Leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) has just announced a number of new moves for its highly popular Weibo microblogging service, often called China’s version of Twitter, that hint at a spin-off in the near future. None of the moves, including the roll-out of a Weibo-specific domain and a new Weibo logo, are very big news individually. (Chinese article) But what they collectively seem to say is that Sina wants to wean this very popular baby away from its parent and let it stand on its own two feet. I’m guessing that as part of the broader plan, Weibo executives will feel some pressure to better manage their own bottom line and find more ways to make money off this service that has a huge following in China, where Twitter is officially unavailable due to censorship. If all goes according to plan, I’d say to look for a Weibo spin off and IPO in the next two years.

Bottom line: Sina is getting serious about spinning off its Weibo business, paving the way for big profits and an IPO in the next two years.

中国第一大门户网站新浪<SINA.O>在微博方面的一系列新举动–启用独立的微博域名Weibo.com和新的微博logo–似乎表明它有意将微博业务独立出来。我猜，现在新浪微博的管理层将在探索更多盈利模式、增加盈利方面面临更大的压力。如果一切进展顺利，新浪微博在未来两年之内可能剥离上市。

一句话：新浪有意剥离微博业务，并可能在未来两年内IPO。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ Sina Searches for Roots in Google Break 新浪与古歌断交，搜索自己的根

◙ Weibo: Sina Looking at Big Bucks in Micro Packages

◙ Sina Puts Cash Pile to Work in Mecox

Suntech (NYSE: STP), in many ways a pioneer in China’s booming solar industry, is taking another baby step into the new area of solar services — a move that looks quite good in my view. According to a China Daily report, the company, China’s first to list in New York — is getting into the more lucrative area of systems design and integration. This move seems like a no-brainer to me, and one that’s bound to pay off handsomely in the future after Suntech gets a handle on its large debt. After all, what better way to boost your sales than to provide services to support and promote them. This is exactly the kind of approach that many of the PC makers, including Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and HP (NYSE: HPQ) have taken in recent years. In addition to boosting demand for their hardware, these companies have all discovered that providing services is much more profitable and less capital intensive than traditional manufacturing.

Bottom line: Suntech’s move into solar design services is a bright one that should help to fatten its profit margins and boost its product sales.

中国太阳能光伏产业的先行者尚德<STP.N>开始涉足太阳能服务领域。《中国日报》一篇报 道称，作为第一家在美国上市的中国太阳能企业，尚德又领先进军利润率更高的系统设计和整合业务。这在我看来是非常自然的一步，并且将在未来产生丰厚收益。这种策略正是戴尔<DELL.O>和惠普<HPQ.N>等老牌PC厂商近 年来所采取的。它们已经尝到了甜头：提供咨询和服务不但有助於刺激自己制造的硬件的销量，而且与传统制造业相比，资本密集程度较低，而利润率更高。

一句话：尚德进军太阳能发电系统设计服务领域，实为明智之举，有助於增加利润率，扩大产品销量。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ Japan Nuclear Woes Brighten Outlook for Solar Firms 日本核危机提振太阳能公司前景

◙ Putting the Squeeze on Solar

◙ Oil Could Heat Up Solar Firms, Spark Consolidation

Everyone’s always talking about Chinese car makers and their export aspirations, but very little is said about the country’s vibrant bus-making industry. That said, there’s a nice report in the China Daily on King Long, China’s largest bus maker, which appears to be growing by leaps and bounds and has its sights set on the export market. The China Daily quotes a King Long exec saying the company hopes to achieve overseas sales of $762 million in five years, a major jump from $170 million last year. But before anyone gets too excited, let’s think about this: People in the West generally avoid Chinese cars for safety and reliability issues, despite their cheap price tags. Big bus operators will be even more sensitive on such issues, especially safety, due to costly liability when accidents occur. In light of all that, I would say it could be quite a while before Chinese bus makers drive into the West.

Bottom line: Don’t look for the “made in China” label on buses in the West anytime soon.

一提到中国的汽车工业，人们滔滔不绝讨论的都是轿车生产商及其出口的野心；很少有人关注中国蓬勃发展的大客车生产行业。今天的《中国日报》提到了中国最大的巴士生产企业金龙。报 导引用一位金龙高管的话说，该公司希望在去年海外销售额1.7亿美元的基础上大跃进，在五年内实现年海外销售额7.62亿美元的水平。目标虽然远大，但我们也要好好分析一下：西方消费者一般不会买中国生产的轿车–尽管後者价钱便宜，但安全与可靠性口碑不佳。那些运营巴士和大客车的企业对 安全问题自然更加敏感，因为一旦发生安全事故，他们要承担的责任巨大，成本高昂。因此，在我看来，中国生产的巴士要开进西方市场，还需要相当一段时间。

一句话：想在西方国家道路上看到”中国制造”的巴士，短期内恐怕不大可能。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ Autos: a Desperate Capital Grab for Jianghuai, and Dongfeng’s Silly South Africa Plans 汽车业：江淮增发东风出口

◙ China’s Chery: Not Quite Ready for Outback Prime Time

◙ Geely’s Volvo Roadmap: Laden With Potholes?

