Bottom line: Wanda’s intellectual property clash with Disney is a minor glitch in its big theme park aspirations, but highlights the many difficulties the multibillion-dollar initiative will face.
Wanda, Disney tussle over IP infringement
After days of trash-talking global theme park giant Disney (NYSE: DIS), Chinese entertainment aspirant Wanda is suddenly on the defensive after a Disney character was spotted greeting visitors in its newly launched Wanda City mega-entertainment complex in the interior city of Nanchang. The bigger context to this story is that Wanda desperately wants to attract attention to its new plans to build more than a dozen theme parks, many costing more than $1 billion, in its bid to become China’s own homegrown Disney. But Wanda has discovered that publicizing its plans isn’t quite as easy as it thought, even as media feast on the grand opening in 2 weeks of China’s first Disneyland resort in Shanghai. Read Full Post…
It’s rare for traffic accidents to make major headlines here in Shanghai, especially when there are no major casualties, graphic images or allegations of big criminal behavior. But that’s exactly what has happened over the last few days, as a roll-over accident involving a large truck loaded with heavy cement pilings consumed the city’s attention for much of the past week.
No one was killed in the accident or even seriously injured, and the truck driver wasn’t under the influence of alcohol or wanted for any other crime. Images of the wreck weren’t very exciting either, leaving TV and newspaper editors with the unexciting choice between pictures of broken guard rails and cranes removing the cement pilings from the truck and road. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Visiting China as Anti-Trust Probe Nears 3rd Year (English article)
Snow White Spotted at Wanda City Triggers Backlash From Disney (NYSE: DIS) (English article)
ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Setting up $1.1 Bln Europe Fund to Tap New Overseas Markets (English article)
Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) Enters into Merger Agreement for Going Private (PRNewswire)
HNA Invests 750 Mln Yuan in Virgin Australia (Sydney: VBA) (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s Brazilian retrenchment will ultimately become a withdrawal from the country, and reflects a lack of preparation and understanding when it entered the market a year ago.
Brazil vexes Xiaomi
The bad news keeps coming for sputtering smartphone maker Xiaomi, which is retrenching its Brazilian operation less than a year after entering the market. I have to admit that reports on this latest setback reflect a recent media fascination with any sort of failure for Xiaomi, which was once a media darling with its hip-and-trendy smartphones and slick marketing campaigns. But that said, this particular setback does look a bit more serious than some of the other recent bad news, as it appears to mark a big disappointment in a market where Xiaomi had big hopes. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Dalian Wanda’s de-listing plan from Hong Kong is likely to succeed, while eLong could re-list in China and become the travel services provider for WeChat following its New York privatization.
Dalian Wanda joins homeward migration
A trio of new headlines are part of the recent homeward migration of offshore-listed Chinese companies, led by a highly anticipated $4.4 billion offer to privatize property giant Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699). Also making news is faded online travel agent eLong (Nasdaq: LONG), whose shareholders have just approved a privatization that will soon end its 12-year-old listing in New York. Finally there’s film production house Yongle Film and Television, which would have been a strong New York IPO candidate in a earlier era but is now in the process of making a backdoor listing in Shenzhen. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China should abandon its model of trying to develop proprietary technology through government-backed initiatives, and focus instead on supporting leading private companies like Huawei to develop such products.
Qualcomm JV developing special server chip for China
China has started down a familiar but flawed path to creating its own cutting edge-technology, with reports last week that a joint venture backed by US telecoms giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) is developing a special microchip for the China market for use in computer servers that power the Internet. The effort looks strikingly similar to previous ones that typically saw China work with big foreign companies to develop technologies to compete with existing global products and standards. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Baidu’s stock won’t suffer more short-term damage from a recent series of transparency scandals, but its reputation could suffer over the longer term.
Baidu software under fire
Leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is fast becoming synonymous with the word “opaque” due to long-standing practices that have helped it become one of China’s most valuable Internet companies, often by exploiting unsuspecting consumers. Following a recent series of scandals involving various opaque practices, the company is back in the headlines after a number of apps from its mobile assistant store landed on a malware black list from China’s telecoms regulator.Read Full Post…
Bottom line: BOC Aviation’s stock will debut with a 5-10 percent gain when trading starts on Wednesday, while Lufax’s delay of its IPO plan looks prudent until China’s P2P lending sector settles down.
BOC Aviation set for strong debut
After running into some early minor turbulence, Asia’s second biggest IPO of the year is set to take off later this week in Hong Kong when aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation begins trading in what should be a relatively buoyant debut. But the ride to market is looking a bit rockier for Lufax, with reports that what could become the first IPO for a P2P lender is being delayed until next year. Lufax had earlier signaled it planned to make its listing this year, most likely in Hong Kong or Shanghai. But its plan is being delayed as Beijing moves to clean up the nation’s unruly P2P lending market. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on May 28-30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Privatization plans by Autohome and iKang will face long delays due to shareholder resistance and rival bids, while Wanda Commercial’s similar buyout will proceed soon after some technical issues are resolved.
Autohome, iKang take buyout clashes to court
Three of the larger privatization bids by offshore-listed Chinese firms are running into snags, hinting at a growing wave of resistance to such offers considered by many as too low and opportunistic. Two of the most colorful tales involve online car site Autohome (NYSE: ATHM) and private clinic operator iKang (Nasdaq: KANG), whose management-led buyout deals both hit snags due to unexpected third-party developments. In the latest twist to those stories, Autohome is now taking legal action to prevent a separate share sale that could kill its own management-led buyout bid; while iKang is playing legal games with a rival bidder that trumped an original management-led buyout plan. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Wanda’s recent theme park building spree looks aimed at challenging Disney, but many of its new resorts are likely to fail due to lack of experience and poor choice of locations.
Wanda breaks ground on new Guilin park
Watch out, Disney (NYSE: DIS). Chinese real estate giant Wanda Group has recently embarked on a global theme park building binge that would put Disney to shame, and certainly outpaces the US entertainment giant in terms of investment dollars. This month alone Wanda is getting set to open a multibillion-dollar park in the interior Chinese city of Jiangxi, and it has also just announced the ground-breaking for another mega-park in the scenic southern tourist city of Guilin. Then there’s its plans for a $3.3 billion park near Paris announced in February, which would be its first major overseas resort. Read Full Post…
