The ongoing game of musical chairs in China’s online search space is continuing this week with word that Internet portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) wants to sell its Sogou unit, operator of China’s third largest search engine. While many of the previous rumors of consolidation in the search space have looked dubious to me, this one actually looks like it could be credible for a number of reasons I’ll detail shortly. If it’s true, I would also commend Sohu for making a shrewd move by getting out of a crowded market where it has limited resources and expertise compared with other players. Read Full Post…
Having let the markets get pumped up with huge expectations for its upcoming mega IPO, e-commerce leader Alibaba now appears to be trying to temper some of those high hopes in the run-up to an offering that is likely to be the biggest ever for a Chinese Internet firm. The reason for the sudden change of tone? Apparently the company wants to avoid following in the footsteps of social networking giant Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), whose IPO was so overhyped by the time it finally occurred that it was almost bound to result in failure and major disappointment. Read Full Post…
Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) colorful but low-key Chairman Pony Ma is suddenly losing his shyness at a major Internet conference in Beijing, where he is clearly in his preferred environment mixing with lots of other Internet geeks and techies. Media have been buzzing these last few days with words from the head of China’s biggest Internet firm, with much of the talk centered on Tencent’s hot mobile instant messaging platform called WeChat or Weixin in Chinese. Ma has addressed 2 of the key questions facing WeChat, both centered on how the service can generate profits for Tencent from its base of 300 million users. Read Full Post…
I’ve been trying to avoid writing about the latest punitive tariffs for Chinese solar panels that look set to come from the European Union this week, since the story has dragged on for more than a year now and the outcome was almost inevitable. But that said, it would be a bit remiss of me not to write at least something on this latest move, which is expected to see European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht formally recommend the introduction of anti-dumping tariffs for solar panels supplied from China. (English article) Read Full Post…
Last month’s New York IPO filing by online retailer LightInTheBox has many predicting a new stream of Chinese listings could soon hit the market, prompting many to guess who might be next. One of the leading candidates for a near-term New York offering was Cloudary, the literature unit of online entertainment firm Shanda, though that prospect is dimming with each passing day due to recent turmoil at the company. Read Full Post…
Mutton scandal gives Yum’s Little Sheep indigestion
As if its problems weren’t bad enough in China, global fast food giant Yum (NYSE: YUM) is getting a new round of indigestion in its most profitable market from a new food safety scandal that gets my personal award for “grossest” scandal of the year. China followers will know I’m talking about the latest revelations that some unscrupulous food processors illegally treated meat from dead foxes and minks to look like mutton, and then sold the product to unsuspecting restaurants. Read Full Post…
An interesting new trend has major Chinese firms financing their global expansions with mega bond offerings, with leading brokerage Citic Securities (HKEx: 6030; Shanghai: 600030) and oil exploration giant CNOOC (HKEx: 883; NYSE: CEO) becoming the latest to tap international debt markets. This kind of overseas mega bond issue isn’t really new for Chinese firms, as many in sectors ranging from telecoms to real estate have issued similar corporate debt in the past. But what’s new now is that these latest offers are coming from companies that have made major acquisitions over the last year, and now they’re testing the markets to see if bond buyers will help to pay for those assets. Read Full Post…
This week I want to tackle the somewhat touchy subject of dating and marriage in China, following news that Shanghai is preparing to boost its assistance to anxious singles with the addition of a new event to help them find the perfect mate. That new event will see the city’s 3-year-old Love and Marriage Fair expand to a twice-yearly affair starting this year, doubling its original frequency. The third edition of the original eventwill take place on May 18 and 19 and began accepting registrations late last month, as the arrival of spring reawakens hopes of finding a partner among Shanghai’s thousands of unmarried young people. The new edition will take place in the fall. Read Full Post…
Two recent cases show that China is finally getting serious about punishment for economic crimes, a crucial step needed to clean up the nation’s often unruly business environment. The stricter punishments in both cases could mark the end of an era where such crimes faced little or no consequences, the result of lax guidelines from a socialist era when everything was state-owned. Read Full Post…
After a dismal first quarter, we’re seeing the latest signs of new life in the moribund market for offshore Chinese IPOs with the planned launch of 2 major new offerings later this week in Hong Kong. The pair of IPOs, one for brokerage Galaxy Securities and the other for a unit of oil major Sinopec (HKEx: 386; Shanghai: 600028; NYSE: SNP), could raise up to $3.5 billion combined, following a dismal first quarter for new listings. The IPOs would also come as online retailer LightInTheBox seeks to launch the year’s first public offering for a Chinese company in New York later this month. Read Full Post…
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about a “scandal” involving mineral water giant Nongfu, pointing out the case highlighted China’s confusing and often contradictory national and local standards for regulating everything from food to product warranties. Now the case has taken a new and interesting twist, with a Beijing trade group lobbying for Nongfu to be banned in the Chinese capital due to its failure to follow a national standard for bottled water. The new development underscores yet another danger of doing business in China for domestic and international firms, showing how they can face big headaches created by local rivals playing games with China’s maze of rules and regulations. Read Full Post…
