I don’t know about other people, but I’m getting increasingly tired of China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) non-stop string of word games as it aggressively pushes the country’s telecoms regulator to quickly issue 4G licenses that will allow it to offer a commercial 4G wireless service. But perhaps my frustration would be more appropriately directed at the telecoms regulator itself, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), whose massive bureaucracy means it often takes ridiculously long periods to approve just about anything, putting China’s telecoms market at a major disadvantage to global peers.
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Sinopec Buys, Investors Pay 中石化并购 投资者买单
China’s oil and resource companies have been on a buying binge over the last year, snapping up global assets at what look like relative bargains from cash-strapped global companies under pressure to raise money. Beijing has been paying the bills for most of the purchases so far, but the latest announcement from oil refining giant Sinopec (HKEx: 386; Shanghai: 600028; NYSE: SNP) indicates that China may be testing the waters to see if investors are willing to help pay some of the bill in this global buying binge. If that’s the case, Beijing may soon face some major resistance from its major resource companies’ shareholders, who are likely to question whether Sinopec and other Chinese resource firms are getting good value for their money.
Baidu, Sohu Results: Ad Market Stabilizing 百度、搜狐财报：广告市场趋稳
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) are kicking off the China Internet earnings season with results that don’t look particularly exciting but do appear to show some early signs that China’s collapsing advertising market may be near a bottom. If that’s the case, look for the situation to stabilize and start to rebound as early as the second quarter for advertising-dependent firms, perhaps providing a good buying opportunity as spending starts to pick up around the middle of the year.
Shanghai Street View: Wedding Excess 沪经动向：婚礼过度
This week I thought I’d write about a topic that’s become quite popular these last few years, and also quite expensive and a bit excessive in my view: the big-ticket wedding. Before I start with the news item that was the basis for this column, the controversial opening of designer Vera Wang’s first China bridal shop here in Shanghai, I’d like to start by talking about the many things that I like about Chinese weddings. Like their counterparts in the west, Chinese weddings can come with a wide range of traditions for the bride and groom to choose from, which are both fun and add to the air of festivity with minimal extra cost.
Cars: BAIC IPO, Geely Goes Electric 北汽将上市 吉利进军电动车
News bits from the automobile space indicate the long-awaited IPO by Beijing-based car maker BAIC Motor may finally be coming soon, while the struggling Geely (HKEx: 175) is chasing a couple of distracting new initiatives in the electric vehicle and overseas markets. Let’s start with the BAIC news, as that looks the most interesting since it could provide investors with an interesting IPO opportunity later this year.
Baidu-Qihoo Spat Heats Up 奇虎和百度硝烟再起
The unspoken war between online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and challenger Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is taking on a new wrinkle with word that Baidu may be trying to get its advertisers to stop using Qihoo’s popular web browser. I personally find this war of words quite entertaining, though I do also think that Qihoo could better spend its time focusing on doing business rather than accusing others of trying to thwart it through this kind of underhanded tactic. Qihoo, after all, is the master of the underhanded business tactic, which has resulted in numerous lawsuits and complaints being leveled against the company over the years.
China: An M&A Obstructionist 中国：并购阻挠者
Just when China was improving its reputation as a global arbiter of fair trade, a recent string of delays is throwing an embarrassing spotlight on just how opaque and bureaucratic the country’s deal approval process remains for global mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Beijing needs to move quickly to reverse this worrisome trend that has seen China hold up a growing number of global deals. Otherwise, China risks gaining a reputation as an obstructionist to the natural flow of global deal making.
Huawei In New Iran, EU Setbacks 华为再陷负面新闻中
News for certain companies seems to come in waves, which has certainly been the case for embattled telecoms equipment giant Huawei these past couple of weeks. After a period of relative quiet, Huawei made upbeat headlines last week by reporting a 33 percent rise in annual profit, reversing a decline the previous year due to sluggish global telecoms spending. It enjoyed more positive headlines earlier this week when data tracking firm IDC reported that the company’s smartphone business zoomed in the fourth quarter of last year, making Huawei the world’s third largest manufacturer after industry leaders Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). (previous post)
Ctrip Stabilizes, Growth Ahead 携程业绩企稳 利润有望恢复增长
When is a 24 percent drop in net profit a good thing? The answer to that question should usually be “never”, but in the case of online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), the company’s latest drop in quarterly profit appears to be encouraging investors that a recent round of price wars in the sector is starting to ease. That would be good news not only for Ctrip, but also for rivals like eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) and up-and-comers like Baidu-invested (Nasdaq: BIDU) Qunar, which have been engaged in a stiff battle for market share for much of the last year.
LDK, Canadian Solar Get New Loans 江西赛维、阿特斯太阳能获得新贷款
A couple of items from the struggling solar panel sector are showing how the industry is limping forward, receiving minor rescue loans to continue funding operations while manufacturers await a bigger rescue package from Beijing. I can only guess that the bigger package, which has been talked about for much of the last half year, will finally be rolled out by the middle of this year. That will finally allow the industry to try and put itself on more sustainable long-term footing instead of continuing to limp forward in this current state of malaise.
Monster’s ChinaHR in HR Standoff 中华英才网陷入裁员风波
Chinese employees are quickly discovering that working at a major foreign firm doesn’t necessarily guarantee lifetime employment, even when that firm is a top global name like online employment specialist Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW). Less than 3 months after announcing plans to exit the China market through sale of its local subsidiary, ChinaHR, Monster is quickly discovering that many of its Chinese employees hardly expected that they could ever be laid off and are refusing to accept the company’s plans to offer them severance packages. (English article)
