The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Denies Alibaba to Invest in Weibo Rumor (Chinese article)
NDRC to Probe Authenticity of E-Commerce Promotions During Chinese New Year (Chinese article)
An epic battle on the Chinese Internet is shaping up for the New Year, pitting dominant social networking site (SNS) Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo against up-and-coming challenger WeChat, also known by its Chinese name Weixin. The looming battle in many ways reflects the rapid rise in China of the mobile Internet, where WeChat has found an eager new audience that likes to use SNS all the time instead of only at desktop computers where Sina Weibo dominates.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 22-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Alibaba Outbids Tencent, Baidu to Invest in Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog – Source (English article)
China Probes Safety of Yum Brands’ (NYSE: YUM) KFC Chicken Products (English article)
Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) Web Services (AWS) China Site Goes Live (Chinese article)
Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG) Vice President Wang Yulin Resigns (Chinese article)
A couple of tie-ups from the hot smartphone space are making headlines these last few days, with up-and-comer Xiaomi and fast-fading global giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) both looking to Internet partners to boost their prospects. The first of the tie-ups will see Xioami partner with leading Internet portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) to sell Xiaomi’s second-generation smartphones online. Meantime, Nokia is tying up with Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, in a bid to reverse its downward slide in the world’s largest mobile market.
The headlines have been buzzing this week with word that tarnished former Internet titan Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) will shutter its Chinese Internet music service, with many pointing out the move reflects a broader reshuffling in the online music space. But from my perspective, the much more intriguing question is whether this move represents the first small step before Yahoo withdraws from the market completely — a step that seems increasingly likely as it focuses on turning around its core US search business.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba and web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) won a major victory last week when web sites operated by both were removed from an annual US list of companies that facilitate rampant piracy. The victory came after both firms made efforts to aggressively police their sites and quickly remove any pirated or counterfeit materials. While the companies should be commended for their effort, the achievement came with an important footnote that shows there is still work to be done.
Media are buzzing with the latest news on Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) in China, which is turning up the heat in the country’s overheated e-commerce space with the opening of a store on its Chinese site selling electronic books for its Kindle tablet PCs. (English article; Chinese article) Since Kindle products are not yet available in China, the site also offers free software that allows consumers to read Kindle-formatted books using other devices, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) smartphones and tablet PCs, and similar devices based on Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) popular Android operating system.
China’s rapidly weakening advertising market may be undermining Focus Media’s (Nasdaq: FMCN) ongoing privatization bid, with word that one of the companies underwriting the buyout may have backed out of the deal. The news, if true, underscores the fact that this kind of privatization is never easy, and that China’s wobbly economy may make future similar buyouts even more difficult. But at the end of the day, I do suspect this privatization bid will probably succeed since many offshore investors are still quite bullish on China. What’s more, Focus Media, despite a recent restructuring, is in the enviable position of being one of China’s leading outdoor advertising services firms.
There’s an interesting new announcement from leading e-commerce firm Alibaba, which could be simply a straightforward board appointment but could also signal a potential positive development for its stormy relationship with longtime US partner Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO). I’ll make a strong disclaimer now and say that everything I’m about to write is highly speculative, since there’s nothing in this new announcement besides the naming of a Yahoo senior executive to Alibaba’s board. But that said, the fact that Alibaba is making the announcement at all is noteworthy, since these 2 companies have not made many upbeat joint announcements in the recent past due to their difficult elationship under previous Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz.
A couple of tie-ups from the hot smartphone space are making headlines these last few days, with up-and-comer Xiaomi and fast-fading global giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) both looking to Internet partners to boost their prospects. The first of the tie-ups will see Xioami partner with leading Internet portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) to sell Xiaomi’s second-generation smartphones online. Meantime, Nokia is tying up with Jingdong Mall, China’s second largest e-commerce firm, in a bid to reverse its downward slide in the world’s largest mobile market.
The headlines have been buzzing this week with word that tarnished former Internet titan Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) will shutter its Chinese Internet music service, with many pointing out the move reflects a broader reshuffling in the online music space. But from my perspective, the much more intriguing question is whether this move represents the first small step before Yahoo withdraws from the market completely — a step that seems increasingly likely as it focuses on turning around its core US search business.
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba and web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) won a major victory last week when web sites operated by both were removed from an annual US list of companies that facilitate rampant piracy. The victory came after both firms made efforts to aggressively police their sites and quickly remove any pirated or counterfeit materials. While the companies should be commended for their effort, the achievement came with an important footnote that shows there is still work to be done.
Media are buzzing with the latest news on Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) in China, which is turning up the heat in the country’s overheated e-commerce space with the opening of a store on its Chinese site selling electronic books for its Kindle tablet PCs. (
China’s rapidly weakening advertising market may be undermining Focus Media’s (Nasdaq: FMCN) ongoing privatization bid, with word that one of the companies underwriting the buyout may have backed out of the deal. The news, if true, underscores the fact that this kind of privatization is never easy, and that China’s wobbly economy may make future similar buyouts even more difficult. But at the end of the day, I do suspect this privatization bid will probably succeed since many offshore investors are still quite bullish on China. What’s more, Focus Media, despite a recent restructuring, is in the enviable position of being one of China’s leading outdoor advertising services firms.
