High profile smartphone maker Xioami is making headlines with word that it has purchased a stake in a unit of software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888), in what could be the first in a new wave of tie-ups for this fast-rising company that aspires to be like global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). I have to admit that I’m not exactly sure what Xiaomi hopes to do with this new tie-up, which has it purchasing around 10 percent of Kingsoft Cloud Group, which is Kingsoft’s cloud computing unit. (Chinese article) The purchase price is quite modest, with Xioami paying just $1.82 million for its 10 percent stake. There’s not much other information in the report, though it does point out that Xioami’s charismatic co-founder Lei Jun is a major stakeholder in Kingsoft.
Search Results for: ant
Yum’s China Salad Days In the Past? 百胜集团在中国的高速扩张终结？
KFC and Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) has banked on the China story for much of its growth over the last decade, building itself into one of the world’s biggest China plays by deriving more than half of its revenue from the fast-growing market. So it was almost inevitable that the company would take a big hit when the China market started to stall, which is exactly what has happened in Yum’s latest earnings report. That report saw Yum make the somewhat shocking announcement that its China same-store sales to fall around 4 percent in the fourth quarter from year-ago levels. (English article)
China 48th To Get iPhone 5 中国成为第48个发售iPhone 5的国家
Some 2 and a half months after the rest of the world got its first chance to buy the newest iPhone, Chinese consumers will finally get their chance to buy Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) latest smartphone starting in mid December. Apple formally announced the iPhone 5 will officially be available in the world’s largest mobile market starting December 14, marking the end of a long and convoluted odyssey that saw the country receive its iPhones months behind the rest of the world. No reason has been given for the huge delay, but the signs indicate the big amount of extra time was created by a massive Chinese bureaucracy and ineptitude by the nation’s 2 carriers who will formally offer the iPhone 5, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA).
China Tries New Resource M&A Approach 中国转变全球资源并购策略
New reports from Down Under are saying that China’s leading power distributor State Grid Corp has made a major purchase in Australia, a move that initially looks controversial but could actually mark the start of a smarter approach by Chinese firms to global M&A in the sensitive resource and energy sectors. State Grid, which has been on a global buying spree over the last year, has announced it is acquiring 41 percent of ElectraNet, a grid operator in the Australian state of Queensland, from a local government entity. (English article) No value of the purchase was given, but Australian media had previously reported that State Grid would pay A$500 million for the stake, equal to about $523 million.
Baidu’s Video Play, Qihoo’s Music 百度奇虎明争暗斗
New music and video moves by Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) reflect the intensifying competition between China’s dominant search engine and a fast-rising challenger, providing an interesting new form of entertainment for industry watchers. Media are reporting that Baidu has just acquired a video search and recommendation website called Jinwankansha, whose Chinese name means “What Are You Watching Tonight?” If true, the acquisition would be one of a series of recent signals that indicate Baidu is preparing to make a serious play for the online video market, potentially challenging more established players like Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). Meantime, Qihoo 360 has also formally launched its own music service tied to its fast-rising search business, in what looks like a direct shot at rival services operated by Baidu.
Youku Tudou Off To Bumpy Start 优酷土豆合并后艰难开始
Leading video sharing site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) has just released its first earnings report since its formation through the merger of the nation’s top 2 players, and the results aren’t impressing anyone too much. The numbers themselves are a bit messy, which is often the case with a newly merged company where accounting differences need to be resolved and year-ago comparisons are difficult. (results announcement) But what these results seem to show is that Youku may have overpaid significantly for Tudou. What’s more, the results also show that Youku Tudou remains highly dependent on advertising for the big bulk of its revenue, a bad sign as China’s ad market shows signs of significant slowing.
Vancl, Cloudary Take New IPO Steps 凡客与盛大文学或於明年在美上市
New signs are emerging that many Chinese firms waiting to make offshore IPOs won’t be able to take advantage of a sudden window of positive sentiment that has suddenly appeared, and instead will have to target the late first quarter or second quarter of 2013. This sudden window of opportunity has caught nearly everyone by surprise, and few if any companies have completed the necessary preparations needed to make offerings before mid-December. The period from Christmas to Chinese New Year is typically dormant for new offerings due to all the holidays, meaning most new offerings will have to wait until March to try their luck if investor sentiment remains positive for that long.
Yingli Order: Sunnier Days Ahead? 英利获大单意味未来光明？
Struggling solar panel maker Yingli (NYSE: YGE) is trying the good news-bad news approach to distract investors from its latest downbeat earnings, announcing its biggest-ever new order on the same day it released its dismal third-quarter results. Based on shareholder reaction, the approach has been quite successful, with Yingli’s stock surging more than 13 percent in Wednesday trade after both announcements came out. Investors seem to clearly be focused on the big new order, and are hoping that Yingli may actually be able to manufacture profitably by the time it delivers the solar cells to this major new customer.
Rebound Nears For US China Stocks 中概股即将反弹
After a prolonged winter, spring finally appears to be in sight for overseas-listed Chinese companies amid growing investor confidence that accounting issues that have dogged the sector for much of the last 2 years are finally in the past. The latest signs of spring are coming from telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA), which may be on the cusp of a buy-out at a nice premium; and word that infamous short seller Muddy Waters may finally be ready to cease its relentless attacks on US-listed China companies.
Unicom, China Telecom in iPhone Race 联通与电信争夺大陆iPhone 5首发
More than 2 months after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) launched its latest iPhone, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) are locked in a race to see who can offer the product first in China, in what looks more like a sad comedy of ineptitude than anything else. I usually save most of my criticism in the telecoms space for Unicom, the nation’s second largest mobile carrier that has spent most of the last 2 years more focused on a series of non-stop management reshuffles rather than any attempts to do real business. But this time I also have to save some criticism for China Telecom, China’s smallest mobile carrier, which also has looked equally inept in this latest iPhone launch.
China, US Shuffle Security Card 中美互打安全牌
New noises are coming from both China and the US on the dangers to national security posed by commercial activities in the high-tech space, as fallout continues to linger from the recent Washington decision to ban Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) from selling their equipment in the US. Some might say this new flare up in trade relations is just an extension of other recent similar tensions between Washington and Beijing, whose complaints of unfair trade against each other have accelerated over the last year. But this latest trade war looks a bit more worrisome, since it’s leveled at the high-tech sector whose products are considerably more valuable than the usual lower tech products usually involved in many of these disputes.
