We’ll start off this first day of the new year with what could well become a major theme for 2014, with word that make-up giant Revlon (NYSE: REV) is officially pulling the plug on its China operations. This timing of this move, which was officially announced just before year end, was most likely related to accounting issues, as Revlon probably wants to take some or all of its resulting $22 million write-down in the fourth quarter. But that said, Revlon’s withdrawal shines a spotlight on the tough market for consumer goods in China, as a slowing economy leads many to cut back their spending on non-essential daily items like make-up. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Alibaba
News Digest: December 31, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Removes All Pirated Material From Yingyin Video Platform (Chinese article)
- Trina (NYSE: TSL) Signs Framework Agreement For 1GW Solar Project in Xinjiang (PRNewswire)
- Vanke (Shenzhen: 000002) CEO, Fearing Changes In Real Estate, Learns From Alibaba, Tencent (Chinese article)
- Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Inks Partnerships with Tencent (HKEx: 700), Xiaomi (English article)
- China Postal Express Withdraws Application For Domestic IPO (Chinese article)
Baidu Ends Year With “Perfect” Buy, Video IPO Talk
It seems quite appropriate that we’re ending 2013 with word of yet another acquisition and New York IPO plan in China’s Internet space by leading search site Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), capping a year that will go down as the most active for Chinese online M&A in the sector’s short but colorful history. It’s certainly appropriate that Baidu’s name is connected to both of these final news bits for the year, since the company and e-commerce leader Alibaba were the 2 most active drivers of this year’s M&A wave. Read Full Post…
MIIT Surprises Market With VNO Licenses
After moving extremely slowly throughout the year, the telecoms regulator is suddenly surprising everyone with a flurry of major new announcements in the final weeks of 2013. First the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued long-awaited 4G wireless licenses earlier this month, and now we’re learning that it has just issued its first batch of virtual network operator (VNO) licenses. This sudden issue of VNO licenses comes as a bit of a surprise, since there were no advance indications for the timing and many believed the MIIT wouldn’t make the move until next spring. Read Full Post…
Amazon Adds New Stratum To China Cloud
I don’t write too much about cloud services in China, mostly because I think the market is too immature despite Beijing’s strong promotion of the industry. Still, the latest announcement by e-commerce giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) that it’s formally launching cloud computing services in China seems like a good opportunity to re-examine the cloud phenomenon, including how the industry is likely to develop and who is best positioned to emerge as sector leaders. Read Full Post…
News Digest: December 21-23
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Mobile To Launch iPhone On 4G & 3G Networks on January 17 (PRNewswire)
- Everbright Bank (HKEx: 6818) Slides In HK debut Amid China Cash Crunch Fears (English article)
- Alibaba Slashes Cloud Computing Prices Up to 50 Pct (English article)
- Cofco Becomes Second Largest Stakeholder In Spirits Maker Guizhou Xijiu (Chinese article)
- Linktone (Nasdaq: LTON) To Reduce Costs Through Voluntary Delisting (PRNewswire)
- Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Leads Over $100 Mln Investment In eHi Auto Services (PRNewswire)
News Digest: December 20, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Hershey (NYSE: HSY) To Buy Majority Of Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co (Businesswire)
- AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Stockholders Approve of Merger Agreement (PRNewswire)
- Alibaba, Wanda Group Team Up On Movie Ticket Payments On Alipay (Chinese article)
- Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Invests in Online Car Rental Firm Yongche (English article)
- Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Starts Offering Cars In China With No Chinese Name (English article)
Weibo: Jingdong’s Liu Comes Home, Weibo Loses Luster
A major homecoming for the top executive at e-commerce giant Jingdong is topping the news this week in China’s microblog airwaves, which have been humming with gossip in the run-up to the Christmas holidays. Internet watchers will know I’m talking about Jingdong’s talkative founder Liu Qiangdong, whose voice suddenly disappeared from the microblogging realm for much of this year. Now we’re learning that his silence was due to his quiet departure from China for the US, where he spent a year in a study program.
Elsewhere in the microblogging world, a couple of high level executives at UnionPay, operator of China’s leading electronic payments network, and game operator 4399 are drawing attention to the fact that Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging service may be past its peak and losing its luster. I’ve also noticed this trend, which spotlights how China’s Internet seems much more susceptible to fads than in other parts of the world. Read Full Post…
News Digest: December 19, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) Cloud Services Challenges Alibaba, Microsoft, IBM (Chinese article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Submits List of 17 Potential VNO Partners (Chinese article)
- China Luxury Products Enter Winter, Watches See Biggest Impact (Chinese article)
- India Court Grants Injunction Against ZTE (HKEx: 763) In Vringo Patent Case (English article)
- Saab Bets On Electric Cars And China For Revival (English article)
E-Commerce Seduces Wanda, Trade Zone Woos Walmart
It seems appropriate that I’m writing this post on my computer while sitting in a coffee shop at a Wanda Plaza shopping center in Shanghai, since new reports say the Wanda real estate group owned by one of China’s richest men is planning a big new move into the booming e-commerce sector. Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin will certainly have plenty of competition if he makes such a move, including from an increasingly aggressive Walmart (NYSE: WMT), whose China-based Yihaodian site is reportedly getting set to move into a ground-breaking new free-trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai. Read Full Post…
News Digest: December 14-16, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 14-16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Launches China Website, Sets Deposits At 250,000 Yuan (Chinese article)
- EU To Probe Chinese Nuclear Power Investments In Britain – Report (Chinese article)
- China Unicom (HKEx: 762) To Focus On FDD-LTE Network (English article)
- Alibaba Accuses Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat of IPR Infringement (English article)
- Mindray Medical (NYSE: MR) Responds To Short Seller Accounting Fraud Report (PRNewswire)
