Despite the many problems at car maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594), I have to admit that I admire this company for its dogged determination to follow its vision of a future powered by electric cars, even if the company may not survive long enough to see that future. The very real problems that BYD faces as it tries to realize its electric dreams were on display in its latest dismal earnings report, even as company officials spoke positively of a new push to put more electric buses on the streets in their home province of Guangdong. Meantime a separate development in the auto space could be a sign of a much-needed consolidation in China’s fragmented car market, with Dongfeng Motor (HKEx: 489) reportedly in talks to buy a smaller rival in Fujian province.
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Outlook Cloudy For Shanda 盛大前景暗淡
Things are looking cloudy for Shanda Interactive, the formerly listed entertainment company whose core online game unit appears to be going through some turmoil even as its more promising online literature unit faces its own separate headwinds. Shanda was once a superstar in its space, making headlines when it became the country’s first new media entertainment firm to make a New York IPO in 2004. But it has struggled in the last 3 years, as its core online game unit Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) saw its growth shrivel and many of its other initiatives bombed.
CNOOC’s Nexen Bid: Where’s the Noise? 中海油收购尼克森：争议在哪？
I have to admit that I’ve been quite surprised by the lack of noise coming from North American politicians in the month since Chinese oil major CNOOC (HKEx: 883; NYSE: CEO) announced its landmark plan to buy Canadian oil giant Nexen (Toronto: NXY) in a deal valued at $15.1 billion. In fact, you could say the silence over that period has been almost deafening, with the lack of noise only ending late last week when Nexen made the low-key announcement that it has scheduled a meeting on September 20 for its shareholders to vote on the deal. (English article)
Apple’s Next Targets: ZTE, Huawei, TCL 华为、中兴及TCL或成苹果下一轮专利诉讼目标
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) big courtroom victory in its smartphone patent dispute with Samsung (Seoul: 005930) could soon send a chill through China’s up-and-coming tech sector, with the US giant likely to soon file a series of similar lawsuits against companies like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). This probable new twist in Apple’s ongoing quest for global smartphone dominance would not only hit the Chinese firms financially, but would also shine a spotlight on the uncomfortable fact that most still depend strongly on foreign technology for many of their higher-end products.
Alibaba, Tencent, Ping An JV: Insuring Failure 阿里巴巴、腾讯和平安联手网上卖保险
I was quite intrigued when buzz first emerged last week about a new tie-up between Internet leaders Alibaba and Tencent (HKEx: 700) and insurance giant Ping An (HKEx: 2318; Shanghai: 601318), hoping we might see an innovative financial services tie-up between these 3 industry titans. So it came as somewhat of a disappointment when reports disclosed the companies would pool resources to simply launch a new online insurance joint venture. (English article; Chinese article)
China Eyes Mobile Internet Investment 中国或将开放移动互联网市场
New signals coming from Beijing indicate the mobile Internet could be the first area of China’s telecoms sector to open to foreign investment, following years of an informal ban on outside investment in the sensitive space. The new signs, coming from the telecoms regulator, would be consistent with recent moves over the past year that have seen Beijing officially approve new China-based cloud computing ventures backed by US technology giants IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT), both of which have an Internet focus.
Bank of China Results: Crisis Averted? 中国银行业绩：危机得以避免？
Investors have been anxiously watching for signs of a looming bad-loan crisis for China’s top banks, but the latest results from Bank of China (HKEx: 3988; Shanghai: 601398) indicate that Beijing may be looking to substitute slowing growth for a full-blow crisis. This kind of “compromise” could only happen in China, since Beijing’s position as both regulator and majority stakeholder of the major banks means it has the power to decide just how badly those lenders will suffer following a government-ordered lending binge in 2009 and 2010 that left most major players with billions of dollars in questionable loans.
Qihoo Takes on Baidu in Search 奇虎360搜索低调上线 或挑战百度龙头地位
I’ve been watching with interest these last couple of weeks as Internet software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) takes an uncharacteristically low-profile approach to its new online search service, in a clear and interesting challenge to industry titan Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Qihoo’s controversial founder Zhou Hongwei has been mostly quiet since the service’s recent debut, even as media reported the company quietly severed its long-standing relationship with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) in launching its own technology. Now it seems that Zhou, who seems to thrive on controversy, is challenging Baidu itself, though not in the way that most people might think.
Beyondsoft in New Outsourcing M&A 博彦科技加入IT外包并购行列
Less than 2 weeks after HiSoft (Nasdaq: HSFT) and VanceInfo (NYSE: VIT) announced their landmark merger agreement, we’re getting word of another significant acquisition in the IT outsourcing space with a new purchase plan by China-listed Beyondsoft (Shenzhen: 002649). The rapid announcement of 2 such major deals could indicate that much-needed consolidation is finally coming to this lucrative but highly fragmented industry, which holds the potential to produce major companies that could someday rival big Indian outsourcing firms like Infosys (Mumbai: INFY).
Youku, Tudou: No Honeymoon Ahead 优酷与土豆“婚”後将无蜜月可度
The proposed marriage between Youku (NYSE: YOKU) and Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO) looks like a done deal, with shareholders of both companies approving the union at separate meetings on the same day. (Youku announcement; Tudou announcement) So now the question becomes: what does the union mean for the longer term development of the new company, Youku Tudou, and also what does the formation of this new industry leader mean for other major players? In a nutshell, I honestly don’t think the future looks very bright for anyone, due to both individual company issues and broader industry issues as well.
Google’s Latest China Headache: Motorola 谷歌在华又遇头疼问题：摩托罗拉
The colorful love-hate relationship between Beijing and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) never seems to stop evolving, flaring up this time with extensive coverage in state-run media over big China layoffs at Google’s recently acquired Motorola cellphone unit. In all fairness, Motorola’s decision to lay off 1,400 China employees is certainly big news by itself, with the China reductions accounting for more than a third of a recently announced round of 4,000 global job cuts by Motorola. But that said, I have little doubt that domestic media are being quietly encouraged to report extensively on the cuts by Beijing leaders who still feel stung by Google’s 2010 high-profile decision to withdraw from the China online search market.
