Just a month after word emerged that Japanese mobile messaging giant Line had found a China partner, new reports are saying the company is preparing to formally enter the market in the next few months. The company will certainly have a steep hill to climb in China, where it will have to challenge industry juggernaut WeChat, owned by Tencent (HKEx: 700). But that said, I do think that Line could quickly gain a major audience in China if it positions itself as an alternative for globally-minded business professionals. It should move as quickly as possible, as I fully expect global leader WhatsApp to make a similar major push into China within the next year. Read Full Post…
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New Licenses, Price Wars Coming For VNOs
Last month’s launch of China’s first new mobile services in a decade is showing early signs of shaking up the market, with competition likely to intensify as more licenses are awarded to a new generation of privately owned virtual network operators (VNOs). According to the latest headlines, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is getting ready to issue its third round of VNO licenses, which allow private companies to sell telecoms services under their own brands by leasing network capacity from the nation’s 3 existing state-run telcos. Read Full Post…
China Mobile 4G Drive: More Profit Erosion
Just days after Beijing reportedly issued an unusual order for China’s 3 telcos to rein in their promotional spending, leading carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941: NYSE: CHL) is detailing plans that look like it is preparing to do just the opposite. The company’s top executives were being quite talkative at a major telecoms show happening this week in Shanghai, and their aggressive push into 4G services was clearly at the top of their list of talking points.
The new message sends a signal that China Mobile will aggressively promote 4G for the remainder of the year, meaning we’re unlikely to see any cut in its promotional spending. To the contrary, the spending binge is likely to put further pressure on China Mobile’s fading profits, which have declined in each of the last 3 quarters.
New Energy: New Storm In Europe; Wanxiang, NEC In JV
Let’s end the week with a couple of new energy developments, led by word that China and the European Union could be heading for a new showdown after the pair narrowly avoided a trade war last year over dumping accusations towards Chinese solar panels. The news looks quite disappointing and bodes poorly for the broader solar sector, where protectionist forces have been rapidly building in the last few months. On a more positive note, Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang has just announced a new battery joint venture with Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701), which looks full of potential to help solve one of the biggest problems for clean energy producers. Read Full Post…
Kaixin Grows Games, Tencent Buy In Sight?
I’ll be a bit whimsical on this final day of the week with a prediction that a sale could be looming for social networking (SNS) site Kaixin, following reports of strong growth for the company’s online gaming business. Anyone reading this is probably puzzled, unsure about the relationship between a growing gaming business and a company getting acquired. I’ll explain all that shortly, but will end the suspense now by saying the potential buyer would be Internet titan Tencent (HKEx: 700), which shares a number of links and other key qualities with the much smaller Kaixin. Read Full Post…
Second IPO Wind Lifts Zhaopin, Xunlei, Dianping
After going the entire week without a major IPO story, 3 major developments are showing there’s still some life in the market despite earlier signs of stumbling. At the top of the news is online recruiting site Zhaopin (NYSE: ZPIN), which has just posted a nice trading debut after a solid pricing for its new American Depositary Shares (ADSs). Meantime, video sharing site Xunlei is steaming ahead with its own listing by formally setting a price range for its shares, which means a final pricing and trading debut are likely next week. Last but not least there’s restaurant ratings site Dianping, which has formally hired investment banks for a new mega offering to raise up to $1 billion. Read Full Post…
Alibaba Dances With UCWeb, Tesla, Zara
E-commerce leader Alibaba has always been a very active headline grabber, but these days its penchant for making news is getting a bit out of control, reflecting an M&A strategy that also looks increasingly overcharged and lacking focus. One might compare Alibaba these days to a creature that has suddenly developed a huge appetite and is devouring everything in sight. That’s my assessment today based on the company’s involvement in 3 major headlines, one involving web browsers, another electric cars, and a third that’s actually related to its core e-commerce services.
Legend IPO Draws Closer, HK In Sight?
New reports on tech conglomerate Legend Holdings are raising the possibility that the company’s long-discussed IPO could be drawing near, offering investors a new choice that combines its core Lenovo (HKEx: 992) PC business with a wide range of other assets. Legend founder Liu Chuanzhi had previously indicated he wanted to list the company around 2015, but other recent signs sparked media speculation that the plan was being accelerated and could come later this year. (previous post) One of the biggest questions is still where the company will list, with China and Hong Kong as the 2 likeliest options. Read Full Post…
Weibo: Execs Ruminate On College Exam, News App
The microblogging realm was relatively quiet over the past week, as all of China took a moment of silence for the thousands of high school students who had to suffer through the annual torture session also known as the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, held over the weekend. A few tech executives reflected on the gaokao on their microblogs, though none had too much positive to say about an test that places huge pressure on students and is often criticized for its emphasis on rote memorization. Meantime, a couple of other tech executives were full of skepticism and just a touch of envy for a news app that made headlines after it attracted a whopping $100 million in new funding less than 2 years after its founding.
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Former CIC Exec Sets Up New China Fund
Just weeks after a group of seasoned managers launched a major new fund in Shanghai, word is out that another top money manager is preparing to launch yet another fund aimed at selling China companies to global investors. The man behind the latest fund-raising drive is Yu Bin, a former director from China Investment Corp (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund. Yu is part of a new generation of market-savvy Chinese fund managers to emerge over the last decade, often after returning from the west where they received both education and experience working for major global fund houses and investment banks. Read Full Post…
Huawei, ZTE On Global Hiring Sprees
The embattled telecoms pair of Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) are embarking on major hiring sprees outside their home market, seeking to not only import foreign expertise but also foreign faces as they try to look more global and less Chinese. That’s my major takeaway on reading separate reports that ZTE is launching a drive to recruit workers from 2 struggling western cellphone giants, while Huawei is also hiring thousands of new employees in Europe to cater to its largest market outside of China.
