I had to smile this morning when I read the latest reports on Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), one of China’s oldest web firms, which I’m officially christening as “China’s biggest little Internet company” following word that it plans to make an IPO for its Sogou search engine. If readers note some sarcasm in my tone, it’s certainly there. But at the same time, I do have a certain level of fascination with this company, which seems determined to spin off as many of its units as possible into separate publicly listed companies.
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US Finalizes China Solar Tariffs 中国输美光伏产品遭倾销终裁
President Obama’s election victory has dominated US headlines over the last 2 days, but Washington showed it was still hard at work with news that the US trade watchdog has finalized punitive anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese solar panel makers. In a way, this kind of quiet ending seems appropriate for a drawn-out process that began more than a year ago with a Congressional probe into a bankrupt US solar firm. With this trade issue now resolved, China, which produces more than half of the world’s solar panels, can now focus on simply saving an industry that is bleeding cash due to a huge oversupply glut.
Hotel Growth Story Sputters 酒店业增长停滞
Hotel operators must surely remember 2010 with fondness, as the year that saw Shanghai host the World Expo also saw their business boom with room prices rising by 20 percent or more and occupancy rates near 100 percent. But much has changed over the last 2 years, as reflected by the latest uninspired results from 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN) and China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT), 2 of the nation’s biggest budget hotel chain operators.
Shanghai Street View: Revolutionizing Breakfast 沪经动向：早餐革新
Shanghai’s historical place as a mixing point between east and west has burnished the city’s reputation as a hub of revolution and experimentation, which is appearing now on the breakfast table as a leading local food group tries to sell Shanghainese on western-style breakfast cereal. Shanghai watchers will know of course that I’m talking about local food superstar Bright Food Group, which has just closed its purchase of a controlling stake of British breakfast cereal giant Weetabix for more than $1 billion.
Shanda Seeks Stability in New President 盛大集团任命新总裁，求稳定
If ever there was an Internet company that seems full of lost potential, it would be online entertainment firm Shanda Group, whose temperamental founder Chen Tianqiao is both one of the company’s greatest assets but also its greatest liabilities. After years of storminess that have left Shanda as a company rich in assets but poor in performance, Chen finally seems to want to give his firm a better chance at success with the naming of a new president in the form of a Taiwanese investment banker named Robert Chiu. (Chinese article)
Walmart Overhauls Yihaodian 沃尔玛整合一号店管理层
There are a few interesting news bits on the e-commerce front, led by word that Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is busy overhauling the management at its newly acquired Yihaodian online store, in what looks like a questionable move that could set the company up for failure. Meantime, media are also reporting that the e-commerce arm of Tencent (HKEx: 700) is launching a direct assault on Jingdong Mall, in the latest chapter of China’s never-ending online price wars.
Online Search: More Growth for Qihoo, Sogou 奇虎360和搜狗继续抢占搜索市场份额
Recent gains in online search by Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou are in the headlines today, highlighting the challenges industry leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is facing from a new rival that is quickly gaining momentum and an older rival that also appears to be gaining some traction. At the center of the story is new data for October showing that Qihoo controlled nearly 10 percent of the China search market, just 3 months after the company launched an innovative new search engine. (previous post) Meantime, Sohu’s Sogou search engine, launched nearly a decade ago, also posted a respectable 7.5 percent share, as it reported its search revenue more than doubled in its latest reporting quarter.
LDK Rescue Continues With CEO Removal 赛维LDK首席执行官易主
After a week of unusual quiet on the stormy solar panel front, the sector is splashing back into the headlines with word that struggling LDK (NYSE: LDK) is moving one step closer to a state-led takeover of the debt laden company. Meantime, China is also taking its own broader moves against recent protectionist actions in the west by lodging an official complaint at the World Trade Organization against what it is calling unfair treatment of its companies in Europe.
Optimism Returns to US China Stocks 乐观情绪回归中概股
Three of China’s leading tech companies have just posted results, with online travel services firm Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), chip maker SMIC (HKEx: 981) and web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) all providing reports with very mixed messages. But perhaps most interesting is the fact that shares for all 3 firms rallied sharply in response to the reports, in the latest sign that investors may finally be ready to return to this battered group of companies that has suffered for nearly 2 years due to a series of accounting scandals. If that’s the case, we could perhaps be looking at a nice rally for shares of many firms, especially some of the sector leaders, and we could also see a flurry of new IPOs following a hiatus of more than a year.
Baidu’s Video Buy-Out: Xunlei Tie-Up Ahead? 百度收购私募所持爱奇艺股份 为战略入股迅雷前奏？
Fresh on the release of disappointing quarterly results, online search giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is providing yet another news bit that looks like a disappointment on the surface but could be paving the way for an interesting new tie-up in the fast-growing online video space. Company watchers will know I’m talking about Baidu’s latest aborted partnership outside its core search business, with word that the company is buying out Providence Equity Partners from their online video partnership called iQiyi (company announcement; Chinese article).
Cars: New Tie-Ups in Web, R&D AutoTrader收购易车控股股权 奇瑞牵手广汽
A couple of interesting news bits are coming from the auto space, where a top foreign website operator is buying into the China car story, and where 2 major domestic manufacturers are set to announce a new tie-up. The former news is seeing US-based AutoTrader purchase a stake in Chinese peer BitAuto (Nasdaq: BITA), reflecting the arrival of a new generation of auto-related foreign firms to the fast-growing Chinese auto market; meantime, the second news is seeing a new R&D tie-up between Chery Automobile and Guangzhou Auto (HKEx: 2238), reflecting the industry’s overheated state and perhaps signaling the resumption of a stalled but much-needed consolidation.
