I was quite intrigued when buzz first emerged last week about a new tie-up between Internet leaders Alibaba and Tencent (HKEx: 700) and insurance giant Ping An (HKEx: 2318; Shanghai: 601318), hoping we might see an innovative financial services tie-up between these 3 industry titans. So it came as somewhat of a disappointment when reports disclosed the companies would pool resources to simply launch a new online insurance joint venture. (English article; Chinese article)
Tag Archives: Alibaba
News Digest: August 25-27, 2012 报摘： 2012年8月25-27日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 25-27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- Nexen (Toronto: NXY) Schedules Vote on CNOOC’s (HKEx: 883) $15.1 Bln Offer (English article)
- Alibaba, Tencent (HKEx: 700), Ping An (HKEx: 2318) Establish Insurance JV (English article)
- US Investigates Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Tudou Over Insider Trading (Chinese article)
- China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Merges International Operations (English article)
- China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Quarterly Earnings Beat Forecasts (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Qihoo Takes on Baidu in Search 奇虎360搜索低调上线 或挑战百度龙头地位
I’ve been watching with interest these last couple of weeks as Internet software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) takes an uncharacteristically low-profile approach to its new online search service, in a clear and interesting challenge to industry titan Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Qihoo’s controversial founder Zhou Hongwei has been mostly quiet since the service’s recent debut, even as media reported the company quietly severed its long-standing relationship with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) in launching its own technology. Now it seems that Zhou, who seems to thrive on controversy, is challenging Baidu itself, though not in the way that most people might think.
Dangdang Defiant as Losses Balloon 当当网亏损扩大 但拒不认输
It’s only appropriate that I end this week with one more story on the bloody price wars in China’s e-commerce space that have dominated headlines these past few days, this time taking a look at the just-released quarterly results of Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), the only major publicly traded online merchant. Dangdang saw its loss more than quadruple in the quarter, as its marketing costs soared and margins crumbled due to all the price wars. (results announcement) But in an ominous sign that the company is prepared for a long battle, it also trumpeted the fact that it has big cash reserves that should enable it to weather the price wars for many quarters to come. Meantime, local media are also reporting that Jingdong Mall, one of Dangdang’s biggest and most outspoken rivals, is taking longer to pay its suppliers, in what could be the latest sign of distress among e-commerce companies. (English article)
War of Words, Wal-Mart Heat Up E-Commerce 中国电子商务价格战愈演愈烈
I wrote yesterday that China’s big e-commerce names are showing no signs of easing up their fierce battle for market share (previous post), and today we’re getting news bites from industry giant Jingdong Mall and global retail titan Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) that indicate the situation could get considerably worse before it starts to improve. Leading the news today are the latest comments from Jingdong Mall’s talkative CEO Liu Qiangdong, who has suddenly decided that profits aren’t important for his recently established electronics business, at least not for the next 3 years. (English article; Chinese article) Meantime, in separate news Wal-Mart has won approval from China’s regulator for its previously announced plan to boost its minority share in e-commerce firm Yihaodian to a majority stake, meaning we could soon see a major new offensive from Yihaodian in this already crowded and massively money-losing market. (Chinese article)
E-Commerce: Big Spenders Keep Spending 大型电子商务企业继续挥金如土
News from e-commerce giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and web portal Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG) indicate a long-awaited consolidation in e-commerce has begun at the bottom of the Internet food chain, where many smaller players are quietly closing up shop as big names continue their aggressive fight for market share.
News Digest: August 1, 2012 报摘： 2012年8月1日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- Gaopeng, FTuan Combine to Form New Online Auction Company Groupnet (Chinese article)
- Hanlong Says China Approves $1.3 Bln Bid for Australia’s Sundance (Sydney: SDL) (English article)
- Alibaba’s TMall 3C, Appliance Transactions Up 200% YoY in H1 2012 (English article)
- Lenovo (HKEx: 992), EMC (NYSE: EMC) in Strategic Tie-Up, to Form JV (Chinese article)
- Dianping Says Mobile Users At More Than 40 Mln, Figure Surpasses PC Users (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Online Wars Hit Suning, No Relief in Sight 电子商务价格战拖累苏宁业绩
Here’s a word of caution to anyone who might have thought that China’s bloody e-commerce wars may start to ease in the second half of the year as companies start to run out of cash: Don’t get your hopes too high. That’s my main conclusion after looking at newly released first-half results for Suning (Shenzhen: 0020204), one of China’s top electronics retailers that seems determined to sacrifice short-term profits in its aggressive drive to build up its fast-growing online business. The big problem in China’s e-commerce wars, which began more than a year and a half ago, has been that most players have access to huge reserves of cash from outside sources and all have indicated they will continue to use that money to fund operations no matter how much their loses mount.
E-Commerce Wars Hit Suning 苏宁沦为电商价格战的新俘虏
Electronics giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) has become the latest Internet player to fall victim to China’s bloody e-commerce price wars, issuing a profit warning as companies get set to report their second-quarter results. Suning’s warning shouldn’t really surprise anyone since these price wars have been going on for about a year now. So perhaps the 10 percent drop in Suning shares yesterday — the daily allowable maximum under China’s stock market rules — reflects investor realization of just how bad these price wars have become and fact that Suning will suffer some major profit erosion before the situation finally eases.
Price Wars Shake Up Travel Sites 价格战或促在线旅游业洗牌
E-commerce leaders like Jingdong Mall, Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and Alibaba are taking their bloody price wars to the travel arena, where a new round of cutthroat competition threatens to infect this more established industry dominated by the likes of Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and eLong (Nasdaq: LONG). This new round of price wars could also potentially undermine up-and-comer Qunar, which just last year received a $300 million investment from search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) but could need even more cash if the sector gets plunged into the same prolonged cutthroat competition now gripping the e-commerce sector.
News Digest: July 3, 2012 报摘： 2012年7月3日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
◙ Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Pays $60 Million to Settle China iPad Trademark Dispute (English article)
◙ Youku-Tudou Online Video Market Share Drops to 32.4 Pct in Q1 – Analysys (Chinese article)
◙ Youku (NYSE: YOKU) Announces Senior Management Promotions (PRNewswire)
◙ Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Buys Back 10 Pct of Sogou Search Engine Held by Alibaba (Chinese article)
◙ Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) Announces Acquisition of eJia Express Hotels (PRNewswire)
