Bottom line: A major new campaign calling on Google to abandon its plan to return to China’s search market will add pressure on the company to reconsider its decision, but is unlikely to succeed unless the pressure grows significantly stronger.
Amnesty launches petition to protest Google’s China return
If Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai thought he could quietly launch a new filtered China search engine without any major backlash, he’s quickly finding out otherwise. The search giant’s controversial plan to return to the world’s biggest search market is facing its stiffest resistance to date, in a frontal assault coordinated by human rights group Amnesty International and Google’s own employees.
The message from both groups is the same: Don’t do it. In Amnesty’s case, the group has launched an online petition (announcement) calling on Google not to go through with the plan, code named Dragonfly, that was first uncovered back in August. (previous post) At the same time, a group of more than 300 Google employees has signed a petition urging the company to reconsider its China plans on the blogging site Medium. (online petition) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Homestay specialist Tujia could make a play to merge with the China operations of Airbnb, following its major new tie-up with leading online travel sites Ctrip and Qunar.
Ctrip ties with Tujia
Leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) is back to doing what it knows best, neutralizing competition through formation of savvy alliances with its rivals. In this case the company is taking aim at the market for short-term stays at private homes, with its announcement of a major new tie-up with homegrown industry leader Tujia. That alliance is seeing Ctrip merge its own homestay business with Tujia, in what looks like a clear shot at global leader and sector pioneer Airbnb. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Airbnb should have a strong chance for success in China, thanks to its good choice of local partners, strong experience in its field and relatively little competition from homegrown rivals.
Airbnb hangs out China shingle
Not too many foreign Internet companies are coming into China these days, mostly due to the poor track record for previous big names. But that lackluster record of isn’t deterring online travel site Airbnb, which has been quite high-profile with a formal announcement of its entry to China.
The road into China is littered with cases of failure, with big names like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) all entering the market at various times, only to withdraw later. In most cases companies failed to anticipate stiff competition, which was ready to use many tactics the big international names considered unacceptable. Failure to adapt to local tastes was also a factor, as many of these big names tried to use identical business models for China that they did in the west. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Tujia’s new fund raising reflects strong investor confidence in its business model and market positioning, which could help the company to post strong growth before an IPO in the next 1-3 years.
Tujia raises $300 mln
It seems like hot Internet sites only need to say they’re looking for new money these days, and they can automatically attract big investor interest that allows them to raise huge funds and get lofty valuations. The latest company to follow the pattern is Tujia, a site that allows homeowners to rent out their vacant properties to travelers, using a similar model to popular US site Airbnb. Just a month after media reported that Tujia was finalizing a new funding round worth $250 million (previous post), the latest reports say demand was so strong that it ended up raising $300 million. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China E-Commerce Transactions Topped 1.6 Trillion Yuan Last Year – Stats Ministry (Chinese article)
India’s Snapdeal Said to Draw $500 Mln From Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Foxconn (English article)
China’s Airbnb Valued at More Than $1 Bln After Funding (English article)
Car Inc (HKEx: 699) Announces Plan to Issue US Dollar Denominated Notes (HKEx announcement)
JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) Receives $70 Mln in China Ex-Im Loans for Factory (English article)
Bottom line: New fund raising by Ctrip and Tujia looks like far more than either company needs, and is part of a broader wave seeing Chinese Internet sites raise big funds to take advantage of strong investor sentiment.
Tujia raises $250 mln
Someone recently asked me why so many companies in China are currently rushing to raise cash, and, after some quick thought, I provided my best answer: Because they can. That seems to be the mentality among Chinese companies these days, including leading online travel agent Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), which has just issued bonds to raise a cool $1.1 billion in new cash that it really doesn’t need. But that statement isn’t completely true, as Ctrip is in another headline that has it joining in a new $250 million funding round for Tujia, China’s equivalent of Airbnb. Read Full Post…
Senior and mid-level executives from a wide range of Chinese tech firms were on the move this past week, crossing the Pacific to tour some of the top US tech names in Silicon Valley. Stops on the tour, co-organized by a Chinese outfit with the colorful name of Geek Park, included such Internet giants as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), as well as newer companies like Airbnb and Pinterest, and electric car powerhouse Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). But certainly the biggest and most intriguing stop on this Silicon Valley tech tour was a visit to the global headquarters of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), which also happens to be in the process of opening a China office. Read Full Post…
