After a disastrous round of talks last month that broke down almost as soon as they began, China and Europe look set to try again with a new round of negotiations to resolve their dispute over the EU’s claims of unfair state-support for Chinese solar panel makers. Much has changed since the failed round of talks in late May, including a growing number of individual European leaders who want to resolve this dispute through negotiations rather than trade wars. As a result, this new round of negotiations will take place between top-level government officials, an important change for both practical and symbolic reasons that I’ll explain shortly.
Campbell (NYSE: CPB) maybe a household name in the west, but its famous soup cans are unknown in China where homemade broths are the norm and instant soups are a foreign concept. But that could change soon, with word that Campbell has purchased a Danish cookie company with a strong presence in China. Normally I’d say this purchase alone doesn’t mean that Campbell will necessarily use Denmark’s Kelsen as a platform to roll out its soups in China. But in this case Campbell seems to be making extra effort to highlight the China angle in its announcement of the deal, which makes such a move seem more likely. Read Full Post…
Huangpu District has the stately Bund, Jing’an has the upscale West Nanjing Road shopping area and Luwan has the trendy Xintiandi. And then there’s Hongkou, which is trying to find its way onto city tourist maps with new plans for an area of bed & breakfast-style hotels (B&Bs) converted from old shikumen houses. Read Full Post…
Media are all abuzz that trendy smartphone maker Xiaomi may be preparing to launch an Internet TV, after a photo was leaked showing boxes of the packaging for such a product in a warehouse. Of course it’s always possible the photos are doctored and were created by someone trying to stir up gossip about this up-and-coming company co-founded by the marketing savvy Lei Jun. But I’ve had a look at the photo, which features stacks of boxes with the words “Xioami TV – L47M1-AA 47-inch” printed on them, and have to say the pictures look authentic, meaning the rumors may be true. (English article; Chinese article) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) To Become First Foreign Financial Payments Licensee (Chinese article)
A few interesting news bits on the medical front are spotlighting both the opportunities and risks that drug and medical equipment makers face in developing the China market. On the opportunity side, Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has announced an expansion of its relationship with Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR) to introduce its drugs into China. Meantime, homegrown medical equipment maker Mindray Medical (NYSE: MR) is also banking on the market’s potential with its newly announced acquisition of a US ultrasound equipment maker. But US drug giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is also finding the market contains some risks, as it comes under fire for double standards related to its product recall policies in China. Read Full Post…
Murdoch divorce spotlights News Corp’s China reversal
It’s been relatively quiet in China these last few days due to the Dragon Boat holiday, so I thought I’d start the new week with a look at Rupert Murdoch’s ongoing divorce with Wendi Deng and what it might mean for his flagship New Corp (Nasdaq: NWSA) in China. Many believe that Deng, a China native, was one of the main forces behind Murdoch’s previous bullishness on China, leading News Corp aggressively try to develop the market in the decade from 2000 to 2010. But the company has sharply reversed its China approach over the last 3 years, perhaps reflecting the deteriorating marriage between Murdoch and Deng. Read Full Post…
It’s a relatively slow day for financial news, so I thought I’d take a look at a very low-key IPO getting ready to launch in New York by a small Chinese microlender named China Commercial Credit. This particular offering is so small, set to raise about $18 million, that it normally wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But what’s interesting is that this is the first US listing of this size that I’ve seen by a Chinese lender, and could perhaps auger a wave of similar listings by a new generation of private Chinese banking firms. Read Full Post…
China was on holiday much of this week for the annual Dragon Boat Festival, but there was no respite for the building trade hostilities between Beijing and the EU that are quickly souring bilateral relations. Last week Beijing launched a probe into unfair state support against EU wines and hinted at another similar probe into luxury cars, targeting 2 product areas where European names have successfully tapped the China market. (previous post) Now this week Europe is firing back with a complaint against punitive steel tariffs launched by Beijing, while Britain is making its own worrisome noises about the safety of telecoms equipment from Huawei Technologies. Read Full Post…
The latest earnings and outlook are breathing new life into low-cost smarphone chip maker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD), but also showing why the market remains difficult for homegrown IT services firms like Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS). Spreadtrum’s newly announced upside surprise could bode well for the broader field of companies that specialize in low-cost smartphones and their components, as China prepares to launch 4G mobile services later this year. Meantime, Camelot’s weak earnings are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, though at least it won’t have to publicly discuss those embarrassing numbers if its current bid to privatize succeeds. Read Full Post…
Poultry plant tragedy casts spotlight on Shuanghui’s Smithfield buy
A major poultry plant disaster in northeaster Jilin province is casting an awkward spotlight on pork processor Shuanghui as it tries to convince wary US consumers and politicians of the benefits of its pending $7 billion purchase of US rival Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD). Not surprisingly, a US trade union representing many Smithfield workers has used the Chinese tragedy to issue a carefully worded statement implying that similar disasters could happen in the US if the Shuanghui-Smithfield merger proceeds. While this looks partly like politics, I personally believe the concerns aren’t completely groundless since China’s food industry doesn’t exactly have a strong track record for good business practices. Read Full Post…