There’s some mildly interesting news coming from telecoms equipment giant Huawei, which Chinese media say is setting up an independent board of directors for its Australian business to be peopled mostly by local Australians. (Chinese report) Given that Australia is probably the only major international market where neither Huawei or crosstown rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is in trouble these days, this looks like an intriguing — if unconventional — strategy. After all, putting locals in charge of your business could downplay local fears of a Chinese invasion, and get more local lobbying power behind the company in cracking tough markets like the US. Never mind that I’ve never heard of another company setting up an entire independent board of directors for a single offshore market. If nothing else, you have to give credit to Huawei for being creative. Who knows: if this approach seems to work in Australia, I’m sure you’ll see them trying it soon in Europe and the US.

Bottom line: Huawei’s new approach to Australia shows its  commitment to becoming a true global player, which is bound to bear fruit in the next year or two.

华为周一发表声明称，今年将设立独立的澳大利亚董事会，成员多为由澳大利亚公民，负责管理华为在该市场的业务。澳 大利亚也许是华为及其本国竞争对手中兴<0763.HK><000063.SZ>仅有的发展比较顺利的国际市场。华为此举意味深 长。毕竟，让本地人管理业务有助於化解当地市场对华为”入侵”的担忧，并且获得更多的本土游说力量。虽然我从未听说过任何其他公司为单一海外市场设立完全 独立的董事会，但你不能不佩服华为的创意。谁知道了，如果这一战术在澳大利亚能够奏效，也许华为下一步就将在美国和欧洲市场推广开来。

一句话：华为在澳大利亚推出的新战术显示了它把自己打造为真正的国际化企业的决心，在未来一两年内应该获得成果。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ Another Blow For Beleaguered ZTE 中兴通讯：挫折连连

◙ Huawei quits 3Leaf buy, but stay tuned for more

◙ Huawei Dials Up a Page from Western Playbook

There’s some interesting information coming from software outsourcing up-and-comer HiSoft (Nasdaq: HSFT), which, after initially saying it suffered no significant impact from Japan’s earthquake, is now saying it did in fact take a small hit. (press release) In fact, the damage looks quite benign: Just over $1 million in additional costs and lost business from a market that accounts for nearly a quarter of its sales. Of course that’s $1 million that shareholders will have to swallow, which will mean a small hit to the bottom line in the current quarter. But there’s a more interesting picture here for the future, namely that this company is well positioned to reap big potential benefits when the Japanese reconstruction gets underway in earnest, which is likely to happen in the second half of the year.

Bottom line: HiSoft came through the Japan earthquake relatively intact, and stands to reap big benefits from reconstruction work later this year.

中 国软件外包行业的新锐海辉软件<HSFT.O>，传出了些有趣的新消息。日本市场的业务占海辉销售额的四分之一，此前该公司称自己并未因日本 的地震遭受重大损失，现在它又承认的确有些损失–数额看来并不大，只有100多万美元，包括成本上升以及失去业务造成的损失。当然，这100万美元将对 本季度的盈利有所冲击，但从长远看，海辉将从日本下半年的灾後重建中获益匪浅。

一句话：日本震灾对海辉的业务影响不大，而海辉的业务布局有助於它在今年下半年的日本灾後重建中大赚一笔。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ China IT Most Exposed in Japan

◙ Mindray, HiSoft See Slowdown in 2011

BYD (HKEx: 1211), the Warren Buffett-backed automaker that’s fallen into a rut lately, got a rare boost this week when officials in Shaanxi province reversed a previous zoning decision that will allow work to resume on a major new BYD auto plant in the city of Xi’an. (press release) While the move is certainly positive and removes a major speed bump for BYD, it will take quite a bit more to return this company to the hot-rod days that saw its fortunes surge after Buffett’s investment. Most importantly, the company needs to go back to basics and re-learn how to make cars the people want, rather than spending its energy telling everyone how great it is and how its largely untested green products are going to revolutionize the market. It made an interesting move last week in the auto financing arena (previous post), but it’s going to take a bit more uphill driving to return this company back to its glory days.

Bottom line:  Despite a positive step in its stalled Shaanxi mega-plant, BYD needs to focus on basics to restart its growth trajectory.

近来灰头土脸的比亚迪<1211.HK>终於迎来了点好消息：陕西西安国土部门收回成命，允许比亚迪继续在西安建设一个庞大的新工厂。这 自然是为比亚迪清除了发展道路上的一大障碍，但比亚迪要回归当年刚刚获得巴菲特投资後的金融市场宠儿地位，仅靠这是远远不够的。最重要的是，比亚迪必须回 归本源，老老实实地生产消费者喜欢的汽车，而不是整天用一些尚未经过市场检验的新能源”概念车”来作秀。近来它在汽车金融领域做出了有益的尝试，但还需付 出更多实实在在的努力。

一句话：尽管西安新厂被放行，但比亚迪需要在基本面上下更多苦功夫才能回归高增长轨道。

Related postings 有关文章:

◙ BYD: Jump-Starting Stalled Sales With Auto Finance 比亚迪：试水汽车金融

◙ China’s Chery: Not Quite Ready for Outback Prime Time

◙ BYD Sell-Off … Price War Looming?

