The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 8-10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Chinese Group In Talks To Buy AIG (NYSE: AIG) Air Lease Arm (English article)
- Canada OKs CNOOC (HKEx: 883), Petronas Bids for Nexen, Progress Energy (English article)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) Announces Preliminary Q3 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Tesco (London: TSCO) China to Establish E-Commerce Platform in H1 2013 (English article)
- CDH Investments Leaves Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Buy-Out Group -Source (Chinese article)
Two news bits from the wine sector are making headlines, shining a spotlight on this hot industry whose fast growth is being fueled by millions of new middle class Chinese who are willing to pay big money for premium products like wine and coffee. But these latest 2 deals also reflect intensifying competition in a sector that could easily become the next bloody battlefield for over-eager Chinese start-ups, resulting in big losses and ultimately an ugly consolidation.
If I were a short-term investor, I would say that now looks like a good time to buy Chinese insurance shares following positive developments from newly listed PICC Group (HKEx: 2328) and Ping An (HKEx: 2318; Shanghai: 601318), 2 of China’s leading players. But from a longer-term perspective, this brief and relatively rare uptick is likely to be short-lived for an industry that faces a number of major problems despite the strong growth potential of China’s insurance market.
After months of maintaining a relatively low profile, China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) recently named new President Li Yue is finally making a splash in the headlines with some interesting strategic announcements that look like one of his first breaks with former longtime Chairman Wang Jianzhou. The 2 biggest new moves will see China Mobile develop its own brand of cellphones, and also establish an Internet company. I personally don’t find either of those 2 moves extremely exciting, though both could certainly have implications for many of China’s smartphone makers and Internet companies.
Just a month after I accused SAIC (Shanghai: 600104) of having a weak stomach for overseas expansion, we’re getting word that China’s leading automaker may be preparing to move into Southeast Asia with its longtime US partner General Motors (NYSE: GM). If the reports are correct, this would look like a smart move for SAIC, taking it into a relatively straightforward region similar to its own home market in partnership with a globally experienced major partner like GM.
Media are buzzing with word that the US securities regulator is once again tussling with major auditors over access to the accounting records of US-listed Chinese firms, in the latest chapter of an ongoing story; but what has me more intrigued is the scramble that is probably taking place behind the scenes, as those same auditors try to figure out what they will do when the inevitable happens and they are forced to share their records with the US Securities and Exchange Administration.
Having been locked out of the US and worried about the potential for similar problems in Western Europe, struggling telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is fighting back by doing what it knows best: taking free money from Beijing. I don’t want to sound too negative here, but this latest deal between ZTE and China Development Bank is exactly what ZTE should NOT be doing, at least if it ever wants to convince the world that it’s a serious commercial company. But perhaps the company simply doesn’t care anymore what others think, and there’s also the very real possibility that ZTE is simply fighting for its very survival at this point.
