If struggling car maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594) ultimately fails in its dream to become a leader in new energy vehicles, at least it will have lots of global assets to leave as a record of its efforts. Perhaps I’m sounding a bit too cynical in my latest musings on this company, since I really am starting to become more convinced that perhaps BYD’s electric dreams could actually someday become a reality, especially with its new announcement of plans to build an electric bus manufacturing plant in the US. (English article)
CDB, China Gas Power More Energy 中国企业持续进行能源并购交易 M&A
Just a week after Canada approved the $15 billion purchase of oil exploration firm Nexen (Toronto: NXY) to Chinese rival CNOOC (HKEx: 883; NYSE: CEO), we’re seeing a couple of interesting new M&A deals in the energy sector, one involving policy lender China Development Bank and the other from Hong Kong-listed China Gas (HKEx: 384). The common theme is that many Chinese energy investors are relatively flush with cash right now, and are looking for bargains in a global sector where asset prices have become depressed due to lingering effects of the global downturn. But that said, these 2 deals are both quite different, with the first most likely being driven at least partly by Beijing while the latter looks like a more traditional private sector deal.
Spring Comes Early For NQ, Vipshop 网秦和唯品会的春天来临
The official start of winter may fast be approaching, but there are growing signs that an early spring has arrived for US-listed China stocks, with Internet security provider NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) and e-commerce firm Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) making headlines that look good for both themselves and the broader sector. NQ, which was formerly called NetQin Mobile, has proven once more that short sellers no longer hold the same kind of influence over these stocks the way they did just 6 months ago, with its shares bouncing back strongly after a recent attack. Meantime, Vipshop, one of only 2 major Chinese firms to list in the US this year, has suddenly become a darling of investors, who have sent its shares to new highs as they scramble to buy a piece of what has quickly suddenly China’s largest listed e-commerce company.
News Digest: December 18 报摘： 2012年12月18日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Resume Investment Talks – Source (English article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 First Weekend Sales in China Top 2 Mln (Businesswire)
- Gateway In Merger Negotiations with HK-Listed Affiliate of China Development Bank (Businesswire)
- Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat User Base to Reach 300 Mln in Early 2013 (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Launch Dual-Use Business Service For LTE in HK (Chinese article)
