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Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG) has scored an important victory in its plans to expand in South China with approval for a new $2 billion-plus joint venture factory, a development that also has broader implications for China’s drive to nurture a new group of homegrown brands for eventual export. In this latest development, VW has received the green light to build a new joint venture plant with local partner FAW in the South China city of Foshan after a one-year delay, the China Daily reports. The state planner finally gave the green light after determining that a new electric vehicle, to be manufactured under the Kaili brand name at the plant, qualifies as a new brand — a prerequisite for approval of such new joint venture factories. This approval marks an important step forward for VW, which is already well represented in most of China through its ventures with FAW and Shanghai’s SAIC (Shanghai: 600104), but counts affluent South China as one of its weak spots, with Japanese automakers and local players like BYD (HKEx: 1211) and Guangzhou Auto (HKEx: 2238) now dominating the market. From the broader perspective, approval of this venture also reflects Beijing’s desire to push foreign automakers to develop new “made in China” brands with their local partners. GM (NYSE: GM) and Nissan have both rolled out such brands over the last year, and very early signs are that their sales are going well, drawing on the quality assurance of a foreign partner while bringing the low costs of the “made in China” label. If this plan moves forward, and early signs are certainly good, this new crop of homegrown brands with foreign backing could serve as an eventual springboard into lucrative Western markets where consumers value both quality and low prices.

Bottom line: Approval of VW’s new South China plant marks an important advance for VW, and reflects Beijing’s desire to develop a new crop of homemade brands for eventual export.

德国大众汽车<VOWG.DE>进军中国南方市场的努力取得重要胜利，其计划在南方建一个20亿美元合资工厂的项目获中国政府批准，这对於努力想将本土品牌推向国际市场的中国来说，此举也有重大意义。据《中国日报》报导，在拖延了一年後，一汽大众佛山工厂终於获批。一汽大众此款电动车品牌定名为“开利”，满足了自主品牌等相关要求，因此获国家发改委批复。这对於大众来说是其前进的重要一步，大众通过与一汽和上海汽车<600104.SS>成立合资公司，在中国大部分市场已有良好发展，但其在富庶的中国南部市场却乏善可陈，日系汽车厂商、比亚迪<1211.HK>和广汽集团<2238.HK>等当地汽车厂商目前主导南方市场。从更广泛义的意义来说，批准合资工厂，说明中国政府希望能利用外资汽车生产商的力量，与本土合作夥伴一起开发“中国制造”品牌。去年，通用汽车<GM.N>和日产都推出了类似品牌，初步数据显示，它们的销量都不错，因为一方面有外国制造商的质量保证，另一方面有本土合作方，可以降低成本。如果这个计划得以推行，这批得到外资支持的本土品牌将成为最终走向西方市场的跳板，因西方消费者既看中品质，又希望获得低价。

一句话：大众在中国南方建厂的计划获批对其意义重大，也说明中国希望能打造可以走向国际市场的本土品牌。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Autos: Good Times Screech to a Halt 中国汽车业：当繁荣已成往事

◙ GM’s China Growth Story Stalls Out 通用汽车在华增长势头受挫

◙ China Takes Car Incentives to the Farm to Halt Skid

I read with amusement that wind power producer Huaneng Renewables (HKEx: 958) stumbled out of the gate in its Hong Kong debut on Friday with a 3 percent decline from an already cheap IPO price, as investors fretted over recent news that China will halt subsidies to makers of wind power equipment and components. (English article) Honestly speaking, I couldn’t understand what all the worry was about as Huaneng is a power generating company, not an equipment maker that may see some slight impact from China’s subsidy-ending move. Clearly big names like General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Temasek didn’t worry about the company’s prospects, as both came in as cornerstone investors to this IPO. So let’s look at the big picture here to see why this investment is a sure-fire winner: China has set a massively aggressive goal to have 110 gigawatts of wind power capacity installed by 2015, nearly triple the current figure. Huaneng, as the nation’s largest power producer, will clearly be called upon to help implement this aggressive target. To make that proposition attractive to Huaneng shareholders, which include the Chinese government, Beijing has already introduced attractive rates for wind power tariffs that offer attractive returns for investors. If it really wants to encourage investment in the area to meet its target, it could even increase those rates, offering a potential upside for wind power producers. At the end of the day, anyone betting against this company should have a better reason than concern about loss of subsidies, as Huaneng Renewables’ profits should be strong and steady over the next 5 years.

