Since everyone is buzzing with excitement today over the successful IPO for social networking (SNS) pioneer Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), I thought I would end the week with a look at 2 other up-and-coming US Internet firms and their decidedly low-key approach to China. I’m talking about LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD), the professional networking site, and Evernote, a cloud-based note-taking service. Neither of these 2 up-and-comers has made any high-profile announcements about their entries to China, even though both are active in the market. That could be a smart approach, following high-profile missteps by earlier arrivals that may have ultimately hurt their prospects in the large but also challenging market. Read Full Post…
Online search aspirant Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is back in the headlines, this time by boosting its targets as it gains ground on market leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). At the same time, the company is also watching its flank, launching a new war of words against a new potential rival from the newly formed combination of Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou search engine and Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) Soso. From a tactical standpoint, this kind of attack on current and future rivals probably looks like a smart move. But from a more practical standpoint, these kinds of assaults are unlikely to have any real effect on Qihoo’s search business; instead such acts of aggression give off a signal of slight desperation as Qihoo tries to justify the recent run-up in its share price resulting from hype about its year-old So.com search engine. Read Full Post…
Leading global toymaker Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and top retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT) are quietly tinkering with their China approaches, as each tries to find success in a market that is so big they can’t afford to ignore it. Despite that allure, both global leaders have had difficulty making money in China to date, after relying too much on their global business practices that didn’t appeal to Chinese consumers. Now Walmart is making a second, quieter play at the market through its growing ties with e-commerce company Yihaodian. Mattel is also taking a longer term approach by trying to popularize its globally famous Barbie dolls and other toy brands among Chinese children and their parents. Read Full Post…
More good news is coming for the rebounding solar sector with word that Beijing is accelerating its build-up of solar power plants in a bid to help the industry and also improve China’s dismal air quality. But that news is coming too late for rapidly disappearing sector pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), which has just announced it has formally launched a liquidation process that will end its life as an independent company. Suntech’s downbeat news isn’t really unexpected, and comes amid a much broader flurry of positive signs for a solar panel sector that is finally emerging from a downturn that has lasted nearly 3 years. Read Full Post…
Two interesting new reports about China’s box office paint very different pictures about the country’s movie industry. Everyone agrees the sector is growing at a rapid clip, and will probably eclipse the US over the next decade to become the world’s largest box office. But who exactly is fueling that growth is a subject of debate, with one report saying domestic productions are suddenly surging as another says Chinese film companies are boosting their appetite for foreign productions. The underlying factor behind this apparent paradox is a growing confluence between East and West, with foreign studios increasingly working with Chinese partners and customizing their films for Chinese audiences. Read Full Post…
The microblogging realm has been buzzing these past few days with speculation on a brief China visit late last week by Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt, who checked out counterfeit goods at a gadget market in Beijing’s Zhongguancun high-tech area. Equally interesting was the inclusion in Schmidt’s group of 2 former Google executives who now work for Xioami, the fast-rising smartphone maker that hopes to someday become China’s equivalent of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Read Full Post…
When is a 92 percent profit increase reason for pessimism? The answer to that question would normally be “never”, but we’re seeing a rare case where a near-doubling in profit for leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has sparked a sell-off in the company’s shares. Ctrip isn’t alone in the bearish trend, with rival Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) also moving steadily downward in the last 2 days after a spectacular IPO last week. If I were an investor, I wouldn’t worry too much about this sell-off, which looks largely technical. But both stocks could be set for a few months of slow or no growth, following their recent spectacular run-ups. Read Full Post…
I like to write occasionally about the market for traditional Chinese liquor known as baijiu, often more out of personal interest than because I see any big potential in the sector. While many of China’s other food and beverage sectors have consolidated around a few key players over the last 15 years, baijiu has been strangely resistant to such a movement. As a result, the industry remains highly fragmented and not very interesting for investors. But recent signs are pointing to a potential consolidation finally on the way, including the latest word that food and beverage giant Wahaha is entering the field in a bid to develop a new national brand based in southwest China’s Maotai county, an area famous for the traditional liquor. Read Full Post…
A couple of items from China’s booming auto market are shining a spotlight on the sector’s big potential and also the looming risk of a government-led slowdown in a bid to control the nation’s worsening air quality. In the former category, online information provider Autohome has just made its first public filing for a New York IPO, becoming the latest in a sudden burst of tech firms to raise money outside China. The second news bit looks a bit more ominous, with media reporting the city of Beijing is sharply cutting its quota for new car sales in a bid to improve local air quality. That could be the first sign of a looming slowdown for national auto sales if other cities follow suit, which could easily happen. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Beijing Slashes Car Sales Quota In Anti-Pollution Drive (English article)
Chinese Auto Website Autohome Files For $120 Mln IPO (English article)
Socialgist Confirms New Partnership With Renren (NYSE: RENN) (PRNewswire)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Updates To Q3 Guidance (PRNewswire)
Spring is most definitely in the air this week for embattled solar panel makers, with Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) emerging as new sector leaders with different pieces of upbeat news. From my perspective the Canadian Solar news is the most exciting, even though some may say it doesn’t come as a big surprise. The company announced it will post a net profit for the third quarter, becoming the first major solar firm to return to the black after 2 years of losses. Meantime, Shunfeng has announced details of its highly anticipated deal to buy the main assets of bankrupt former solar pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), marking a major step forward in the industry’s restructuring. Read Full Post…