It seems that LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), one of the weaker players in China’s solar industry, is telling investors a new plant it’s just opened in Anhui province will help it significantly reduce costs by boosting its capacity (PRNewswire release) While increasing economies of scale does help to lower costs, good management is also an important element — something LDK is unlikely to get from this new opening. The timing of the announcement also seems rather suspicious, coming just days after Chinese media reported that Beijing would double its solar power targets in light of the Japanese nuclear disaster. (previous post) What I’m hinting at here, and not very subtly, is that it may take just a bit more than a new plant to help LDK fufill its promise to bring down costs significantly in the second quarter, as stated in the announcement.

Bottom line: LDK’s new plant in Anhui isn’t a substitute for good management.

在中国光电行业中排名算不上靠前的江西赛维LDK<LDK.N>近期声称，该公司在安徽刚刚开张的新工厂将帮助公司大幅扩张产能，从而降低成本。规模效应自然有助於降低成本，但良好的管理更重要，赛维对此可是只字未提。另外，赛维发布这一消息的时机也很可疑：中国媒体几天前刚刚报导说，受日本核危机影响，中国政府计划将太阳能发电目标翻番。我的意思是：如果赛维真想实现在第二季度大幅降低成本的许诺，仅靠建设一家新工厂是远远不够的。

一句话：赛维在安徽的新工厂代替不了良好的公司管理。

Just days after I wrote that Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) days in China could be numbered after reports it failed to register its China map service by a previous deadline (previous post), there’s been a flurry of new reports about the world’s largest search engine in China. One of those says that Google has been fined for failing to pay taxes (English article; Chinese article); and another says the company has now entered into talks with Beijing about its China-based mapping service. (Chinese article) What does all the chatter mean? It sounds suspiciously like what happened last year, when Google threatened to pull out of China’s search market, then tried to “negotiate” with Beijing, only to finally pull out anyhow. The message is: Google has pretty much given up on China’s Internet market due to all the rules and regulations, and is most likely to pull out of mapping as well despite any “negotiations.” But it needs to be careful to avoid upsetting Beijing too much at the risk of getting its promising Android mobile operating system kicked out as well.

Bottom line: Google will pull out of the China online mapping market, but its Android franchise will stay in China for now because too much is at stake for both sides.

几 天前，我谈过谷歌在中国的地图服务面临监管困境的问题(文章)。自那以後，又有不少关於谷歌在华最新动向的报导：据称谷歌旗下几家公司因涉嫌逃税而被税务部门处 罚，还有报导说谷歌开始就地图服务问题与中国政府谈判。这 些纷杂的消息意味着什麽？这似乎与去年的情形相似：谷歌先是威胁撤出中国，然後又试图与北京”谈判”，可最终还是被迫撤出。我的感觉是：由於种种监管阻 碍，谷歌基本上已经放弃了中国的互联网市场，无论”谈判”与否，最终很有可能会停止地图服务。但它还是要谨慎行事，以免其前程远大的Android操作系 统在华遭受同样命运。

一句话：谷歌将撤出中国在线地图市场，但Android短期之内还不会受影响，因为它对双方来说都太重要了。

Shanghai’s Bright Food seems determined to do some overseas m&a, raising nearly $1 billion via a bond offering and an IPO in pursuit of such opportunities. (English article) As many of you may recall, this is the company that made a failed bid for Britain’s United Biscuit last year, and they are now reportedly making a play for France’s Yoplait. (English article) This raising of nearly $1 billion should help to show potential takeover targets and financiers that Bright is really serious about its m&a aspirations. Any such deal would be interesting as there haven’t really been too many similar acquisitions by Chinese companies in the foodstuff space. Unlike more complex areas like telecoms and auto manufacturing, foodstuffs is relative simple, meaning a well-run Chinese player could stand a good chance at success if it gets the right target. All that said, I think Bright is making all the right moves to meet its m&a target, and wouldn’t be surprised to see it close a successful acquisition by the end of this year.

Bottom line: Bright Food’s recent capital raising will show the world it is serious about overseas m&a, helping to pave the way for its first major deal sometime this year.

上海光明食品似乎打定主意要在海外开展并购，它计划通过发债和将旗下一家公司上市筹集近10亿美元，以支持自己的并购计划。可能很多人都记得，光明食品去年曾试图收购英国联合饼干公司未果。现在，有报 道说光明又将目标瞄准了法国酸奶公司Yoplait。此次如能成功筹集10亿美元，光明将向收购目标公司和金融界表明，自己的并购决心不可小觑。这很值得关注，因为此前中国食品行业进行海外收购成功的案例很少。与电信和制造业等复杂领域不同，食品业并购相对简单。运营良好的中国企业如果选对了目标，成功可能性还是比较高的。在我看来，光明到目前为止的举动中规中矩，如果在今年年底前它能成功完成一笔并购交易，我是不会吃惊的。

一句话：光明食品近来的融资举动表明它进行海外并购意图坚定，今年也许能成功打响海外并购第一枪。