Bottom line: A new list of China’s top apps spotlights fast-growing names like news app Today’s Headlines, photo app Meitu and dictionary app Youdao, which could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in new funds this year.
Meitu earns place on top 10 app list
A newly released list of China’s top 10 apps for 2014 is shining a spotlight on an up-and-coming field of lesser known names that could be companies to watch, as many are much younger than stalwarts like Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700). The “BAT” trio of China’s biggest Internet firms took 4 of the top 10 spots on the list, which was compiled by Baidu. But far more interesting were some of the other names, including recently listed social networking app Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) and news app Today’s Headlines, which made its own headlines with its meteoric rise last year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China Mobile’s launch of a new Internet services unit, Migu, is a good and needed move conceptually, but will fail to innovate and succeed due to a bureaucratic corporate culture.
China Mobile launches Migu Internet services unit
I have very mixed feelings on leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), which mostly seems like a slow-moving, highly protected state-run behemoth but at times also seems to have some innovative instincts. The company’s new launch of Migu, a unit dedicated to developing Internet content and services, seems to fall in the latter category, and is long overdue. But the launch of Migu is quite late and will have a lot of catching up to do, and is almost certain to be hampered by China Mobile’s slow-moving corporate culture that has little experience developing products for the fast-changing Internet market. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: UCWeb’s new India tie-up with Facebook looks like a good step that will help its global expansion, while Qihoo’s new Microsoft alliance looks mostly like inconsequential hype.
UCWeb ties with Facebook in India
A couple of new corporate tie-ups are in the headlines today, led by word of a potentially major new alliance between Alibaba-owned (NYSE: BABA) web browser UCWeb and global social networking giant Facebook (Nasdaq: FB). The other tie-up, which looks far less interesting but still potentially significant, and will see security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) work with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in advertising services. This second alliance is just the latest in a long recent string for Qihoo, and seems aimed at breathing life into its struggling stock that is being rapidly abandoned by impatient and disappointed investors. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s new more upscale Mi Note phablet should get a strong reception and sell well, drawing on the company’s trendy name and growing base of loyal buyers.
Xiaomi goes upscale with new Mi Note
Smartphone sensation Xiaomi doesn’t seem content to only follow its role model Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) anymore, and is also taking a page from stumbling sector leader Samsung (Seoul: 005930) with its latest model as it seeks a long-term direction for its products. Of course I’m being just a little facetious with my comparison to Apple, since the only thing Xiaomi shares with the US company is a cool and trendy image. Apple is firmly placed at the top end of the smartphone market, whereas Xiaomi began its life in the mid-range and has steadily moved downmarket since then. Read Full Post…
With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, local officials have begun their usual flood of announcements and new policy roll-outs designed to make travel just a little more pleasant for the millions of people who will hit the roads during that time. Many of the moves involve ticketing, but one that caught my attention this week centered on new restrictions for the size and type of items that people can bring on trains. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Disappointing results for fund-raising by Wanda Cinema Line and Kuaidi taxi app show a recent boom in new funding for private Chinese companies may have crested and will wane for the rest of the year.
Kuaidi fund-raising diappoints
The crest of a huge wave of new fund raising for private Chinese firms may have passed, with word that 2 major new deals that should have attracted big investor interest have instead met with weaker-than-expected response. The first of those has seen investors give a lukewarm reception to a domestic IPO for Wanda Cinema Line, the nation’s first major movie theater operator to list. The second has seen taxi app operator Kuadi raise $500 million in a private funding round, which doesn’t sound too bad. But the figure is actually quite a bit lower than Kuaidi’s earlier plan and is also lower than a similar recent fund-raising round for leading rival Didi. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The US, EU and other major countries are likely to block the merger of China’s 2 largest rolling stock producers on anti-competitive grounds, forcing Beijing to abandon the deal.
CNR-CSR merger to face western scrutiny
Beijing has become increasingly active in reviewing big global M&A for deals that affect China, but an interesting reversal is set to occur when western countries review a pending mega-merger between the nation’s 2 largest makers of railroad rolling stock. That review could put the west and China on a collision course, as the US and especially the European Union could both have strong cases for blocking the merger of CSR Corp and CNR Corp, which are already 2 of the world’s largest companies that manufacture high speed railroads and related equipment. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A new lawsuit against Xiaomi spotlights the lack of premium quality behind its trendy brand, though it could succeed in the shorter term as the leading maker of “fast fashion” smartphones.
Xiaomi sued in Shanghai court
I had to smile on reading about the latest scandal surrounding Xiaomi, which came in a media report on a new lawsuit accusing the smartphone sensation of false advertising claims. This kind of overinflated claim has become a symbol of Xiaomi, reflecting the kinds of hype it regularly generates even as its actual products are described as quite ordinary and even sub-par.
Xiaomi’s hype contrasts sharply with its primary role model, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which has built a hugely loyal following based on products that most users agree are superior to those from its rivals and worth the big premiums that Apple charges. A separate news item shows the hype factor is still enough to attract big-name investors, with word that social networking (SNS) giant Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) previously sought to invest in Xiaomi. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China’s smartphone market is likely to contract another 10 percent this year, forcing some newer domestic manufacturers out of business, while Huawei’s bid to go upscale in the space is likely to face difficulty.
Huawei posts strong growth on smartphones
New data on China’s booming smartphone sector show the industry crossed a tipping point in 2014, with sales starting to sag after several years of explosive growth. That earlier growth was fueled by companies like Huawei, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers, which has just given some preliminary financial data for 2014. Huawei cited a big jump in smartphone sales as a major factor behind its 20 percent jump in total revenue last year, as strong gains for its consumer products division offset slower growth in its older telecoms networking equipment unit. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Emerging details are giving more credibility to LeTV’s new electric car initiative, while solar shares look oversold on plunging oil prices and should rebound later this year.
LeTV soars on new EV details
Mixed signals are coming from China’s green energy sector, where a newly turbocharged LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) is getting a lift on details about its new electric car initiative that includes ties to a technology supplier of US superstar Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). But solar panel makers are moving in the opposite direction, with shares of several reaching or approaching all-time lows over concerns that demand will plummet due to low oi prices. I seldom give direct stock buying advice, but in this case I honestly don’t understand the reasons for this sudden plunge and would strongly consider buying some of these shares that seem quite undervalued right now. Read Full Post…
The microblogging realm has been buzzing with posts from tech executives this past week, many of whom were hyping their products at a major gadget show taking place in Las Vegas. But back in China, smartphone sensation Xiaomi was generating its own usual buzz with hints that it may try to go upscale and challenge Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Samsung (Seoul: 005930) more directly with a pricey new offering later this month.
Meantime, the microblogging realm also saw some unusual noise from 2 tech executives who have been mostly quiet in the space for more than a year. The loudest noise came from Charles Zhang, founder of web stalwart Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), whose microblog on Sina Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) suddenly came to life as he moved to deflect rumors about massive layoffs at his company. Meantime, Chinese Internet patriarch Lee Kai-fu also made a rare tech-related post on his microblog, breaking a prolonged period of relative silence since he returned to his native Taiwan for treatment of cancer. Read Full Post…