Bottom line: Huaneng Renewables could be a good buy following its weak Hong Kong debut, as it looks set to cash in on China’s aggressive wind power goals.

我饶有兴趣地发现，中国风力发电企业–华能新能源股份有限公司<0958.HK>周五在香港的首日挂牌交易中便出师不利，收市价比本已非常便宜的发行价下跌了3%，因最近市场传言称中国将停止对风电设备和零件生产商的补贴，投资者对此颇为担心。实话说，我无法理解为何会出现这种担心，因为华能是一家发电企业，并不是可能因中止补贴政策而受到一定冲击的设备生产商。很明显，通用电气<GE.N>和淡马锡等知名企业并不担心华能的前景，因两者均为华能此次IPO的基础投资者。那麽让我们来看看大背景，看看这笔投资为什麽一定会成功：中国制定了在2015年前实现风电装机容量1.1亿千瓦的宏伟目标，是现有水平的近三倍。作为中国最大的发电企业，华能势必需要为实现这一目标而添砖加瓦。为获得华能股东的支持，中国政府推出了具有吸引力的风电并网电价，以使投资者能获得较好回报率。如果中国政府真得希望鼓励风电领域投资，以实现上述目标，那麽甚至还可能提高风电并网电价，以使风电企业获得潜在优势。最终，不看好这家企业的人应该有更好的理由，而不是担心补贴被取消，因华能在未来五年的利润应会强劲而稳定。

一句话：华能新能源香港上市首日表现不佳，不影响它的潜力股地位，因其料会受益於中国宏伟的风电发展目标。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Ming Yang Headwinds Spotlight Sector Woes 明阳挫折凸显行业之殇

◙ Longyuan Looks to Breeze Overseas 龙源电力寻找海外风能市场机遇

◙ Beijing Warms Up Solar Sector 中国政府向太阳能产业伸出援手

Just a couple of weeks after launching a campaign to reignite growth with a new foray into smartphones, Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) is taking another step on that front with its purchase of a designer specializing in chips for high-speed cellphones. Spreadtrum says it will buy 48 percent of Mobile Peak Holdings, which makes chips for the cutting-edge HSPA standard, for total consideration of $32.6 million, and intends to buy out the entire company by the end of the year. (company announcement) The announcement contains no other financials, though Spreadtrum says that Mobile Peak’s business is strong enough that Spreadtrum won’t see any impact on its EPS outlook this year, which tells me that Mobile Peak should be an instant contributor to profits and revenue. This kind of mid-sized M&A is exactly the kind of deal I like to see, targeting a company that’s small enough to quickly integrate in an area that Spreadtrum has clearly identified for future growth. Investors seem to be less convinced, with Spreadtrum stock down more than 20 percent over the last two weeks amid a broader cooling sentiment toward China stocks. Given Spreadtrum CEO Leo Li’s earlier record at reviving this company’s fortunes more than a year ago, I’d give this latest initiative a good chance of success and look for returns on this smartphone push as soon as the end of this year.

Bottom line: Spreadtrum’s acquisition of a mid-sized HSPA chip designer is a shrewd part of its new foray into smartphones that could start to pay returns by the end of this year.

仅在一两周前，展讯通信（Spreadtrum）<SPRD.O>为寻找新的增长点，宣布进军智能手机市场，现在该公司已采取行动，即收购专为高速手机设计芯片的公司。展讯称，公司将收购摩波彼克(Mobile Peak Holdings)公司48%的股权，交易总额为3,260万美元，并打算在年底前实现完全控股，摩波彼克专业致力於高度集成UMTS/HSPA+调制解调器芯片组的设计工作。展讯的声明并未透露更多财务内容，但表示摩波彼克业务非常强劲，不会对展讯今年每股收益产生任何影响。这等於告诉我，摩波彼克将立即为展讯创造利润及营收。这种中等规模的并购才是我最希望看到的，收购一个小型公司，迅速整合到公司已确定未来增长的领域。投资者似乎信心不足，在投资者对中国股票热情降温的大环境下，展讯股价在过去两周跌幅逾20%。鉴於展讯执行长李力游一年前曾给公司带来的不俗表现，我认为展讯并购举措成功机率很高，并预计公司最快将在今年年底前看到收益。

