Last week’s settlement of a high-profile trademark dispute that appeared to mark a victory for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has apparently done little to discourage others from pursuing the US tech giant in court, with 2 new cases making the headlines just days after announcement of an end to the original dispute. My only possible explanation for the strange timing in the announcement of these new cases is that perhaps the 2 plaintiffs saw that Apple agreed to pay $60 million for rights to the iPad name in China to a bankrupt company named Proview, and now think that they can perhaps get similar settlements in their own cases.
Search Results for: ant
Carlyle, Home Inns Drive Hotel Consolidation 酒店业整合加速：如家快捷和凯雷投资的并购
Consolidation is accelerating the budget hotel space with new acquisitions by industry leader Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) and private equity giant Carlyle (Nasdaq: CG), as China’s top operators look for ways to maintain their growth going amid a slowing market. This growing string of smaller deals is building up to the big story that’s likely to come in the next 2 years, when we could see a Chinese player make a global acquisition or one of the big foreign operators buy up a Chinese brand.
Weak Market Halts Jingdong Mall IPO 市场气氛冷淡冲击京东商城IPO计划
Weak investor sentiment towards overseas-listed Chinese Internet companies has claimed a major new victim in Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, which has reportedly put the brakes on a planned IPO even as it appears to be running low on cash. This new development is just the latest surprise in a tale that’s been full of mixed signals and non-stop surprises surrounding this fast-growing but money-losing company also known to many as 360Buy. It also bodes poorly for market for Chinese companies aiming to list overseas for the rest of the year, including an upcoming offering by online entertainment firm Shanda for its literature unit, Shanda Cloudary.
Banks Brace for Bad Loan Jump 银行中报坏账率料大幅上升
It’s one thing when analysts say China’s banking sector is facing a massive bad loan crises, but quite another when someone from the industry admits there is a problem, which is what has finally happened with new remarks from Bank of China’s (HKEx: 3988; Shanghai: 601988) chairman. Analysts have been warning of this problem for more than a year now, and a regulator even added his voice to the concerns last month (previous post), after China’s top banks went on a lending binge in 2009 and 2010 as part of Beijing’s 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus package.
Tencent Ties Up With Activision 腾讯牵手动视暴雪
Leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) is solidifying its place as China’s top online game company, following the announcement that it has entered into a long-term strategic alliance with US-based Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leading global game developer. (company announcement) This new tie-up is interesting for a number of reasons, marking not only the latest in a recent string of strategic moves for Tencent but also for its implications for Activision’s hugely popular World of Warcraft game, which it currently licenses to rival online game operator NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES).
Apple iPad Settlement: A Victory for China iPad商标纠纷获和解 对苹果和中国是双赢
After months of haggling, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has finally settled a high-profile trademark dispute with a bankrupt Chinese company over use of the iPad name, paving the way for the US tech giant to continue an aggressive ramp-up in a market that has become its second largest worldwide. News of this settlement looks good for not only Apple but also China, allowing the former to reclaim rights to the iPad name while showing companies that Beijing is committed to creating a business friendly environment for those who play by the rules.
More Trouble Signs in Youku, Tudou Union 优酷与土豆联姻问题重重
New signs are emerging of trouble brewing in the pending marriage of China’s top 2 online video sites, with leading site Youku (NYSE: YOKU) announcing some new top executive changes that completely ignore top managers from its future partner Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO). I previously predicted this kind of discord could quickly snowball after Youku and Tudou announced their unlikely marriage last year, due to very different leadership styles of their 2 heads, along with indications that neither leader was prepared to leave the merged company.
Dangdang Links With Tencent 当当网和腾讯联手
China’s overheated e-commerce wars are quickly becoming a game of musical chairs that has seen many top names form partnerships with other big players, including an interesting new tie-up between top-tier operator Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). This new tie-up looks quite interesting and significant, though I should also point out that it’s just the latest in a steady string of recent initiatives for Dangdang, which has also just announced the launch of a more dubious move targeting the wedding market.
China Accelerates Telecoms Opening 中国加速电信业开放
After years of protectionism that effectively locked out private investment from the sensitive telecoms sector, Beijing finally looks ready to open up the space with its release of a draft plan detailing new areas for private investors. This latest development follows signs earlier this year that the telecoms regulator was preparing to open up the sector, which many greeted with skepticism due to Beijing’s previous empty pledges to open the industry when it entered the World Trade Organization back in 2001.
New Stumbles from BYD, Sina, Qunar 比亚迪、新浪及去哪儿遭遇新问题
Chinese companies are feeling the summertime heat of a slowing home economy, with new reports emerging from an array of sectors reflecting turbulence at troubled car maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594), and also at a year-old struggling luxury goods channel operated by leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). Neither of these reports is too surprising for reasons I’ll soon explain; but perhaps a bit most worrisome are other reports saying up-and-coming online travel services site operator Qunar has also laid off some employees, in a sign that China’s economic slowdown is starting to affect even healthier companies.
Xiaomi’s Mega-Funding: Investor Exit Near
The news keeps coming thick and fast for Xiaomi, arguably China’s hottest company right now in the overheated tech space, which has just raised a tidy $216 millon in funding as its low-cost, high-performance smartphones become the latest must-have item in China’s mobile market. That kind of new funding for young high-tech companies hasn’t been seen in China for nearly a year now due to concerns about an Internet bubble, making this capital injection all the more impressive for a company like Xiaomi which only launched its first product last fall. The big size of the funding leads me to suspect that Xiaomi’s investors are aiming to boost not only the company’s manufacturing capacity and profile, but also its valuation in the run-up to either an IPO or perhaps a sale of the company as early as by the end of this year.
