The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou May Announce M&A Details in July – Report (English article)
China Formally Launches EU Wine Probe In Latest Trade Spat (English article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to Raise Minimum China App Price To 8 Yuan (English article)
Peugeot (Paris: PEUP) Opens 3rd China Plant As Europe Sales Slide (English article)
Former Top Nokia Exec Becomes Huawei VP For End User Products (Chinese article)
The inevitable price wars may finally be coming to China’s smartphone market, in an all-too-common pattern seen time and again for popular new products. Media have been so busy reporting about how China will become the world’s biggest smartphone market this year that no one has really stepped back to examine the phenomenon and why it’s happening. At least one media is finally doing that, and reporting that inventories are suddenly building up to dangerous levels at the homegrown smartphone makers that are the main force behind China’s recent smartphone boom. Read Full Post…
With this year’s gaokao college entrance exam now officially in the past, students and educators in China can return to the more serious business of learning at the thousands of Chinese universities that are churning out the country’s academics, entrepreneurs and business leaders of tomorrow. These centers of higher learning today are far different from the ones I encountered when I first came to China in 1987 to teach at a tiny institution called the Beijing Graduate School of Geology. Read Full Post…
A small brouhaha has broken out in the Chinese media these last few days over what looks like perhaps the clumsy beginning of a takeover attempt involving Zoomlion (HKEx: 1157; Shenzhen: 000157) and Sany Heavy (Shanghai: 600031), China’s 2 top construction equipment makers. I’m not quite convinced that this was a real takeover attempt, as the numbers involved are quite small. But whatever happened, the instance was a reminder that Chinese firms are still quite clumsy at unsolicited M&A, especially the hostile type. Read Full Post…
The China telecoms world is buzzing this week at a major trade show in Shanghai, with everyone giving their latest outlook on commercial 4G services that could launch later this year. Leading the headlines was a forecast of return to profits for embattled telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), as predicted by one company official. Meantime, leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) was giving new details about its massive 4G build-out planned for the rest of the year, and its 2 main rivals were also discussing which technology they will use for their networks. Read Full Post…
I’m not the biggest fan of software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) due to its sometimes dubious business practices that often result in lawsuits and other complaints against the company. But I do have to admire the creative ways it finds to secretly install its products on people’s computers, which I suspect is the main motivation for its newly announced wireless router that carries a very low price tag. Of course all this stealth activity is just slightly ironic for a company like Qihoo, whose core product is software that’s supposed to make users’ computers more secure. Read Full Post…
It appears that dominant wireless telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has discovered a sudden love affair with Pakistan, with word that it’s weighing an acquisition bid to complement its existing operation in the South Asian market. If anyone detects just a tiny bit of sarcasm in my tone, it’s because I find it somewhat amusing that the world’s largest wireless telco is focusing so much energy on such a small market when there are so many more promising ones for its troubled global expansion. Read Full Post…
Security software has remained a relatively quiet product area in China despite its huge potential, largely due to the domination of the market by early entrant Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). But that looks set to change soon, with the latest reports indicating that search leader Baidu and social networking giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) could be preparing to enter the market with their own rival products. Read Full Post…
The retail world is buzzing with the latest reports that global giant Carrefour (Paris: CARR) is considering a potential withdrawal from China, as it tries to figure out how to make money in a market with huge potential but also massive competition. A Carrefour source in China was quick to deny the possibility of a sale, but clearly big discussions are happening behind the scenes on what’s likely to be some major changes for the world’s second largest retailer. One of the company’s biggest handicaps is its failure to recognize the rapid rise of e-commerce in China, which has put it at a disadvantage over other traditional retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). Read Full Post…
The ongoing cash crunch at Chinese banks may be partly behind reports that a trio of regional banks are aiming to make IPOs in Hong Kong, with Bank of Shanghai, Huishang Bank and CGB all aiming to list in the second half of the year. These regional lenders may also be losing patience while waiting for China to lift a freeze on new IPOs that dates back to last year, which has led to a backlog of dozens of companies that want to make offerings. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had been giving signals that it could soon lift the freeze, though it may change its mind if the current sell-off on Chinese stock markets continues. Read Full Post…
One of my well-informed sources tells me that Shenzhen-listed IT outsourcing firm Beyondsoft (Shenzhen: 002649) is weighing a bid for rival Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS), in what would be an interesting twist to the ongoing exodus of Chinese firms from US stock exchanges. If this information is true, it could mean we may start to see some bidding wars among private buyers for the growing number of Chinese firms that are abandoning their New York listings due to low valuations. Read Full Post…