一句话：展讯收购中等规模的HSPA芯片设计商，是其进军智能手机市场的明智之举，今年年底前有望看到回报。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Spreadtrum Tries Getting Smart to Reignite Growth 展讯进军智能手机市场是明智之举

◙ Asustek Chases Convergence in New Padfone 华硕推出Padfone 整合智能手机和平板电脑

◙ China Mobile Finally Pushing on 3G 中国移动终於要大力推动3G业务

China is plugging ahead with its determination to consolidate the country’s fragmented cable TV industry, aiming to build a national digital entertainment leader despite strong resistance from entrenched provincial interests. In the latest development on this front, local media are reporting that Hunan TV & Broadcast (Shenzhen: 000917) has agreed to buy 49 percent of Baoding Pascali Broadcasting, a major operator in nearby Hebei province. (English article) This deal looks significant as it’s one of the first publicly announced cross-provincial purchases I’ve seen in this latest consolidation drive, which began earlier this year. (previous post) By comparison, consolidation within a province looks relatively easy as local party bosses and government officials exercise considerable authority throughout their regions. The same can’t be said for the national government, whose control is much weaker at the provincial level, thereby posing what could become a major obstacle for national cable consolidation. I previously pegged the chances for success of this latest campaign, following a failed effort five years ago, at around 30-40 percent, and later upped that to 50 percent when there appeared to be some signs of movement. (previous post) I’ll revise that to 55 percent in light of this latest development. But big obstacles still remain despite this positive case, and one should note the Hubei company didn’t get an outright majority stake in the deal. With China coming under growing international pressure to make its media market more open, perhaps Beijing is realizing the only way it can ever hope to build any world class competitors in this space is through this kind of consolidation.

Bottom line: The purchase of a Hebei cable operator by a Hunan rival marks a significant cross-province tie-up in China’s latest cable TV consolidation drive, but many obstacles still remain.

虽然受到来自地方的阻力，但中国政府仍决心大力整合有线电视行业，旨在创造一个全国性的数字娱乐媒体巨头。据当地媒体报导，最近的一个举动是，湖南电广传媒<000917.SZ>已同意收购保定百世开利49%的股权。这笔交易意义重大，因为这是我在这场年初开始的整合大潮中看到的首个公开宣布的跨省并购案之一。相比之下，省内的并购相对要容易一些，因为地方党政机关部门对其所管辖的区域能施加相当大的权力。但中央政府对地方的控制力就会相对弱一些，这将对跨区域整合造成相当大的障碍。我以前曾经觉得这种交易的可能性也就有三四成，後来发现有些进展迹象後，我将成功机率提高到50%，鉴於最新的这个进展，我再次将成功机率上修为55%。虽然这笔交易成功了，但一些大的障碍仍然存在，而且应该注意到的是，该公司并没有得到多数股权。如今中国在开放媒体市场方面受到越来越多来自国际社会的压力，中国政府也意识到，只有通过这种整合方式，才能在媒体领域打造世界级的公司。

一句话：湖南电广传媒购买河北这家有线电视运营商的举动，标志中国有线电视跨区域整合终有斩获，但障碍依然存在。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Cable Consolidation: Second Time the Charm? 中国有线电视行业整合势头正劲

◙ China Makes Up Its Mind: Cable Consolidation 中国终於下决心：有线电视行业整合

Ever since Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) officially cut ties to its popular Weibo microblogging service earlier this year, it seems like Weibo has been making strategic and innovative moves on nearly a weekly basis as it looks to monetize its business for what Sina hopes will eventually become a blockbuster IPO. In one of the latest moves, Chinese media are reporting that Weibo has entered into an agreement with China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) that will see China’s third-largest mobile carrier make Weibo easier for its subscribers to access from their cellphones. (English article) This is exactly the kind of agreement that Weibo should be pursuing, as mobile Internet is clearly the direction that microblogging is moving. I’d be even happier if Weibo signed a similar deal with China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHA), the country’s largest mobile carrier with 70 percent of the market, or even the second biggest carrier, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU). But let’s give Weibo some time. The second recent development will see Weibo launch an English-language service, presumably for foreigners who want to access to this wildly popular service but can’t read Chinese. The only problem is, there’s already a much better English language microblogging service out there: Twitter. And as anyone in China will tell you, the primary reason that Weibo has flourished in the first place is because Beijing officially blocks Twitter in China. Sure, maybe there are one or two foreigners living in China who would rather use an English language Weibo than finding other ways around the Chinese firewall to use the real Twitter. But those people are few and far between, and Weibo would be better served to focus on its home market and leave the English language world to Twitter.

