The headlines are buzzing today with news that Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) will formally close its China-based email service, in the latest sign that the company may soon withdraw from China completely. Such a move wouldn’t come as a big surprise, since Yahoo’s recently named new CEO has been making some major changes in a bid to revive the struggling former Internet pioneer. One of those moves is likely to see Yahoo withdraw from many of its secondary markets to focus on its core operations in the US. Read Full Post…
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China Mobile Scraps Taiwan Tie-Up
My first reaction to reading the news that mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941) had formally scrapped a 4-year-old plan to buy a stake in Taiwanese peer Far EasTone (Taipei: 4904) was: What took them so long? In fact, I wasn’t even aware that China Mobile still even considered this tie-up alive, as the deal attracted controversy from the moment the 2 sides announced it in 2009. This formal scrapping of the deal does seem to represent a milestone of sorts, as it shows that we won’t see any M&A in the sensitive telecoms sectors across the Taiwan Strait anytime soon despite ever warming ties between China and Taiwan. Read Full Post…
Suntech Eyes Italy Asset Sale, LDK Defaults
A restructuring storm continues to blow through China’s battered solar sector, with word of a potential major asset sale by Suntech (NYSE: STP) and a debt default by LDK (NYSE: LDK). Of these 2 news bits, the Suntech one is easily the most interesting as it finally helps to make sense of reports last week that billionaire investor Warren Buffett might want to buy the former solar superstar that last month declared bankruptcy. But Suntech investors will be disappointed to learn the latest reports don’t seem to include a major cash infusion from Buffett, who isn’t really known for investing in such troubled assets. Read Full Post…
IPOs: LightInTheBox Files, China Auto Reawakens
After nearly half a year of inactivity, signs of a spring for China IPOs in New York are finally appearing with the first public filing by an online retailer named LightInTheBox. At the same time, auto rental specialist China Auto Rental has just formed an important new tie-up with global peer Hertz (NYSE: HTZ), leading media to speculate the company could soon restart its IPO that it aborted more than a year ago due to weak market sentiment. I have to say that both of these potential IPOs caught me a bit by surprise, as neither was the kind of exciting deal I was looking for to rekindle interest in the moribund market for new Chinese listings. Read Full Post…
Shanghai Street View: Flower Frenzy
It seems slightly strange to be writing this week on something as frivolous as flower festivals when Shanghai is at the heart of what could become a major outbreak of H7N9 bird flu with the potential to go global . But that said, many readers may welcome such a diversion to the daily reports on all the latest cases, alongside related reports about the closure of live bird markets and other affected businesses. Read Full Post…
Wanda Goes To Hollywood With Dolby
Following its landmark purchase of a major US theater chain last year, real estate giant Wanda has embarked on a spending spree to upgrade its new facilities with a major new deal to buy state-of-the-art sound systems from Dolby (NYSE: DLB). The move is the latest in a steady stream of big announcements over the last year that has suddenly thrust one of China’s top real estate companies onto the global stage, as it looks to become one of the world’s biggest theater chain operators. Read Full Post…
New Smartphone Moves From Alibaba, China Mobile
We’re seeing some interesting new moves in the smartphone space from e-commerce leader Alibaba and dominant carrier China Mobile, as each makes big new bets in the fast-evolving area. Alibaba is launching its mobile operating system (OS) on a new series of smartphones with several Chinese partners, following a similar aborted attempt last year. China Mobile, meanwhile, is planning a major overhaul for its popular but rapidly aging Fetion mobile messaging service, in an attempt to compete with newer, more popular third-party apps like Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat. Read Full Post…
News Digest: April 17
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Restructures Fetion Mobile Messaging Service (Chinese article)
- Wanda Cinemaline Selects Dolby (NYSE: DLB) Atmos for X-Land Giant Screen (Businesswire)
- Alibaba Announces New Handsets, Rebranded OS (English article)
- LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Announces Partial Nonpayment for Convertible Notes (PRNewswire)
- CNNIC: China’s 2012 Online Shopping GMV Up 67 Pct YoY (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
HSBC Continues China Banking Divorce
A new media report says global banking giant HSBC (HKEx: 5; London: HSBA) is likely to sell-off more of its Chinese assets, continuing an ongoing divorce by top global lenders tired of slow progress in the complex China market. This latest report doesn’t have any specific insider knowledge of a looming sale, but rather quotes analysts saying such a move is likely. (English article) Still, such disposals seem both likely and logical, following HSBC’s sale last year of its 15.6 percent holdings in Ping An Insurance (HKEx: 2318; Shanghai: 601318) after years of inability to get any strategic returns out of the tie-up. Read Full Post…
Overeager Regulators Spring On Nongfu
A new “scandal” involving a popular brand of bottled water is casting an embarrassing spotlight on China’s tendency to over-regulate many consumer goods and services, creating confusion among the very people such oversight was meant to protect. China should see this case as a wake-up call and take steps to unify and streamline its complex and sometimes contradictory regulatory system. Otherwise it risks a continuing stream of similar “scandals” that will bruise the country’s reputation as a good place to do business, and needlessly worry consumers. Read Full Post…
Banks Complete Buy-Back, More Coming?
New statements from 2 of China’s top 4 banks indicate a recent share buyback by their state-owned controlling stakeholder is done, raising the question of just how effective the program was and whether we might see more similar buybacks soon. Based on my own quick analysis, the program does seem have had some limited positive effect, with Shanghai-listed shares of both ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) and Agricultural Bank of China (HKEx: 1288; Shanghai: 601288) outperforming the market over the last 6 months during the program period. Read Full Post…
