It seems to be the season for executive shuffles at the top of major state-run companies, with telecoms now looking set for major changes with a new announcement that a new CEO will take over at the top of the Hong Kong-listed China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA). (Chinese article) Under the change longtime head Wang Xiaochu will stay on as chairman of China Telecom’s state-run parent, but this move looks like the first step before his eventual removal from the company to make way for new, younger leadership as the Communist Party itself is gears up to install its own new set of leaders as part of its regular change every 10 years. China Telecom’s shift comes as rival China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) also prepares to edge out its long-serving Chairman Wang Jianzhou to make way for new leaders (previous post), and comes less than a week after a major shuffle in the banking world that saw top executives at Agricultural Bank of China (HKEx: 1288; Shanghai: 601288) and China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939; Shanghai: 601939) take on new positions in the nation’s financial regulators. (previous post) So you’re probably asking yourself, what does it all mean for the telecoms space? The answer is that we probably won’t see much change immediately, but should see both China Mobile and China Telecom become more aggressive over the longer term as their younger, new leaders try to reshape these slow-moving state-run giants into more nimble, competitive players. That new stance could also see them become more assertive in terms of global M&A, an area that China Mobile has tried before without much success, and which China Telecom and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the nation’s other major carrier, have yet to seriously consider. With China Telecom’s new announcement, Unicom becomes the only major telco that has yet to announce a big change at the top — an ironic twist since it is probably the company in biggest need of new leadership as it struggles for direction. (previous post) But in light of the China Telecom announcement and the broader changes taking place at state-run companies, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a similar shake-up at Unicom by the end of the year.
Bottom line: A shake-up at the top of China Telecom signals a broader industry shuffle that will see the country’s 3 major telcos become more aggressive both at home and abroad.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ China Mobile Shuffle: Sea Change Coming? 中移动高层变动或引发重大变化？
◙ Sputtering Unicom’s Latest Excuse: Lack of Leadership
◙ Beijing’s Financial Shufflle: Bankers or Regulators? 中国金融高层“大换血”
China’s business world is fast becoming the land of deja vu, at least from my perspective. Just a day after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) snubbed China for a second time by excluding the country from its international launch list for its latest hot product (
In what is becoming an increasingly common refrain, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has once again overlooked China in the global launch for its latest smartphone, the iPhone 4S, in what looks like an expression of growing frustration with its difficult Chinese partners. The company, whose China sales have exploded on the popularity of its smartphones, tablet PCs and desktop computers, has announced a second wave of launch markets for the newest iPhone starting next week following the initial launch in the US and several other major markets last month. (
A report from a small research house appears to have finally awakened the world to the reality behind the Chinese Internet comedy known as Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU), which has steadily lured in investors — achieving a ridiculously high valuation — since its IPO in March. The research report by Citron sparked a sell-off in Qihoo shares, which tumbled 10 percent on Tuesday during a turbulent session that saw the broader indexes also fall by more than 2 percent. So, what exactly did Citron say that got everyone so spooked and prompted Qihoo to issue a “clarifying” press release? (
Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) online video joint venture Qiyi seems to have learned a lesson from its pirating parent, announcing a new exclusive licensing deal for the China online video rights for the popular latest installment in Paramount’s (NYSE: VIAb) “Transformers” movie franchise. (
China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is reportedly conducting a massive search for top-level managers in many provinces, once again underscoring how the company is badly in need of strong new leadership as it increasingly appears to be squandering its golden opportunity to gain market share over dominant carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL). According to Chinese media reports, Unicom is looking for people to head its operations in a large number of provinces, continuing a search that dates back as far as February last year. (
Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), a perennial second-place finisher to Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) in China’s Internet portal space, has just posted quarterly earnings that look quite impressive, showing its video business is fast becoming a major industry player and its online search may finally be gaining traction after years of struggling. Of course the one potential dark cloud over all of this may be China’s looming Internet bubble, which could abruptly halt the rapid growth for both of those businesses when it comes, probably around the middle of next year by my estimation. But first the good news. Sohu reported that revenue for its video segment more than doubled for the quarter, making it China’s second largest player, behind only Youku (NYSE: YOKU). (
Turbulence continues to pelt China’s e-commerce sector, with new reports showing how rampant competition is pushing up costs as an industry regulator gets looks into anti-monopoly claims against top online mall operator Taobao Mall. A new foreign media report cites the top executive at luxury e-commerce site Xiu.com saying that rents for the massive warehouses required by most online merchants have soared in the last year, as players like 360Buy and Wal-Mart-invested (NYSE: WMT) Yihaodian all vie for facilities near major cities where they can store and then ship their goods. (
