China’s 2 main fixed-line broadband carriers, China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), are revving up for a big push into the television market, in what looks like a smart play for a product area that may finally be mature enough to find an audience. My main concern for both of these companies lies in execution, especially for Unicom, which has shown a poor record for implementing new businesses due to organizational dysfunction at the management level. But let’s come back to that issue later, and focus first on the bigger picture that has China Telecom and Unicom putting out tenders for a combined 6.2 million set-top boxes since August as part of their drive to install their IPTV service in millions of Chinese homes. (Chinese article) That number by itself isn’t all too large, but it does seem to indicate that both companies could quickly order more boxes if they find strong demand for their product.
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Toyota China Sales Plunge 40 Pct 丰田9月在华汽车销量下降40%
We’ve been hearing for weeks now how bad things for Japanese automakers in China due to diplomatic tensions over a territorial dispute, and now we’re finally starting to see some numbers that underscore just how serious the situation is. So now the questions becomes: How long will this sales crisis last, and who are the most obvious winners and losers? I’ll get to that issue in a moment, but first let’s have a look at the news coming from Toyota (Tokyo: 7203), which said its China sales plunged 40 percent in September as Sino-Japanese tensions flared over the ownership of a small chain of islands known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku. (English article)
Huawei Mulls IPO to Sooth Critics
Telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies is reportedly considering an overseas public listing in a bid to become more transparent and quiet western critics who suspect it’s a spying arm of Beijing. The move would be the latest in a series by Huawei and crosstown rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shanghai: 000063) in their ongoing campaigns to win more business in lucrative western markets where they have met with strong political resistance. But while an IPO may excite investors, such a move is unlikely to sway Huawei’s more politically-focused critics who can point to numerous similar cases of major Chinese companies whose publicly listed status hardly means independence from Beijing.
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News Digest: October 6-8 报摘： 2012年10月6-8日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China’s Huawei Considers an IPO (English article)
- HiSoft (Nasdaq: HSFT), VanceInfo (NYSE: VIT) Set Shareholder Votes on Merger (PRNewswire)
- Qunar Marketing VP Resigns (English article)
- Toyota (Tokyo: 7203) China Sales Tumble As Islands Row Hits Japan Inc (English article)
- Foxconn (HKEx: 2038) Denies China iPhone Plant Hit By Strike (English article)
F&P Rebuffs Haier, New Bid Coming? 斐雪派克拒绝海尔，会出现新收购价吗？
In what looks suspiciously like a game of “good cop, bad cop”, independent directors of New Zealand home appliance maker Fisher & Paykel (NZ: FPA) have just recommended that the company’s shareholders reject a takeover offer from Chinese home appliance giant Haier (HKEx: 1169) because it is too low. I use the expression “good cop, bad cop” here to refer to a tactic often used by salesmen working in pairs when trying to confuse a buyer into paying a higher price for something. One salesman typically plays the role of “good cop”, acting like he’s the buyer’s friend and trying to get him the best deal, while the other plays the role of “bad cop”, demanding a higher price. In reality, both salesmen have the same goal in mind, namely getting the buyer to pay a higher price.
Govt Comes to Suntech’s Rescue 政府拯救尚德
New reports of a government-sponsored rescue package being assembled for for fast-sinking Suntech (NYSE: STP) and other major solar firms highlight everything that’s wrong with China’s struggling solar sector, most notably exposing the ridiculous levels of state report it receives. At this point the Chinese seem to no longer care about denying the allegations of unfair government support made by their western peers, and instead are focused on simple survival as the industry remains caught in its worst ever downturn created by a massive supply glut. The western allegations have only made the situation worse for the Chinese, as both the US and the European Union have launched probes that are likely to result in punitive tariffs for Chinese-made solar cells imported into those markets.
Medtronic Swallows Kanghui, More M&A on Tap?
I’ve written lots about the huge potential that China offers for drug makers as Beijing rolls out a multibillion-dollar reform of the country’s medical system. But there’s also huge potential for medical equipment makers, whose devices will fill the thousands of smaller local clinics being set up as part of a massive national plan to provide basic medical coverage to hundreds of millions of Chinese who lack access to such services. That potential was on display with the announcement by US-based Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), one of the world’s top medical equipment suppliers, that it would buy New York-listed Chinese peer Kanghui Holdings (NYSE: KH) for a nifty $816 million, in what looks like the biggest acquisition of a Chinese medical device firm by a western company.
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2013: The Year of TD Wireless?
A flurry of new signals from the public and private sectors are all indicating that TD, a home-grown Chinese technology for third- and fourth-generation wireless mobile services, may finally be gaining momentum after several years of languishing, providing a welcome boost for China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), the technology’s main proponent. The latest news bits include word that China Mobile itself is preparing to purchase large volumes of handsets that can operate on the 4G standard known as TD-LTE, and that global smartphone chip leader Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) will roll out a highly anticipated TD chip by the end of the year. From the regulatory end, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which oversees the telecoms sector, is also reportedly preparing to finalize its spectrum plans for TD-LTE and 4G in general within the next month.
Solar Day of Reckoning Nears
Despite China’s best efforts to avoid it, a much needed day of reckoning seems to be drawing nearer for the bloated global solar panel industry, which should include a major shake-up for Chinese firms that supply over half the world’s output. The latest signs of a looming judgment day are coming in news that US firm MiaSole has just agreed to be purchased by a Chinese buyer, and from Chinese giant LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), which disclosed it has received a brief reprieve from its lenders for repayment of its rapidly souring debt.
Short Seller War of Words Heats Up 做空机构舌战升温
It may be a holiday in China, but there’s been no break in an increasingly entertaining war of words between 2 prominent short sellers and the US-listed Chinese firms they have been targeting in credibility-related attacks for more than a year now. The latest chapter in this saga has seen educational services firm New Oriental (NYSE: EDU), the most recent company to come under attack, just release a report saying an investigation by independent auditors found no evidence of wrongdoing related to allegations raised by short seller Muddy Waters. (company announcement) But as it released its report, Muddy Waters itself fired back by attacking one of New Oriental’s independent auditors, who just happens to be China’s richest man and the founder of leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Robin Li.
China Gets Serious on Solar Energy 中国政府开始拯救光伏行业
After talking for much of the past year about plans to develop its solar power industry, Beijing may finally be starting to transform its words into action based on the latest signals coming from mid-sized panel maker JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) and an unusual move by leading US manufacturer First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR). These 2 developments are interesting from a number of angles, as they could provide a welcome lifeline to the struggling global solar panel sector and also help to diffuse trade tensions with the west, which accuses China of unfairly subsidizing its industry. But before those tensions can really ease, Beijing will have to show it won’t favor its own solar panel makers in bidding for new China-based projects at the expense of western rivals. It will also have to take more concrete steps to wean its sector from the kinds of unfair subsidies behind the western complaints, including policies like low interest loans and export rebates.
