Bottom line: Alibaba will avoid being penalized in a new SEC probe, but may be forced to modify some of its aggressive accounting practices in a compromise with the US securities regulator.
Alibaba in new SEC probe
I’m beginning to understand why e-commerce giant Alibaba(NYSE: BABA) has been aggressively building a team of Washington lobbyists, following announcement of its latest clash with a US government agency. This time it’s the securities regulator that’s tussling with the aggressive Alibaba, with word that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company for potential illegal accounting practices. The SEC is already well acquainted with Alibaba, following another unrelated probe of the company last year related to piracy in its online marketplaces. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tencent’s new disclosure that it processes more than 500 million daily mobile financial transactions highlights its rapid growth in the space, pushing market leader Alipay to accelerate its own expansion into Asia.
WeChat wallet creeps up on Alipay
It’s rare to see Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) tech-savvy but reclusive chief Pony Ma do interviews or make public appearances, so when he does it’s always reason to take notice. In this case Ma has disclosed new figures that show just how rapidly Tencent is moving into the mobile financial transactions business, rapidly encroaching on an area previously dominated by Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) affiliate Alipay. A separate headline also reflects to some extent the pressure that Alipay is feeling, with reports that its parent Ant Financial is accelerating its recent move into several major Asian markets. Read Full Post…
Accused of poor regulation and unfair competition by traditional import-export traders, cross-border e-commerce in China has been subject to new regulations since the beginning of April. Over the long term, the new regulation is expected to improve the shopping experience by focusing on the quality of goods.
With over 5,000 cross-border online trading platforms and more than 200,000 enterprises involved, e-commerce has become a major force for foreign trade into and out of China. In 2015, cross-border consumer deals settled online reached $ 40 billion, up 50 percent, representing over 6 percent of the total consumer e-commerce sector. China’s Commerce Ministry estimates the broader cross-border e-commerce market is much larger, growing at an average rate of 30 percent to reach up to $1 trillion by 2018. (analysis report) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shanda’s purchase of 12 percent of LendingClub reflects its new investment focus on global financial services, while Tencent’s pursuit of a major Finnish game maker is consistent with its previous M&A strategy.
Tencent eyes Finland’s Supercell
Major outbound M&A deals involving 2 of China’s largest private firms are in the headlines today, with new moves by private equity investor Shanda and Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) reflecting their latest buying priorities. The first deal has Shanda buying a large stake in LendingClub (NYSE: LC), the peer-to-peer (P2P) US lending pioneer whose shares have tumbled recently due to a scandal involving some of its loans. The other headline has Tencent looking to take control of Finnish game maker Supercell, in a deal that would be its biggest acquisition of all time valued at several billion dollars. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s rapid slide in China is unlikely to ease soon and it’s likely to fall out of the top 5 brands before year end, while Huawei’s lawsuit against Samsung reflects a new confidence with its recent rapid rise.
Xiaomi rapidly losing steam in China
New headlines are shining a spotlight on 2 of China’s best-known domestic smartphone brands, even though the fast-rising Huawei and rapidly sinking Xiaomi are moving in opposite directions. New data shows just how badly Xiaomi has slipped over the last year at home, where the former market leader is now in danger of dropping out of the top 5 following a huge decline in first quarter sales. Meantime, the same data show a continued surge for Huawei, which is showing its growing confidence by a filing a new patent lawsuit against global smartphone leader Samsung (Seoul: 005930). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A recent spree of European soccer purchases by Chinese buyers could auger a similar bid for an NBA team in the next 1-3 years, with Alibaba and Wanda as 2 of the most likely buyers.
Alibaba in talks for FIFA sponsorship
A recent stream of global sports investments from China has bounced back into the headlines, with word that e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is near a major sponsorship deal with soccer giant FIFA, even as a Chinese businessman has just signed a separate deal to buy British club Aston Villa. The 2 latest deals spotlight China’s sudden fascination with global sports, as millions of Chinese embrace these globally famous names over local leagues that are far less professional and tainted by corruption scandals.
Nearly all of the deals to date have been focused in Europe and on soccer, which is hugely popular in China. But basketball is equally popular in the world’s most populous country, which raises the intriguing question of when we might see a Chinese buyer bid for an NBA team, in what would be a first-of-its kind deal sure to make global headlines. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A backdoor listing plan by SF Express in Shenzhen, a New York IPO plan by China Music Corp and 3 new China OTC listings by ZTE units reflect creative approaches to new listings by Chinese firms due to bottlenecks for traditional IPOs.
SF Express eyes backdoor listing
A trio of IPO stories in the headlines are quite revealing, as none are happening through traditional channels on China’s 3 main stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Instead, the largest of the 3 plans has parcel delivery giant SF Express eyeing a backdoor listing using a shell company from the minerals business. Meantime, music streaming company China Music Corp has popped up across the Pacific in New York, where it is reportedly planning an IPO that could be the largest of its kind this year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Beijing regulators should take a more hands-off approach to outbound M&A by major institutional buyers like Anbang, and let them take more direct responsibility for their investment decisions.
Anbang targeting InnVest?
A new showdown could be brewing between Beijing and China’s newly minted field of outbound investors, as reports emerged last week that insurer Anbang was planning a major new Canadian acquisition less than 2 months after China’s insurance regulator reportedly vetoed a previous similar plan. The latest deal would see Anbang buy InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust (Toronto: INN-UN), one of Canada’s largest hotel owners, following its failed bid in March to buy US hotel giant Starwood (NYSE: HOT), operator of the Westin and Sheraton brands. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: CIC’s withdrawal from the bidding for a stake in Yum’s China unit represents a minor setback, but Yum’s long history in the market makes finding major local investor less important.
CIC ends bid for Yum China stake
KFC parent Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) has lost a major potential ally as it prepares to spin off its China business, with word that China’s sovereign wealth fund has dropped out of the bidding for 20 percent of the unit. Reuters is reporting that China Investment Corp (CIC) abandoned its bid for a number of reasons, including Yum’s refusal to sell a controlling stake to the new investor group. Yum has previously said it wants to sell just 20 percent of the China unit, which includes 7,200 stores. It also plans to sell more of the unit’s shares through an IPO later this year in Hong Kong or New York. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: New revelations about Baidu’s fees for endorsing certain companies and including them in special zones on its website are the result of a business dispute and are unlikely to attract major attention from China’s Internet regulators.
Sofang protests Baidu fees
Just as Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) starts to recover from a major scandal involving misleading online search results, the Internet giant is coming under attack for similar tactics from a major online real estate services firm called Sofang.com. In this case Sofang’s move looks somewhat opportunistic, taking advantage of the earlier recent scandal to draw attention to another one of Baidu’s less-than-transparent practices involving fees for special treatment on its various websites. Read Full Post…
A couple of culinary headlines this week are spotlighting the important role that food plays in defining a city’s character, not only in terms of local tastes but also its openness to out-of-town flavors. Shanghai’s culinary evolution over the last 2 decades has been nothing short of spectacular in that regard, as the city transformed from a regional backwater dominated by local fare like xiaolongbao to one where top-notch flavors from throughout China and abroad are widely available. Read Full Post…
