A number of interesting tidbits are sifting through the online world today, including news from the e-commerce space that Jingdong Mall is entering the electronic payments space and that Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) has replaced its CFO. Meantime, online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has reported its latest results that show its growth continues to slow, with the rapid rate of the slowdown slightly alarming.
Deals: Hawker Sputters, PetroChina in Canada 交易：豪客比奇收购案失败，中石油建设加拿大基础设施
A couple of major overseas moves are in the headlines today, spotlighting the fact that Chinese firms are becoming increasingly adept at relatively simple resource deals, even as they still lack sophistication to do M&A in other, more complex sectors. In the former category, oil major PetroChina (HKEx: 857; Shanghai: 601857; NYSE: PTR) has reached a deal to co-develop a $3 billion oil pipeline in Canada with a local partner, in the largest project of its kind by a Chinese firm to date. In the latter, a white-knight rescue bid by a relatively obscure Chinese firm for bankrupt plane maker Hawker Beechcraft has collapsed, leaving the US company no choice but to work out a reorganization plan with its creditors.
News Digest: October 30 报摘： 2012年10月30日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- Hawker to Be Taken Over By Creditors After Sale to China Buyer Collapses (English article)
- Jingdong Mall Acquires Chinabank Payments (English article)
- China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Announces Q3 Results (HKEx announcement)
- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Announces Third Quarter 2012 Results (PRNewswire)
- Honda (Tokyo: 7267) Cuts Forecasts, Hopes for China Recovery in February (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
SAIC’s Weak Overseas Stomach 上汽对海外投资风险承受能力弱
Domestic auto giant SAIC (Shanghai: 600104) may be the king of China’s car market, but it clearly has a sensitive stomach for overseas activity as reflected by its recent decision to largely abandon its wobbly India joint venture with longtime partner General Motors (NYSE: GM). I have to admit that I’m a bit mixed on my feelings about this latest news, which has seen Shanghai-based SAIC sell most of its stake in the 50-50 India venture back to GM just 3 years after the venture’s formation.
Tencent’s GroupNet: A Group Buying Consolidator 网罗天下：团购行业的整合者
The long awaited clean-up of China’s cluttered group buying sector appears to be accelerating, with new reports that a potential cash-rich consolidator has emerged in the form of GroupNet, which is itself the product of the merger earlier this year between former mid-sized players FTuan and Gaopeng. The new reports say that GroupNet has raised $40 million in new funds, which it will use to acquire other companies in the money-losing space where many players are now on life-support after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars in investor dollars over the last 2 years. (English article)
Xunlei: Preparing For New IPO Try? 迅雷：准备尝试新的上市？
The year 2012 will easily go down as the worst for New York IPOs by Chinese firms since the global financial crisis, though there’s still some hope we could see one or 2 offerings in the next couple of months by cash-starved Chinese firms. A social media website named YY surprised many when it made a preliminary New York IPO filing earlier this month (previous post), and now video and music sharing site Xunlei is also emitting signals that indicate a filing could be near for its own stalled public offering.
News Digest: October 27-29 报摘： 2012年10月27-29日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 27-29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 on sale in China by December (English article)
- GroupNet Raises $40 Mln for Acquisitions (English article)
- Agricultural Bank of China (HKEx: 1288) Announces Q3 Results (HKEx announcement)
- Taobao In Low-Key Map Service Launch, Challenges Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) (Chinese article)
- Xunlei CEO Says Won’t Seek New Investment Before IPO (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Telecoms: 4G and IPTV in, Cisco Out 中国电信行业：4G与IPTV推进 思科受阻
The headlines are buzzing with news bits from each of the country’s 3 major telcos, with high-speed services taking big steps forward even as US telecoms equipment powerhouse Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) could be bracing for a Chinese winter. In the former group of headlines, media are reporting that China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has made a significant step into 4G with plans to expand its trial TD-LTE network into China’s interior, while China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE CHA) has just won an important new license to offer TV and other video and data services over its fixed-line broadband network. Meantime, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is also making headlines with reports that the company is replacing Cisco-supplied equipment from some of its key network due to security concerns.
CITIC Securities Solidifies Global Push 中信证券巩固全球化战略
China’s biggest brokerage CITIC Securities (HKEx: 6030; Shanghai: 600030) could be a company to watch over the next 2-3 years as it attempts to become the country’s first truly global player using its newly acquired CLSA unit as a stepping stone. If I were making bets, I would say the company has the resources it needs to become one of the top second-tier global players in the next 4 or 5 years, competing successfully with the likes of names like Japan’s Nomura and Britain’s Barclays Capital. If it can do that, I would even give the company a chance of eventually entering the echelons of a global elite that includes names like Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), though that will take at least a decade or possibly longer.
Smartphones: ZTE Sputters, Lenovo Looks Out 智能手机：中兴缩减，联想进军海外
When ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) warned 2 weeks ago that it would post a massive third-quarter loss, everyone assumed that its smartphone business was partly to blame as the company sacrificed margins in exchange for fast growth. Now it seems that even its smartphone plans were overly ambitious, with ZTE’s newly released official results showing it is likely to miss its smartphone target for the year by a big gap. Meantime, Lenovo (HKEx: 992), still basking in the glory of recently becoming the world’s biggest PC seller, is also making its own smartphone moves with news that it will start to sell its models outside China. I’ll admit I have my doubts about this new smartphone push by Lenovo, as the company has enjoyed far less success with this product in its home China market than with its core PC business.
News Digest: October 26 报摘： 2012年10月26日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- Bank of China (HKEx: 3988) Announces Q3 Results (HKEx announcement)
- China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Wins Online Video, IPTV Transmission Licenses (English article)
- Unicom (HKEx: 762) Removes Some Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) Gear Over Security Concerns (Chinese article)
- CITIC Securities (HKEx: 6030) Says to Buy Remainder of CLSA (English article)
- Xunlei CEO Says Reports of Bids for Company By Baidu, Qihoo Are Media Guesses (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
