High profile smartphone maker Xioami is making headlines with word that it has purchased a stake in a unit of software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888), in what could be the first in a new wave of tie-ups for this fast-rising company that aspires to be like global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). I have to admit that I’m not exactly sure what Xiaomi hopes to do with this new tie-up, which has it purchasing around 10 percent of Kingsoft Cloud Group, which is Kingsoft’s cloud computing unit. (Chinese article) The purchase price is quite modest, with Xioami paying just $1.82 million for its 10 percent stake. There’s not much other information in the report, though it does point out that Xioami’s charismatic co-founder Lei Jun is a major stakeholder in Kingsoft.
Tag Archives: Alibaba
News Digest: November 24-26 报摘： 2012年11月24-26日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 24-26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Eastern (HKEx: 670) Seals $5.4 Bln Deal To Buy 60 A320s (English article)
- Xunlei to Spin Off Online Video Business for IPO – Source (English article)
- Alibaba, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Continue Partnership Talks – Source (English article)
- SAP (Frankfurt: SAP) Plans Shanghai Listing (Chinese article)
- Jingdong Mall CEO Says Sales to Reach 60 Bln Yuan This Year, Achieve Profit in 2013 (Chinese article)
Alibaba, Sina Haggle on Weibo Value 阿里巴巴与新浪就微博估值陷入僵局
I was surprised to see reports today that Alibaba and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) have reached an impasse in their rumored negotiations for the former to buy a strategic stake in the latter, since both sides clearly want this deal to happen as it would greatly benefit both. But then I had a closer look at the reports, and my conclusion is simply that the 2 sides are still negotiating in an attempt to place a value on Sina, whose popular and increasingly influential Weibo microblogging service lies at the heart of their planned tie-up. Such disagreement is standard for this kind of negotiation, and I fully expect the 2 sides to reach a deal that should be one of the most significant tie-ups we’ve seen for China’s Internet space since the merger of leading online video sites Youku (NYSE: YOKU) and Tudou earlier this year.
News Digest: November 23 报摘： 2012年11月23日
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 Talks On Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Investment At Impasse Over Price – Source (Chinese article)
- AIG (NYSE: AIG) Explores Joint Venture with PICC Group and PICC Life (Businesswire)
- GM (NYSE: GM) Rolls Out China-Developed Electric Car in World’s Top Auto Market (English article)
- Tencent (HKEx: 700) WeChat Reinstates “Public” Account Verification (English article)
- Xiaomi Box Temporarily Suspends Video Content Service (Chinese article)
Sina Weibo Sniffs E-Commerce With Alibaba 阿里巴巴或牵手新浪微博
New reports over the weekend have Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) popular but profit-challenged Weibo microblogging service sniffing out a strategic tie-up with e-commerce leader Alibaba, in what looks like a very smart tie-up to me if it’s true. Meantime in related news, NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) is shuttering one of its main social networking services (SNS) sites, again reflecting how difficult it is to make money in the popular but cash-poor world of SNS. Let’s take a look first at the big news regarding a potential Sina-Alibaba tie-up, which would mark a major step in the drive by Sina Weibo towards becoming profitable.
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Dangdang: Past the Worst? 当当：渡过最坏时期？
A couple of interesting news bits are coming from the e-commerce space, led by the latest quarterly data from Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) that shows the worst may be past for this fast-fading sector pioneer. Meantime, we’re also getting new sales figures for the November 11 Singles Day holiday from Jingdong Mall, showing just how distant a second-place player the company is to sector-leader Alibaba.
Alibaba Raises Profits, Jingdong Raises Money 阿里巴巴净利翻番 京东商城完成新融资
New reports from the e-commerce space show that Alibaba continues to dominate the sector with its popular TMall, even as leading rival Jingdong Mall shows no signs of easing its challenge as it has raised $400 million in new funds. Before I go any further in this discussion, I should add a disclaimer saying that both of these companies are private and not required to disclose any information publicly. As such, both have become masters at strategically giving or leaking information to the media that plays to their greatest advantage. That said, there’s usually at least some truth to the information they release, which is what makes it worth looking at.
eBay, Xiu: A Smart Partnership eBay牵手走秀网为明智之举
A couple of weeks after news first leaked out of eBay’s (Nasdaq: EBAY) return to China through a new partnership with an online fashion seller (previous post), we’re getting more details about the tie-up with Xiu.com. My major takeaway is that this looks like a smart, well-conceived arrangement that could have a strong chance of success. EBay seems to have learned some important lessons and is applying them to this new tie-up, following its previous Chinese foray that began nearly a decade ago and ended in a failure costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars.
News Digest: November 13 报摘： 2012年11月13日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba Group Q2 Profit Doubles to $270 Mln (Chinese article)
- Jingdong Mall Raises $400 Mln in New Fund Raising Round – Source (Chinese article)
- eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) Joins with Xiu.com to Bring Global Style to China (Businesswire)
- SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) Announces Q3 2012 Results (PRNewswire)
- Gaopeng to Achieve Profitability in 2013 (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Walmart Overhauls Yihaodian 沃尔玛整合一号店管理层
There are a few interesting news bits on the e-commerce front, led by word that Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is busy overhauling the management at its newly acquired Yihaodian online store, in what looks like a questionable move that could set the company up for failure. Meantime, media are also reporting that the e-commerce arm of Tencent (HKEx: 700) is launching a direct assault on Jingdong Mall, in the latest chapter of China’s never-ending online price wars.
News Digest: November 4 报摘： 2012年11月4日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba in Talks With Banks For $1 Bln Bond Issue – Source (Chinese article)
- LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Announces CEO Transition and New Board Appointments (PRNewswire)
- Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU) Reports Q3 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- CNZZ: Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Takes 10 Pct of China’s October Search Traffic (English article)
- Xiaomi Acquires E-Reader Software Firm Duokan – Source (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
