There’s lots to say about word that Internet portal operator Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is selling its Sogou search unit to industry leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), starting with the strong possibility that this latest in a sudden string of rumors about Sogou may be true. Sogou’s chief executive has already said publicly the unit was for sale, naming Baidu as one of the leading bidders. The only slight contradiction in the mix comes from comments by Charles Zhang in an interview late last week, which I’ll return to shortly. Read Full Post…
China’s increasingly contentious trade relations with Europe suffered another setback late last week, when the EU threatened to fine Chinese airlines that were refusing to comply with a new controversial program to reduce greenhouse gases. China responded with its own threat by saying it won’t accept the EU’s planned carbon tax, raising the prospect of a dangerous new trade war. Read Full Post…
New moves from Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) and global retailer WalMart (NYSE: WMT) are turning up the competition in China’s e-commerce wars, which are quickly becoming a contest to see who can outspend whom. Both of these latest initiatives look quite pricey, especially Tencent’s move that will see it roll out an ultra-fast product delivery program. WalMart, meantime, is pouring big money into a campaign to build a new in-house clothing brand for its recently acquired Yihaodian online store. Read Full Post…
I’ve managed to go all of this week without writing on the latest looming trade war between China and Europe over telecoms equipment, but it really would be remiss of me not to mention this intensifying dispute at all. I’ll rehash all the details shortly and also discuss the potential consequences; but before I do, I want to start off with a look at the less obvious element of who is driving this latest conflict. Read Full Post…
As today marks the unofficial end of a long earnings season, I thought I would take a look at the latest numbers from Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), 2 former superstars that are trying to make difficult transitions to remain relevant on the Chinese Internet. Frankly speaking, the numbers from both companies don’t look very exciting and seem to reflect continuing difficulties at both companies. But investors seem to be overlooking the troubles and instead are focusing on the few bits of good news in the reports, with shares of both companies posting solid gains after their financials came out. Read Full Post…
I’ve been following China company news for quite a while, so I’m quite accustomed to seeing law firms file the occasional shareholder lawsuit when a company’s stock price falls on unexpected bad news. But a flood of announcements these last few days threatening lawsuits related to the new buyout offer for telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) has surprised even me, potentially derailing the deal as suspicion grows of insider activity. Read Full Post…
There’s a flood of earnings out today from US-listed Chinese firms, so I’ve decided to focus on online video leader Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and fast rising e-commerce firm Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), whose shares are showing some unusual reaction to their respective results. In both cases, market outlook was clearly a major factor that helped Youku Tudou shares rally despite a weak report, even as Vipshop tumbled on what seemed like solid results. Read Full Post…
Several news bits from the solar sector show more signs of stabilization after a 2-year-old downturn, even as an ongoing trade war looks set to escalate. The big picture in these news bits does seem to reflect some cautious optimism returning to the sector after the prolonged downturn due to massive oversupply. But that turnaround remains very tentative, and the sector could easily return to turmoil if the current trade war continues to escalate. Read Full Post…
I’ve written too much recently about neglected web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), but the latest rumors of a potential tie-up between the company and PPTV, operator of one of China’s leading video websites, are just too irresistible for me to ignore. Those rumors say Sohu is in talks to combine its own online video business with PPTV to create one of the nation’s top 3 players. News of such talks comes just a couple of weeks after leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) purchased another top video site, PPS, for $370 million, and indicates a new wave of consolidation in China’s Internet space may be gaining momentum. Read Full Post…
I’ll openly admit that I’ve generally sided with Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) in its ongoing dispute with China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) over Tencent’s popular WeChat mobile messaging service; but a new report today on the debate is also making me realize that China Mobile’s point has some validity, even if I disagree with its tactics to address the issue. The report I’m talking about cites an executive at Shanghai-based China Merchants Bank (HKEx: 3968; Shanghai: 600036), a leading regional lender, saying his bank is piloting a service on WeChat as it looks to migrate some of its mobile-based services to the platform. (English article)Read Full Post…
After making headlines late last year, a deal that would see a Chinese group buy AIG’s (NYSE: AIG) aircraft leasing unit for $5.5 billion has quietly popped back into the news with word that the US insurance giant has extended the deadline to close a deal by a month. There’s not much more in the reports, which simply cite a stock exchange filing by AIG saying a deadline for the deal has been pushed forward to June 14. (English article) While the deal clearly hasn’t moved ahead as quickly as both sides had anticipated, the fact that they’re extending the deadline by a month means they are still confident they can reach an agreement. Read Full Post…
