Leading global toymaker Mattel (NYSE: MAT) and top retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT) are quietly tinkering with their China approaches, as each tries to find success in a market that is so big they can’t afford to ignore it. Despite that allure, both global leaders have had difficulty making money in China to date, after relying too much on their global business practices that didn’t appeal to Chinese consumers. Now Walmart is making a second, quieter play at the market through its growing ties with e-commerce company Yihaodian. Mattel is also taking a longer term approach by trying to popularize its globally famous Barbie dolls and other toy brands among Chinese children and their parents. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Smithfield Owner Shuanghui Hires Banks For Up To $6 Bln HK IPO (English article)
Suntech (NYSE: STP) Files Application For Provisional Liquidation (PRNewswire)
Alibaba Won’t Seek Banking License For Now – Microlending CEO (Chinese article)
Canada Govt Blocks Lenovo (HKEx: 992) From BlackBerry Bid Over Security – Report (Chinese article)
Lenovo compliments Huawei on Italy smartphone push
China’s microblogging sphere is buzzing with a series of new posts that hint at a couple of budding friendships in the nation’s tech realm, one between smartphone aspirants Huawei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and the other between e-commerce titan Alibaba and online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Of course it’s quite possible that the tweeting is just casual conversation by company executives on their Weibo accounts. But both instances also hint at the potential for future tie-ups that could help these all 4 of these companies attain their different strategic aims. Read Full Post…
Leading e-commerce firm Alibaba may be heading for a compromise that would allow it to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in a deal that would come as a victory for minority shareholders of publicly listed firms. Hong Kong securities officials should be praised for sticking to their principles of protecting minority shareholder rights in this case rather than agreeing to Alibaba’s requests to win this mega-IPO likely to raise billions of dollars. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone Sales Face Test in China In Quarterly Results (English article)
Snapchat Could Get Funding From Tencent (HKEx: 700) This Week (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), Hony Capital To Invest $420 Mln In PPTV (English article)
Telecoms Regulator Requires Handset Makers To List Pre-Installed Apps (English article)
A new flurry of e-commerce news bits shows that competition in the sector continues unabated, with no signs of easing anytime soon. Sector leader Alibaba tops the headlines with word that it’s rolling out same-day delivery service for customers of its industry-leading TMall B2C site. Meantime, Yihaodian is drawing on its connections with global retailing giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) to boost its imported food business amid China’s nonstop series of food-safety scandals. These and similarly aggressive moves are also leading to signs of growing stress, with Jingdong, the second largest operator, making a strange anti-competitive complaint about rival Suning’s (Shenzhen: 002024) recent unified pricing policy. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 26-28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) To Acquire Xunlei Kankan (English article)
Alibaba On Plan B To List In Hong Kong: Report (English article)
Disney (NYSE: DIS) To Build Largest Store Ever In Shanghai (English article)
China’s Yue Xiu To Buy HK’s Chong Hing Bank (HKEx: 1111) For $1.5 Bln (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Invests $100 Mln To Build Smartphone Sales Channels (Chinese article)
Just days after I said that NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) looked like a company to watch after its issue of $172.5 million worth of bonds, infamous short seller Muddy Waters has launched an assault on the software security maker, sparking a sell-off that has wiped out half of its market value. Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is also coming under assault from different quarters, in this case taking heat from company watchers and regulators after promising returns that many believe are unrealistic on its newly launched investment product. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Samsung (Seoul: 005930) Apologizes To Chinese Consumers For Faulty Phones (Chinese article)
Chinese Lottery Leader 500.com Files for US IPO (English article)
HNA Group Completes Acquisition of GE Capital’s TIP Trailer Services Group (Businesswire)
Alibaba’s TMall Announces Same-Day Delivery Service (English article)
New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Announces Unaudited Quarterly Results (PRNewswire)
I’ve been watching with interest this week as e-commerce leader Alibaba has discovered a sudden urgency to grow its business in the social networking (SNS) space, with founder Jack Ma leading the charge. In the last few days, media have reported that Alibaba has made a major new acquisition in the sector, and Ma is also trumpeting the importance of the company’s recently launched Laiwanginstant messaging service that will compete with Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) hugely popular WeChat service. All this comes after Alibaba earlier this year signed a landmark agreement to buy a major stake in Sina’s(Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo service, often called the Twitter of China. Read Full Post…
