The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Haier Terminates Partnership with 360Buy/Jingdong Mall (English article)
- Tencent (HKEx: 700) Announces Q2, H1 Results (HKEx announcement)
- Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Reports Q2 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP) CEO Steps Down, CFO to Take Top Job (English article)
- NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Reports Q2 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
A plan by aluminum giant Chalco (HKEx: 2600; Shanghai: 601600) to buy a Mongolian-focused mining company is reportedly on the verge of collapse due to politics, a development that could have big implications for China’s recent buying spree for global resource assets. For anyone who hasn’t been paying close attention, Chinese energy and resource firms, from oil and coal giants to gold and iron ore miners, have embarked on a multibillion-dollar spending spree over the last few years to feed the country’s growing economy. The buying binge has gained momentum in the last year, as cash-rich Chinese companies, with strong support from Beijing, have purchased assets from cash-challenged international owners still struggling as a result of the global economic downturn. Now, at least one country that has become a favorite destination for Chinese buying, Mongolia, appears to finally be saying “no”.
Troubled solar panel maker Suntech (NYSE: STP) is trying to calm worried investors with news of a victory in a fraud case that could leave it liable for more than $600 million. The only problem is, the company itself may not survive long enough to enjoy the victory, which has come in the courtroom in this fast-evolving case. Suntech shareholders, who bid down the company’s stock to all-time lows after word of the fraud first came out, were largely indifferent to news of the courtroom victory, bidding the stock up a tiny 2 percent to remain near its all-time low.
The headlines have been buzzing this week with news of a management-led privatization offer for leading outdoor advertising firm Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN), marking the latest in a recent string of developments that I suspect will end with a sale of this colorful but faded company. The buyout is the latest in a series of similar plans by US-listed Chinese firms in recent months, following a series of accounting scandals that have caused shares of the entire sector to tumble.
A new announcement from solar panel maker Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) indicates that Beijing may be preparing to help fund a much-needed consolidation in the oversupplied sector. The news should be welcome by money-losing Chinese solar companies in general, as it indicates that Beijing will continue to provide them with funds to continue their operations as private sector options evaporate. But the move will inevitably raise new complaints from foreign rivals, who will say this funding is exactly the kind of unfair state support that has led to dumping investigations in both the US and European Union.
News from e-commerce giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and web portal Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG) indicate a long-awaited consolidation in e-commerce has begun at the bottom of the Internet food chain, where many smaller players are quietly closing up shop as big names continue their aggressive fight for market share.
It’s Monday morning and the news flow from the weekend is rather slow due to the summer holidays, so I’m going to be a bit whimsical and comment on the potential for new M&A following a new $60 million funding round for Dianping, an interesting and profitable company which started as a restaurant ratings company but which has also expanded into the problem-plagued group buying space. I’ll start by saying I have absolutely no reason to think Dianping has plans for any major M&A, but then will quickly add that its recent receipt of the $60 million in new venture funding looks suspiciously like it might be intended for such a purchase.
A key US consultant has severed his ties with troubled telecoms equipment and cellphone maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), in a worrisome development that could presage more similar defections as people seek to distance themselves from the controversial company. ZTE and crosstown rival Huawei were already facing a difficult time in the US and Europe for several trade- and security-related reasons, but ZTE’s outlook grew dimmer still last month when word got out that the company was being investigated for allegedly selling banned US computer equipment to Iran to help that country set up a sophisticated telecoms surveillance system.
