There’s a flurry of news coming from the embattled solar sector, led by a sharp cutback by Suntech (NYSE: STP) at its main US plant that looks suspiciously like it is being ordered by Beijing part of a government rescue plan for the struggling company. Meantime, JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) and LDK (NYSE: LDK) are struggling just to stay listed as their market values quickly evaporate. And in a rare but fleeting piece of good news, Yingli (NYSE: YGE), Trina (NYSE: TSL) and others are getting a temporary boost as they reclaim money they previously set aside but will no longer need to use as provisions in the US anti-dumping investigation against them.
Chinese Smartphones on the Rise 中国智能手机崛起
Chinese smartphone makers have surged in their home market over the last year, coming from out of the blue to challenge big global names like Apple and Samsung. But their rise could be short-lived if they fail to innovate, paralleling a similar rapid rise and fall a decade ago for names like TCL (HKEx: 2618) and Ningbo Bird that are now just footnotes in the history of China’s large but highly competitive mobile market. The rapid rise of Chinese brands over the last year has been nothing short of remarkable, as China gets set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest smartphone market. At the end of last year, the market was still dominated by foreign names, with Samsung (Seoul: 005930), Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) occupying three of the top four slots to control more than half of the market collectively.
News Digest: November 17-19 报摘： 2012年11月17-19日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 17-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Approved to Issue Up To 40 Bln Yuan in Notes (HKEx announcement)
- NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Social Networking Site Stops Service (Chinese article)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) Reduces Production at Arizona Factory (PRNewswire)
- Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) Launches E-Book Channel (English article)
- Alibaba Makes Strategic Investment in Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo – Source (Chinese article)
China Mobile Loses Cable War 中国移动无缘有线商机
The news wires are buzzing today with word that wireless titan China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) appears to have lost a major battle to quickly become a major player in the fixed-line broadband space by purchasing a stake in a new national cable TV operator now being formed. If the reports are true, this development certainly wouldn’t surprise me since regulators in Beijing are probably quickly tiring of listing to the constant complaints coming from China Mobile, which believes it was treated unfairly in the country’s awarding of 3G wireless licenses 3 years ago.
Earnings Friday: Sina, NetEase, Pactera 解读在美上市中国企业业绩
I’m christening today “Earnings Friday” because it’s easily the peak day of third-quarter earnings announcements for major US-listed Chinese firms, with everyone from real estate services firm E-House (NYSE: EJ) to drug maker Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR) releasing their results overnight. Since I have a natural bias towards tech, I’m going to focus today on the latest results from 2 of China’s oldest Internet firms, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), as well as its newest player Pactera (Nasdaq: PACT), which was formed just last week through the merger of former IT outsourcing leaders HiSoft and VanceInfo. (previous post)
Dangdang: Past the Worst? 当当：渡过最坏时期？
A couple of interesting news bits are coming from the e-commerce space, led by the latest quarterly data from Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) that shows the worst may be past for this fast-fading sector pioneer. Meantime, we’re also getting new sales figures for the November 11 Singles Day holiday from Jingdong Mall, showing just how distant a second-place player the company is to sector-leader Alibaba.
News Digest: November 16 报摘： 2012年11月16日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China PICC In Talks With AIG (NYSE: AIG) As Buyer For $4 Bln HK IPO (English article)
- Jingdong Mall Posts 2.5 Bln Yuan in Sales For 3 Days Around Nov 11 Singles Day (Chinese article)
- NetEase Reports Q3 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- National Cable Operator To Be Formed Without China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Capital (Chinese article)
- Dangdang Announces Q3 Results (PRNewswire)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
ICBC Expands in Middle East 工行拓展中东业务
ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) is easily China’s most outward-looking bank, and it is showing its global aspirations once gain with word that it plans to open branches in the Middle Eastern markets of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. (company announcement) This latest announcement that it has received local approval to set up branches in these 2 lucrative markets comes just a week after ICBC said it has also received local regulatory approval to buy a controlling stake in the Argentine unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank, its longtime partner in Africa.
Xiaomi Bets Big on Internet TV 小米押注互联网电视
Smartphone darling Xiaomi is in the new headlines again with the release of its new Internet TV product, including interesting comments by marketing-savvy founder Lei Jun indicating he intends to pour big money into this new endeavor. Specifically, media quoted Lei saying he has invested more than $100 million to acquiring a set-top box developer for Xiaomi’s Internet TV project — quite a hefty sum for such a young company whose business scale is still relatively small. (Chinese article)
News Digest: November 15 报摘： 2012年11月15日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Tencent (HKEx: 700) Announces Q3 Results (HKEx announcement)
- Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Launches Mobile Search (English article)
- China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Prepares to Launch iPhone 5 (Chinese article)
- ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Gets Approval For Branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait (HKEx announcement)
- Xiaomi Releases Internet TV Set-Top Box (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Shanghai Street View: Love of Convenience 沪经动向：钟爱便利
If there’s one thing that Shanghai people love, it’s convenience. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the city’s growing love affair with convenience stores, which have multiplied like weeds in the last few years. As a longtime China resident, I can say without hesitation that Shanghai has easily become the Chinese epicenter for expansion by the world’s top convenience store chains. Those chains, including FamilyMart, Lawson and 7-Eleven, are quickly crowding out a host of colorful but less slick local names in what often feels more like an infestation as hundreds of new stores pop up in nearly any location imagineable.
