Companies have been filling the airwaves with 2013 sales and revenue targets these last few weeks as the new year gets underway, with smartphone maker ZTE (HKEx: 763) and top group buying site Meituan becoming the latest to add their forecasts to the list. In ZTE’s case, the company seems to be taking a smart approach to its newer, fast-growing smartphone unit by shifting its focus to improving margins and making the business profitable sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Meituan’s announcement of extremely aggressive sales targets seem to reflect the company’s confidence that it will emerge stronger than ever from the painful consolidation now gripping China’s group buying sector.
Tag Archives: China company stock news
Qihoo Polishes Image With Govt Deal 奇虎360与商务部合作 改进形象
Internet security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is in the headlines much more than most companies of its size, sometimes for positive news but equally often for its controversial business tactics that many might consider bordering on the unethical. Against that backdrop, it’s interesting to see that Qihoo has just announced a new government tie-up that looks like an effort to improve its image in the marketplace. That announcement has Qihoo saying it will provide enterprise Internet security solutions to the Commerce Ministry, a major government body. (company announcement)
Tencent WeChat Looks Globally 腾讯微信全球化
A social networking (SNS) application called WeChat has boomed on China’s Internet over the last two years, challenging Twitter-like industry leader Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo and even cellular titan China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) with its innovative and cleverly designed features. Now the popular instant messaging program for smartphones is showing early signs of stepping onto the world stage, with the potential to become China’s first true contribution to a vibrant global Internet culture. Such a development would mark a significant milestone for China, whose most successful high-tech firms have thrived so far by largely copying existing global technologies.
News Digest: February 26 报摘：2013年2月26日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Increase Smartphone Revenues By 30 Pct In 2013 (Businesswire)
- Tencent (HKex: 700) Establishes US Office for WeChat (English article)
- CNOOC (HKEx: 883) Says Completed Nexen Acquisition On Feb 25 (HKEx announcement)
- Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) To Provide Internet Security Products to Commerce Ministry (PRNewswire)
- Yum (NYSE: YUM) Cutting Some Supplier Ties After China Food Scare (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Shanda Ties With Alibaba 盛大牵手淘宝 合作失败可能性大
China’s unruly and highly competitive Internet space has created all kinds of interesting partnerships, with word of a new tie-up between e-commerce giant Alibaba and former online game leader Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) emerging as the latest. The driving force behind most of these tie-ups is a desire to drive more traffic to Internet sites as companies search for more customers. In this case, it appears the 2 companies are aiming to sell e-commerce goods to Shanda’s millions of online gamers from Alibaba’s hugely popular TMall online shopping mall. (Chinese article)
Best Buy + Gome: Good Bedfellows? 百思买会将收购国美视为明智选择吗？
It’s a relatively quiet news day, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about an intriguing rumor that would see struggling US electronics retailing giant Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) purchase its equally struggling Chinese counterpart Gome (HKEx: 493). There are quite a few reasons why there may be no truth to these rumors; but at the same time, there are also some indications that perhaps something is happening, which makes it worth taking a look at this potential tie-up.
Solar: Big Get Better, Smaller Suffer 太阳能：大企业获好转，小企业遭困境
A couple of new items from the battered solar sector hint that the situation may be improving for the largest companies, even as smaller players continue to struggle and face the very real danger of collapse. Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I’ve predicted a rebound for this embattled sector once or twice before based on optimistic company statements, and in each instance the rebound I was sensing never came. This time the difference could be that many smaller players have now closed or are tottering on the brink of insolvency, meaning they are losing share to the larger, relatively healthier players with more resources.
Vipshop Posts Profit, Enters $1 Bln Club 唯品会公布利润，进入10亿美元级俱乐部
Online discount retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) emerged as one of China’s most remarkable turnaround stories in 2012, as its shares rallied sharply in the second half of the year after a miserable IPO. Now the company is passing more new milestones, reporting its first-ever profit in the fourth-quarter of 2012 and also entering the relatively small club of Chinese Internet firms that can boast of market values of $1 billion or more. The company has also solidified its position as China’s most valuable publicly traded e-commerce firm, after taking the title from older rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) last fall.
News Digest: February 22 报摘：2013年2月22日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Reports Q4 and Full Year 2012 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Court To Hear Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Case against Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) (English article)
- EU And China Stumble Towards Solar Trade War (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) 4G Network To Reach 100 Cities This Year (Chinese article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Announces New Company Structure (English article)
China’s Smartphone Crown: Who Cares? 看待中国称冠智能手机市场不要太认真
I’m feeling a bit cranky and contrarian today, so I’m going to be somewhat bold and give the following response to yet the latest headlines trumpeting China’s passing the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market: Who cares? I’ll admit that my response to this development is perhaps a bit unfair, since China’s attainment of the world’s smartphone title is certainly an important milestone for a country where even traditional wired telephone service was still rare as recently as 20 years ago.
China Mobile Stabilizes, Set For Growth 中国移动3G市场份额持稳 蛇年或恢复增长
New subscriber data for China’s 3 major telcos has just come out for January, so it seems like a good time to take a look at what’s ahead this year as Beijing gets set to issue 4G licenses that will usher in a new era for the sector. Based on the data and other recent developments, it does indeed look like industry leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) could finally return to a growth track in the Year of the Snake after years of stagnation as it struggled under its own massive weight. That prediction comes at least partly from the latest industry data, that shows China Mobile’s share in the important 3G market has finally stabilized after it lost steady share over the last 2 years to more aggressive rivals China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU).
