The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 19-21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Forbes Media Sells Off Most Of Company To HK Investor Group (Chinese article)
Paipai Re-launch to Bring JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Experience to C2C (PRNewswire)
SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) Announces 5-Year Plan with a New Flagship Website Fang.com (PRNewswire)
SCA And Vinda To Integrate Hygiene Business In China (Businesswire)
The date of August 8 is a lucky one for many Chinese, but it’s increasingly looking like it won’t be the day for the highly anticipated IPO of e-commerce leader Alibaba. Previous reports had indicated Alibaba founder Jack Ma wanted to list his company on the eighth day of the eighth month of the western calendar, since 8 is a lucky number that sounds like the Chinese word for wealth and prosperity. What’s more, the Chinese pronunciation for 8-8 is “baba“, which is the same as the last part of Alibaba’s name and also happens to be the BABA ticker symbol the company will use when its shares start trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Read Full Post…
I wrote earlier this week about a looming crackdown on private Internet-based video providers, and now that campaign appears to be building momentum with word of turbulence in the booming set-top box sector. The latest reports say industry veteran LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) has withdrawn its set-top box product from the market, while e-commerce giant Alibaba is reportedly delaying the roll-out of its own similar product. The reports certainly don’t bode well for the fledgling sector of set-top boxes, which allow people to watch Internet-based video content on their TVs the same way they watch programs using traditional TV channels. Read Full Post…
Yet another firm is teetering on the brink of default for a relatively large bond, joining a small but growing list of such companies as Chinese investors learn about the risk of buying debt from shaky companies in struggling industries. This time it’s a little-know construction company called Huatong Road & Bridge Group that’s warning it could soon default on interest and principal payments for 400 million yuan ($65 million) in bonds set to mature later this month. The announcement is the latest of a slow but steady trickle of similar news that hints at distress due to China’s slowing economy. Read Full Post…
In a quirk of timing, 2 completely unrelated rulings are boosting the outlook for Chinese new energy firms from the wind and solar sectors in their complex relationship with the US. The 2 cases are quite different, but each reflects the wariness Washington feels towards these Chinese firms due to their government ties. In the bigger of the 2 cases, a World Trade Organization panel has ruled that US anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese solar panel makers violate WTO rules. In the second case, a US judge’s ruling has given a boost to a Chinese firm that planned to build a wind farm in the state of Oregon, only to get vetoed by Washington over national security concerns. Read Full Post…
Two major regulatory moves could have opposite effects for different areas of the Internet, providing relief for e-commerce firms while posing yet another new challenge for online video operators. In the former category, media are reporting the regulator that oversees e-commerce is talking with major players about modifying a controversial policy that gives consumers the right to unconditionally return most merchandise within a week of buying it. In the latter category, other media reports say the broadcasting regulator is continuing an ongoing campaign to rein in online video sites by limiting their ability to operate dedicated program channels similar to traditional TV. Read Full Post…
Chinese tech executives were waxing nostalgic on their microblogs this past week, reflecting a broader seasonal business slowdown as we head into the quiet summer months when many people go on vacation. The flurry of memories from top executives at smartphone maker Xiaomi, security software maker Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) and e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) came as a nice break from the usual promotional hype in the microblogging realm, and shows that even executives need to take a break periodically from their usual self-promotion.
While the airwaves were mostly empty of the usual hype, another Xiaomi executive was still at work with his hints that the company has applied for a virtual network operator (VNO) license to offer telecoms services. That move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since a wide range of Chinese tech firms have also applied for such licenses, which allow them to offer mobile service under their own brand names to attract new users for their core products. Read Full Post…
PayPal watches a China licenses first foreign e-payments firm
China has issued so many electronic payment licenses by now that I mostly ignore the steady stream of announcements about new licensees, who now number more than 250. I was getting ready to ignore the latest report of a new batch of such licenses, when my attention was attracted by a news bit deeper in the story saying the fifth batch of awards included the long-anticipated first license for a foreign-backed company. The move looks promising for a number of foreign companies that have been waiting impatiently for years to enter the market, led by eBay’s (Nasdaq: EBAY) PayPal online payments unit. Read Full Post…
Electric vehicle maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594) has been zipping in and out of the headlines this past week, including its latest announcement that it will open a manufacturing plant in Brazil to service the BRICS country and the broader Latin American market. The company’s EV business, a major factor that attracted billionaire investor Warren Buffett as a major backer, also got good news from Beijing this week with word of a major government drive to boost new energy vehicle buying.
Despite those positive moves, the company still has yet to received its first major overseas order, though it has certainly set up many pilot programs. Such programs make good headlines, even though they result in very limited actual business. And those programs receive far less attention when they end in failure, which is what recently happened to a high-profile trial in a city near Los Angeles. Read Full Post…
Technology giant Legend Holdings has grabbed headlines in recent days with news of a record investment by its private equity arm in a leading British pizza chain, its first major overseas foray. The deal saw Legend’s Hony Capital agree to pay $1.6 billion for the PizzaExpress chain, as part of a growing trend by Chinese firms to invest in the overseas food and retail sectors.
The purchase comes as Legend gears up for an IPO as early as later this year, offering investors a chance to buy into a diversified group whose biggest asset is its controlling stake in PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). But the bigger headline in the Legend story is reports that the company is strongly considering staging its listing in Hong Kong rather than its native China. Read Full Post…
A rally for shares of China’s 3 major telcos early this week is raising the interesting question of whether an extended uptick is coming for these 3 companies, which are facing several developments that could help to lower costs and boost revenues, raising their profits. Media are citing the newest of those developments, the formation of an infrastructure joint venture between the trio, as the main driver for the Monday rally in shares of China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA). But the bigger story is a number of major factors at play, all of which could help these 3 stodgy state-run firms boost their profits. Read Full Post…