Bottom line: Weibo’s tie-up with China Telecom is the kind of move it needs to make in its march to profitability, while its introduction of an English service is a complete waste of time.

自从新浪<SINA.O>今年稍早将其微博业务剥离出去後，新浪微博似乎每周都推出战略创新之举，新浪希望，微博业务最终能进行首次公开发行（IPO）。中国媒体近期报导称，新浪微博与中国电信<CHA.N>达成协议，中国电信用户通过手机访问微博将更方便。这的确是新浪微博应该开展的合作，手机上网显然是微博的发展方向。不过，若新浪微博与中国移动<0941.HK><CHL.N>或中国联通<0762.HK><CHU.N>签约，我会更高兴。但让我们给新浪微博一点时间。新浪近期第二项举措是，将推出英文版微博，针对的用户群可能是，想使用新浪微博但不懂中文的外国人。唯一的问题是，现在已经有更好的英语微博服务了，那就是Twitter。在中国，人们会告诉你，新浪微博能这麽受欢迎的主要原因是，人们在中国无法登陆Twitter。当然，可能会有一两个住在中国的外国人确实想用英文版新浪微博，而不是翻墙使用Twitter。但这样的人终归是少数，新浪微博应重点关注国内市场，把英文市场留给Twitter。

一句话：新浪微博与中国电信合作是实现盈利的举措之一，而推出英文版微博则纯属浪费时间.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Sina’s Latest Weibo Move Looks Like SNS 新浪似要发展社交网站

◙ New Weibo Makes First M&A Move 新浪微博并购忙

◙ Sina Gearing Up for Weibo Spin-Off 新浪欲剥离微博

Just two months after forming a tie-up with dominant search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), video sharing site Xunlei has filed to make a Nasdaq IPO worth up to $200 million. (English article; Chinese article) I have to say I was a bit surprised by how small this company is, with first-quarter revenue clocking in at a relatively meager $14.3 million, even though that was double a year earlier. By comparison, industry leader Youku (NYSE: YOKU) was a bit bigger at nearly $20 million, showing this is clearly an industry still in its infancy. A quick glance shows that Xunlei does indeed appear better positioned than either Youku or Tudou, which is also pursuing a public listing or sale of the company. (previous post) One of the biggest things setting Xunlei apart is the fact that it is already profitable, unlike both Youku and Tudou, which are both in the red and are expected to stay there for the next year or so. The other major factor is Xunlei’s backers, which include not only Baidu but also Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). With a pedigree like that, Xunlei could easily be poised to quickly overtake the other two, especially if it uses its Baidu links to promote its service. I said previously that Xunlei itself could even be a takeover target before its IPO. (previous post) Given its need for strong ties to Baidu, I’d say that Baidu would be the more likely buyer in any pre-IPO buy-out. But Google could also try to swoop in for a buy at the last minute, much the way that it tried to do just before Baidu’s own IPO. Either way, I’d say that Xunlei looks like a good bet for anyone interested in the fast-growing China video-sharing market.

Bottom line: Xunlei looks like the most attractive bet in the China video-sharing space, boasting strong partners in Google and Baidu and a profitable business.

视频分享网站迅雷两个月前刚与百度<BIDU.O>展开合作计划，现已向美国证券交易委员会(SEC)提交了在美国市场IPO(首次公开募股)上市的申请，拟通过这项交易筹集最多2亿美元资金。不得不说我对这个公司规模之小有点意外，迅雷今年首季度营收虽已同比翻番，但仍仅有大约1,430万美元。行业龙头优酷<YOKU.N>相对较大，营收接近2,000万美元，显示整个行业仍处起步阶段。但是快速浏览後你会发现迅雷确实比优酷或土豆更有优势。迅雷鹤立鸡群的很大一点就是，不像优酷与迅雷，该网站已然有所盈利。而前两家网站仍未翻身，且未来一年左右仍会如此。再一个重要因素就是迅雷的合作夥伴除了百度还有谷歌<GOOG.O>。有这样的靠山，迅雷料可以很快超越优酷与土豆。正如我此前所说，迅雷IPO之前甚至有可能成为收购目标。鉴於其与百度建立牢固关系的必要性，我认为如果IPO前真有人收购的话，百度的可能性更大。但谷歌也有可能成为半路杀出的程咬金，当年百度IPO时，谷歌就有类似做法。而无论从哪个角度，我认为如有人对中国迅速发展的视频分享市场感兴趣，迅雷都是一个很好的赌注。

