With Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) blockbuster IPO nearly in the history books, I wanted to take this opportunity to explore what’s ahead for the company as it gets set to break numerous records with its New York listing. One good indicator of what lies ahead would be the performance for shares of other Chinese tech firms that have listed over the last 12 months. But such comparisons have limited value, since Alibaba is clearly in a far different class from all these other companies, following a pricing of its shares that makes it more valuable than such global corporate giants as Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). Read Full Post…
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) has joined a growing field of Chinese solar panel makers entering the risky business of speculative development in China, with its launch of a new locally-based fund for solar power construction. The move follows the establishment of self-financed vehicles for similar speculative construction by rivals Trina (NYSE: TSL), Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and wind power equipment maker Ming Yang (NYSE: MY), as they try to create more demand for their products. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) IPO Prices At Top Of Range, Raising $21.8 Bln (English article)
NDRC Announces Fines For 12 Japanese Auto Parts Makers In Antitrust Probe (Chinese article)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Film Unit Raises 340 Mln Yuan In B-Series Funding (Chinese article)
SMG to Merge BesTV (Shanghai: 600637) and Shanghai Oriental Pearl (English article)
Regulator Orders Online Video Sites To Stop Distributing TV Apps – Source (Chinese article)
Hong Kong may be disappointed about losing the world’s biggest Internet IPO with the imminent trading debut of Alibaba in New York, but it’s getting a nice consolation prize with word of a major new listing plan by top commercial property developer Wanda Group. The Wanda reports are getting much less coverage than they might normally due to Alibaba fever, which will see the Chinese e-commerce leader raise more than $20 billion when its shares start trading on Friday in New York. But at up to $6 billion, the IPO for Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties will still qualify as one of the world’s biggest offerings for 2014. Read Full Post…
A couple of separate reports are shining a spotlight on some of the shenanigans happening at former social networking (SNS) superstar Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), and also on its dimming prospects as it gets overtaken by more nimble, innovative rivals. The first and more entertaining of those reports details how Weibo routinely inflates the number of followers for some of the most popular people on its service through use of phantom “zombie” accounts. The second details a worrisome trend that says the number of mobile users for Weibo dropped sharply in August, hinting at problems ahead in this high-growth area. Read Full Post…
Conspiracy talk was buzzing through the microblogging realm this past week, as numerous executives weighed in on 2 major news events in the China tech world. One of those saw Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) finally unveil its new iPhone 6, only to mysteriously yank China from its global launch map without any explanation. The other saw executives speculating on the significance of and reasons behind the surprise defection of Zhang Yaqin, a longtime China-based Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) executive who abruptly left the company for a job at leading Internet search company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Read Full Post…
Much of the world is fixated on the upcoming IPO of e-commerce giant Alibaba in New York, but a far smaller new listing plan by mobile game developer Feiyu Technology is shining a low-key spotlight on a recent jump for such listings in Hong Kong. Many have said that Hong Kong should be the most attractive offshore listing ground for Chinese venture-backed IPOs, since the former British colony is closer geographically and culturally than the currently favored site of New York. But strict listing rules on profitability and ownership structure have kept most Chinese venture-backed tech firms looking to New York instead. Read Full Post…
A few weeks ago I praised Shanghai’s laggard media for uncovering one of the biggest stories of the year, so it seems fitting that this week I take another look at our local media’s return to the spotlight for far less positive reasons.
For those who don’t follow the industry so closely, the rare moment of glory for Shanghai’s media I’m referring to came back in late July. That’s when undercover TV reporters from Shanghai Media Group (SMG) exposed that a range of unsavory practices at Husi Food, a US-owned meat supplier to such major global brands as McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), KFC (NYSE: YUM) and Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX). Read Full Post…
I usually don’t write about any company more than once a week, and certainly not twice on the same day. But today I’m making an exception for the upcoming IPO of Alibaba, which will finally come to an end with its trading debut on Friday. The latest news bits in the run-up to what’s likely to be the world’s biggest IPO of all time have media reporting that Alibaba may raise the upper end of the price range for its shares, allowing it to raise even more money. At the same time, Alibaba’s talkative and charismatic founder Jack Ma has made a surprise appearance in Hong Kong as part of the company’s road show, where he was warmly greeted by investors. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s larger tech and media names are in the headlines today for new US investments, highlighting a recent trend that is seeing Chinese firms step up such investing as they search for western expertise and technology. The larger of the deals will see Huayi Bros (Shenzhen: 300027), one of China’s most successful independent film producers, invest $130 million in a US-based subsidiary as part of its international expansion. The other will see LCD maker BOE Technology (Shenzhen: 000725) invest a more modest $5 million in a US start-up that develops technology for wearable products. Read Full Post…
A year of hype surrounding what’s likely to become the biggest IPO in history will officially end later this week, when homegrown Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba formally lists on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO will give most global investors access to Alibaba’s shares and a chance to profit from one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce markets. Read Full Post…
