Baidu reportedly near deal to buy Zongheng literature site
Internet stalwarts Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) are back in the M&A headlines with news of relatively small acquisitions, indicating the market may be running out of big targets as we prepare to end a landmark year for major deals in China. I’ve been reporting on Chinese Internet companies for more than a decade, and during most of that time would be lucky to see 1 or 2 major acquisitions or equity tie-ups in any single year. But all that changed this year, with top Internet names like Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (HKEx: 700) emerging as major buyers in a series of deals collectively valued at billions of dollars. Read Full Post…
Smartphone makers may soon be getting an ally from China’s cash-rich Internet companies, with word that e-commerce leader Alibaba is preparing a massive giveaway in a bid to boost its mobile business. This move looks strikingly similar to something Alibaba did nearly a decade ago, when it made the strategic decision to offer its e-commerce services for free on its newly launched Taobao platform. That decision was derided by eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), its chief rival in China at the time, which said that giving away services for free was not a real business model. As Chinese Internet historians know, eBay ultimately lost that battle and Alibaba has gone on to become one of the world’s biggest e-commerce companies. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Gives Away 7 Mln Cellphones In Assault On Wireless Space (Chinese article)
China’s Cinda to raise up to $2.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO (English article)
A series of moves surrounding leading e-commerce firms Alibaba and Jingdong are raising speculation that the pair could be accelerating towards highly anticipated IPOs that have become stalled for different reasons. Alibaba wants desperately to list in Hong Kong, but was thwarted after a disagreement with local regulators. Now media are speculating that a recent personnel move involving one of those regulators could breathe new life into the Hong Kong listing plan. Jingdong, meantime, tried to launch an IPO last year but failed due to lack of investor interest. Now media are reporting the company is on the cusp of a major acquisition, indicating it may be trying to raise its profile as it prepares for another IPO attempt.Read Full Post…
First it was smartphones, then it was Internet TV, and now wireless routers have become the latest flavor of the day for Chinese web firms as everyone looks to drive traffic to their sites and services in the fast-evolving market. I previously wrote when security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) entered the router space in June, and now a new report says smartphone maker Xiaomi, search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and game specialist Shanda are preparing to enter the sector as well. Meantime in a separate but related telecoms move, leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) is making a feeble move into the international market with a relaunch of its Jego service that it suspended shortly after an original roll-out earlier this year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Mary Ma’s New Role At HK Securities Regulator: New Life For Alibaba IPO? (Chinese article)
Xiaomi to Convert After-Sales Locations to Retail Stores (English article)
Minsheng Bank (HKEx: 1988) Gets Approval For 20 Bln Yuan Bond Issue (HKEx announcement)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Roll Out Smart Watch In 2014 – Executive (Chinese article)
AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Announces Stockholder Vote Date For Buyout (PRNewswire)
Former social networking (SNS) superstar Renren (NYSE: RENN) is reportedly downsizing its online game division, formerly its most promising unit, leading me to wonder if earlier rumors that the company’s days as an independent entity may be numbered. The story behind Renren’s rapid rise and now apparent fall is simple: The company was once considered China’s equivalent of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), and used that comparison to launch a successful IPO back in 2011. But since then it has been overtaken by other social networking services, most notably Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging service and Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat, putting the company’s future in jeopardy as it looks for a competitive advantage. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 16-18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Peugeot Mulls Faurecia Sale With Dongfeng (HKEx: 489) Tie-up: Sources (English article)
Alibaba’s Yu E Bao Tops 100 Bln Yuan in Funds (Chinese article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Prices Offering of $700 Mln Convertible Senior Notes (PRNewswire)
Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Says Parent Buys More Company Shares (HKEx announcement)
Renren (NYSE: RENN) To Downsize Gaming Business (English article)
Today marks the official highpoint of earnings season for US-listed Chinese companies, with at least 4 of the ones I cover reporting their results. With all that information flooding into the market, I thought I’d look at video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and e-commerce company Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), 2 money losers that are trying desperately to claw their way to profits. The news looks positive for both, with Dangdang reporting its losses continue to shrink as Youku has finally come out and dared to utter the word “profit” in its latest report. Read Full Post…
Tencent (HKEx: 700) founder Pony Ma is suddenly shedding his low-key style with a flurry of public appearances and speeches, which have been the talk of the microblogging world over the past week. I’ve admired Pony for quite a while now, as he’s quietly built up Tencent into one of the world’s biggest Internet companies with his strong product development skills and early bet on social networking services (SNS). But public speaking has never been a strong suit for this Internet visionary who is one of China’s richest men, which is evident in his mundane series of appearances and mostly mundane comments over the last week. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Transaction Volume Reaches 35 Bln Yuan On Nov 11 Singles Day (Chinese article)
Temasek, Hopu Buy $213 Mln Stake In Chinese Dairy Maker (English article)