一句话：迅雷看似是中国视频分享市场最具吸引力的赌注，不仅有百度与谷歌这样雄厚的合作夥伴，而且业务已有盈利。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Xunlei Looks Even More Interesting in Baidu Tie-Up

◙ Watch Out Youku: Google-backed Xunlei Marching to Market

◙ Youku Ambushes Market with Massive Follow-on, Investors Bite 优酷利用投资者心理大捞一笔

Beijing is coming to the assistance of its solar energy manufacturers, now suffering through a major downturn due to a sudden cool-down in global sales. In one of two significant developments, the Chinese media are reporting that Beijing will give as much as $100 million to build new solar power plants in Africa, providing sorely needed sales for its domestic manufacturers that now supply more than half the world’s solar cells. (English article) On the same day that news appeared, debt-laden LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) also announced it has just obtained $240 million in much-needed funding by selling a stake in its polysilicon business to a group led by two Chinese state-controlled banks, China Development Bank and China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939; Shanghai: 601939). These two developments come just a week after another player, Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) announced it had received a $180 million loan from another group of state-controlled banks. (previous post) This kind of support from Beijing is critical for its solar players, who have seen prices and margins drop sharply in recent weeks amid one of the industry’s most rapid downturns as many Western markets faze out incentives to install new solar plants that were introduced at the height of the global financial crisis. To pick up some of the slack, China is also quietly working on a plan to significantly boost incentives at home to build more solar power plants. (previous post) Look for more of this kind of support in the months ahead, as Beijing tries to keep this carefully nurtured but currently struggling sector from sliding into crisis.

Bottom line: Look for a steady stream of lifelines from Beijing to its struggling solar sector in the months ahead, including new financing and building of new power plants.

因全球行业销售骤减，中国太阳能产品制造商受到重创，中国政府如今正向他们伸出援手。其中的一个重大举措是，据中国媒体报导，中国政府将提供1亿美元，在非洲建设新的太阳能电厂，为国内太阳能电池制造商开拓市场。这个新闻出来的同一天，负债累累的江西赛维LDK太阳能<LDK.N>也宣布，公司刚刚通过向国家开发银行和中国建设银行<0939.HK><601939.SS>牵头的财团售出其多晶硅业务的部分股权，筹得 2.4亿美元的急需资金。而一周前，英利绿色能源<YGE.N>宣布从另一批国有银行那里获得了1.8亿美元贷款。对於近几周来受国际市场环境恶化影响，产品售价和利润都大幅下跌的中国太阳能厂商来说，北京的这次支持可谓一场及时雨。中国政府还默默地在国内推行一项激励计划，以大大鼓励国内建设太阳能电厂。预计中国政府在未来几个月还会出台更多类似扶助措施，以免这块小心培育但现况不佳的行业滑入危机。

一句话：预计中国政府未来几个月会持续推出扶助太阳能产业的举措，包括提供新融资和建设新电厂。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Comes to Rescue With Yingli Loan 英利获贷款承诺 政府终出手相助

◙ Italian Cloud Casts Shadow on Solar Sector, Pressures Beijing 意大利阴云笼罩中国太阳能产业

◙ China Boosts Solar Firms with Power Plan 中国太阳能产业荣景可待

Industry watchers are undoubtedly amused at the ongoing spat between crosstown Chinese rivals Huawei Technologies and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), which could potentially weaken these two rising giants unlike any competition from worried global players like Ericsson (Stockholm ERICb) or Alcatel Lucent (Paris: ALU). In the latest twist of this saga, which began when Huawei sued ZTE in April (previous post), ZTE has launched a new round of legal action against Huawei claiming infringement of its patents in the emerging 4G LTE space. (English article) This latest action comes after Beijing tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to mediate a truce in this unfolding drama between two of its most promising tech companies, which both rely heavily on exports. (previous post) This new lawsuit could prove potentially damaging to Huawei if it goes forward, as the legal action aims at 4G — expected to be a major growth driver for both companies as telcos upgrade to next-generation LTE networks. What’s more, this lawsuit aims to put the brakes on a trial LTE network that Huawei is currently building for China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; HKEx: 941) in both companies’ headquarters city of Shenzhen. While this kind of back-and-forth lawsuits isn’t exactly helpful for business, it’s quite common in the West and thus it’s refreshing to see it happening in China where Beijing more often  urges companies to try to live together in harmony. I’m guessing Beijing may still try to mediate this dispute, aiming to keep it from completely spinning out of control and potentially hobbling two of its biggest export superstars.

