Bottom line: HNA’s Virgin Australia investment reflects its aspirations to build a global travel empire, while ICBC’s new European infrastructure fund reflects its attempts to be commercial while also supporting central government initiatives.
HNA invests in Virgin Australia
A couple of headlines are spotlighting the different approaches of 2 of China’s leading global investors, led by a big new investment in airline Virgin Australia (Sydney: VBA) by HNA Group. On the other side of the globe, ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) is establishing a major new European infrastructure fund, in what looks like a far more politically-motivated move by China’s leading lender. Both investments reflect China’s growing role on the global investing stage, though each represents the rapidly diverging priorities between the state-run and private sectors. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════
Japan’s SoftBank Plans to Sell $7.9 Bln in Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Stock to Cut Debt (English article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Sells Patents to Xiaomi, Builds ‘Long-Term Partnership’ (English article)
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Seeking Up To $221 Mln by Selling Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Stock (English article)
Jaunt, SMG and CMC Launch Virtual Reality Venture Jaunt China (Businesswire)
Michael Kors Acquires Greater China Licensee for $500 Mln (Businesswire)
Bottom line: A Beijing visit by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hints that a settlement will soon be announced in the 3-year-old anti-trust probe against the company, which could include a fine of more than $1 billion.
Microsoft’s Nadella back in China
Just weeks after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook came to China on a trip partly aimed at damage control, Microsoft’s (NYSE: MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella is in Beijing on a similar mission involving a long-running anti-trust probe against the world’s biggest software company. The trip, and the fact that it was probably leaked by Microsoft, hints that the nearly 3-year-old probe against the company is nearing completion and we could soon see China announce corrective action against the company. A similar series of events unfolded before last year’s anti-trust settlement of a similarly long Beijing probe against US telecoms chip giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Wanda’s intellectual property clash with Disney is a minor glitch in its big theme park aspirations, but highlights the many difficulties the multibillion-dollar initiative will face.
Wanda, Disney tussle over IP infringement
After days of trash-talking global theme park giant Disney (NYSE: DIS), Chinese entertainment aspirant Wanda is suddenly on the defensive after a Disney character was spotted greeting visitors in its newly launched Wanda City mega-entertainment complex in the interior city of Nanchang. The bigger context to this story is that Wanda desperately wants to attract attention to its new plans to build more than a dozen theme parks, many costing more than $1 billion, in its bid to become China’s own homegrown Disney. But Wanda has discovered that publicizing its plans isn’t quite as easy as it thought, even as media feast on the grand opening in 2 weeks of China’s first Disneyland resort in Shanghai. Read Full Post…
It’s rare for traffic accidents to make major headlines here in Shanghai, especially when there are no major casualties, graphic images or allegations of big criminal behavior. But that’s exactly what has happened over the last few days, as a roll-over accident involving a large truck loaded with heavy cement pilings consumed the city’s attention for much of the past week.
No one was killed in the accident or even seriously injured, and the truck driver wasn’t under the influence of alcohol or wanted for any other crime. Images of the wreck weren’t very exciting either, leaving TV and newspaper editors with the unexciting choice between pictures of broken guard rails and cranes removing the cement pilings from the truck and road. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Visiting China as Anti-Trust Probe Nears 3rd Year (English article)
Snow White Spotted at Wanda City Triggers Backlash From Disney (NYSE: DIS) (English article)
ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Setting up $1.1 Bln Europe Fund to Tap New Overseas Markets (English article)
Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) Enters into Merger Agreement for Going Private (PRNewswire)
HNA Invests 750 Mln Yuan in Virgin Australia (Sydney: VBA) (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s Brazilian retrenchment will ultimately become a withdrawal from the country, and reflects a lack of preparation and understanding when it entered the market a year ago.
Brazil vexes Xiaomi
The bad news keeps coming for sputtering smartphone maker Xiaomi, which is retrenching its Brazilian operation less than a year after entering the market. I have to admit that reports on this latest setback reflect a recent media fascination with any sort of failure for Xiaomi, which was once a media darling with its hip-and-trendy smartphones and slick marketing campaigns. But that said, this particular setback does look a bit more serious than some of the other recent bad news, as it appears to mark a big disappointment in a market where Xiaomi had big hopes. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Dalian Wanda’s de-listing plan from Hong Kong is likely to succeed, while eLong could re-list in China and become the travel services provider for WeChat following its New York privatization.
Dalian Wanda joins homeward migration
A trio of new headlines are part of the recent homeward migration of offshore-listed Chinese companies, led by a highly anticipated $4.4 billion offer to privatize property giant Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699). Also making news is faded online travel agent eLong (Nasdaq: LONG), whose shareholders have just approved a privatization that will soon end its 12-year-old listing in New York. Finally there’s film production house Yongle Film and Television, which would have been a strong New York IPO candidate in a earlier era but is now in the process of making a backdoor listing in Shenzhen. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China should abandon its model of trying to develop proprietary technology through government-backed initiatives, and focus instead on supporting leading private companies like Huawei to develop such products.
Qualcomm JV developing special server chip for China
China has started down a familiar but flawed path to creating its own cutting edge-technology, with reports last week that a joint venture backed by US telecoms giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) is developing a special microchip for the China market for use in computer servers that power the Internet. The effort looks strikingly similar to previous ones that typically saw China work with big foreign companies to develop technologies to compete with existing global products and standards. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on May 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════
Wanda Group Offers Record $4.4 Bln Price to Privatize Property Unit (English article)
Chinese Bidders Vie for ING Life in Record South Korea Insurance M&A: Sources (English article)
Yongli Film And TV Eyes Backdoor Listing Using Hongda Materials (Shenzhen: 002211) (Chinese article)
Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2) Should Remain in Europe Investor Hands, EU’s Oettinger Says (English article)
Bottom line: Baidu’s stock won’t suffer more short-term damage from a recent series of transparency scandals, but its reputation could suffer over the longer term.
Baidu software under fire
Leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is fast becoming synonymous with the word “opaque” due to long-standing practices that have helped it become one of China’s most valuable Internet companies, often by exploiting unsuspecting consumers. Following a recent series of scandals involving various opaque practices, the company is back in the headlines after a number of apps from its mobile assistant store landed on a malware black list from China’s telecoms regulator.Read Full Post…