Bottom line: The latest escalation in the Huawei-ZTE dispute shows this conflict is spinning out of control, which could prompt Beijing to soon step in and impose a settlement.

毫无疑问，行业观察人士对华为和中兴通讯<000063.SZ> <0763.HK>之间的持续争端感到很好奇。与爱立信<ERICb.ST>或阿尔卡特-朗讯<ALUA.PA>等海外对手发起的竞争不同，华为和中兴之间的争执可能让他们两败俱伤。这场争端开始於4月份，当时华为将中兴告上法庭。如今中兴对华为发起了新一轮法律行动，称华为侵犯了其在4G长期演进技术(LTE)领域的专利。此前中国政府曾尝试调解双方的争执，但看来未能奏效。如果这场新官司继续打下去，华为可能会受到相当程度的冲击，因为这场控诉是针对4G的，而随着电信运营商升级至下一代LTE网络，上述技术料将成为两家公司未来增长的主要驱动力。而且，中兴的诉讼还旨在叫停华为正在深圳为中国移动<0941.HK> <CHL.N>建设的LTE测试网络。虽然这种官司对生意没什麽好处，但其实它在西方很普遍。而看到这种情况也发生在政府倾向於要求企业之间保持和谐的中国，倒是挺让人感觉新鲜的。我估计中国政府还会继续试图调停，以让事态不至于失控，避免这两家出口明星企业自相残杀。

一句话：华为和中兴之争升级，说明这场冲突面临失控危险，而中国政府可能会很快介入，以促成双方和解。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Beijing Plays ‘Father Knows Best’ In Huawei-ZTE Spat 中国政府插手华为与中兴之争

◙ Huawei Pounces on Hapless ZTE With Lawsuit

◙ Huawei Prowess on Display in Italy 华为意大利发威

The short lovefest between former archrivals Alibaba Group and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) has ended almost as quickly as it began, as the US online auctions giant gears up for another possible move into China’s blossoming e-commerce market. Many were surprised (or at least I was) last year when eBay CEO John Donahoe showed up as the guest of honor in Hangzhou at Alifest, Alibaba’s annual shindig where it talks about the latest tech trends. A few months before the event, the pair of former bitter rivals signaled their friendly approach when eBay’s PayPal online payments unit entered a tie-up with Alibaba’s AilExpress service. Now just a year after that partnership began, PayPal has quietly announced on its blog it is ending the tie-up. (company announcement; Chinese article) PayPal wasn’t saying much more, except that the AliExpress deal was providing an immaterial amount of the $4.4 billion in Greater China sales volume it handled last year. But clearly eBay no longer sees Alibaba as integral to its success in China, if it ever did at all. In fact eBay may even be gearing up for its own new play into China, my company sources tell me. PayPal itself is in the process of applying for a license to offer domestic online payment services, which, if it moves ahead in that area, would put it in direct competition with Alibaba’s Alipay service. What’s more, eBay’s agreement to confine its domestic e-commerce efforts to a moribund joint venture with Tom Group that it signed in 2006, will officially end at the end of this year, meaning eBay will be free to pursue its own new domestic e-commerce initiatives after that time. While eBay is unlikely to try out online auctions again, it will certainly need to look closely at potential partnerships with the many interesting more traditional e-commerce companies such as Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) that are now doing big business in China’s domestic market.

Bottom line: eBay’s cutting of ties with Alibaba comes as the US e-commerce giant prepares to make potential new moves into China.

来也匆匆，去也匆匆——阿里巴巴<1688.HK>和eBay<EBAY.O>之间的短暂蜜月期已经结束，後者有可能再度直接进军中国蓬勃发展的电子商务市场。很多人（包括我）去年曾对eBay首席执行官约翰·多纳霍(John Donahoe)去杭州参加阿里巴巴网商交易年会AliFest感到惊讶。在此次年会之前不久，阿里巴巴和eBay这两家昔日死对头相互作出友好姿态，eBay旗下PayPal支付平台宣布与阿里巴巴的全球速卖通（AliExpress）合作。仅仅一年之後的今天，PayPal已悄悄在其博客上宣布，这项合作走到了尽头。PayPal没有说很多，仅表示在它去年于大中华区处理的44亿美元总交易支付额中，与AliExpress合作项目贡献甚微。但可以肯定的是，eBay 已不再把阿里巴巴视为其中国战略的一部分。我的消息人士说，事实上eBay可能正准备推出自己的进军中国新策略。PayPal正在申请许可，以在中国国内提供网络支付服务，而这将使其与阿里巴巴的支付宝（Alipay）形成直接竞争关系。另外，eBay与TOM集团在2006年结成的中国国内电子商务独家合作关系也将於今年底正式到期，意味着eBay即将摆脱该合作关系的束缚，可以独自在中国开展电子商务。虽然eBay不大可能再度在华尝试网络拍卖业务，但它肯定要密切关注与当当网<DANG.N>等传统电子商务企业的合作机会。

一句话：eBay与阿里巴巴中止合作，可能与前者在中国市场拿出新动作的计划不谋而合。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

◙ Alibaba’s Latest Yahoo Spat Masks Tepid Results 阿里巴巴与雅虎打口水仗是场烟幕弹？

◙ 360Buy — A $10 Bln Company? 京东商城价值100亿美元？

I have to admit I was caught completely by surprise to read that Lenovo (HKEx: 992) parent Legend Holdings is considering a potential move into the hotel business. (Chinese article) The group’s founder and Chairman Liu Chuanzhi made the admission in an interview with China’s Sina, though he didn’t give much detail beyond to say any such move would be designed to maintain a high level of returns for the group before a planned IPO as soon as 2014. Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a relatively big fan of China’s hotel sector, especially the fast-growing budget hotel space that caters to the legions of newly mobile Chinese eager to see their country. But in this case, Legend should stick to what it knows best, which is technology, stemming from its success with companies like Lenovo, PC parts supplier Digital China (HKEx: 861) and Hony Capital, its investment arm which also specializes mostly in funding for high tech start-ups. Liu clearly likes the idea of growth by M&A, as evidenced by Lenovo’s 2005 purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) PC business, its unsuccessful bid for Packard Bell a few years later, and its latest announcement last week that it plans to buy Germany’s Medion. (previous post) But considering the difficulty it had with integrating IBM’s PC business, an area where it had lots of experience, a major M&A in the unfamiliar lodging sector could end up as a major distraction at the very least, and a potential time-bomb at the worst, which is something investors would hardly want to see as the parent company prepares to go public.

Bottom line: Lenovo parent Legend Holdings should forget about moves into unfamiliar sectors like hotels and focus on expanding its core technology businesses.

我不得不承认，当我得知联想<0992.HK>母公司联想控股正考虑进军酒店业时，我着实感到意外。联想控股创始人和主席柳传志在接受新浪采访时承认了这点，尽管他并未透露过多细节，只是表示类似举动旨在使公司的回报率维持在一个高水准。联想控股计划最快在2014年首次公开募股。经常阅读我博客的读者应该知道，相对而言，我是中国酒店业、尤其是快速发展的经济型酒店行业的拥趸。但就此案而言，联想应坚持其优势项目——科技。很明显，柳传志喜欢通过并购获得增长的想法，这从联想2005年收购IBM个人电脑部门一事中可见一斑，几年後联想还试图收购Packard Bell，但未能如愿。最新消息是，联想计划收购德国消费电子产品企业Medion。但有鉴於联想在整合IBM个人电脑业务时所遇到的困难，它若在相对不熟悉的酒店业进行大规模收购，往小了说会分散其注意力，往大了说会成为一颗潜在的定时炸弹。对於一家准备上市的公司而言，这可不是投资者愿意看到的事情。

一句话：联想控股应放弃进军酒店业等不熟悉行业的举措，集中精力拓展其核心的技术领域。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Lenovo Makes Strange Move Into Germany 联想进军德国令人摸不着头脑

◙ Lenovo’s Game Console — Yet Another Plan 联想：新推游戏机，这次能行吗？

◙ Lenovo’s LePad: Finally a Game Plan That Could Work 联想乐Pad：终於拿出了像样的东西