The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 26-28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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iPhone 6s China Launch Pits Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) vs. Analysts (English article)
Online Medical Platform Guahao Raises $394 Mln in New Funding (English article)
Postal Savings Bank to Sell 15 Pct, Possible Buyers Include Ant Financial, Tencent (Chinese article)
Everbright Bank (HKEx: 6818) to Raise $2.5 Bln Selling Shares to Parent (English article)
Huawei Reportedly Set to Cut 20,000 Jobs, Company Cites Internal “Adjustment” (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone Gets Boost From China as Sales to Hit Record (English article)
Alibaba’s Ant Affiliate Invests in China Insurance Unit of Cathay Financial (English article)
Bottom line: Major new moves by Minsheng Investment, SPD Silicon Valley Bank and Ant Financial spotlight Shanghai’s leading role in China’s push to liberalize its financial services sector with more private investment.
Shanghai leads charge into private banking
Three Shanghai banking stories are in the headlines today, spotlighting the leading role the city is playing as China tries to develop a private banking sector. Leading the trio of headlines is the year-old China Minsheng Investment, a major new private equity company backed by the nation’s oldest private bank, which is exploring a major new infrastructure project in Indonesia.
The second story has media reporting that Ant Financial, the finance unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), will become the biggest tenant in Shanghai’s new tallest building when Shanghai Tower opens for business soon. The final news bit involves Shanghai’s own SPD Bank (Shanghai: 600000), whose joint venture with US-based Silicon Valley Bank has finally received permission to do business in China’s currency, the yuan, 3 years after the venture’s formation. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Alipay’s move into Hong Kong through a tie-up with Marriott marks the start of a major global expansion for the online payment service, with Hong Kong the likely first stop due to its strong China ties.
Alipay in new Marriott tie-up
Homegrown Chinese electronic payments service Alipay is taking its growing rivalry with state-owned behemoth UnionPay to the global stage, with word of a major new move outside its home China market. That move will see Alipay follow a familiar route for many globally-minded Chinese companies, with a first stop in Hong Kong. It has Alipay forming a major new alliance in the former British colony with global hotel giant Marriott (NYSE: MAR), as the first stop on an overseas tour that could ultimately see the financial services affiliate of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) challenge global names like Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA).
This latest move is part of a larger new tie-up between Marriott and Alipay, which is part of the Alibaba-affiliated but separately owned Ant Financial. The tie-up is mostly limited to mainland China initially, but significantly includes Hong Kong-based hotels. It also marks one of the biggest moves to date into Hong Kong by Alipay, which is better known as an electronic payments service used for smaller items usually costing $20 or less using shoppers’ online accounts and smartphones. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Focus Media will re-list with a high valuation on a new enterprise-style board set to launch in Shanghai next year, while China Renaissance’s new fund to help US-listed firms privatize will attract strong investor interest.
Focus Media changes IPO re-listing plan
A couple of items are in the news involving the recent buyout wave for US-listed Chinese companies, which are rapidly abandoning New York in search of higher valuations in their home market. In an abrupt and somewhat surprising shift, Focus Media, one of the first companies in this homecoming wave, is reportedly abandoning its original plan for Shanghai.
The second item has China Renaissance, a well-respected domestic private equity firm, preparing to raise a major new fund that will help to finance privatizations of Chinese firms from New York. This particular deal looks significant, since many of the nearly 3 dozens firms to announce privatization plans this year could soon need new funding if previous commitments collapse due to recent volatility in China’s domestic stock markets. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Alibaba-affiliated Ant Financial is experiencing breakneck growth through its roll-out of a wide array of new products and services, and could be valued at up to $150 billion by the time it makes its IPO as soon as next year.
Ant Financial in Alipay offline campaign
A new report is spotlighting the rapid rise of Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) that looks set to challenge not only domestic rival UnionPay but also upcoming drives into China by global giants Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA). Much of Ant’s incredibly rapid rise is tied to its core Alipay asset, which began life as an electronic payments service but is rapidly moving into other areas like credit card-style offline payments and savings account services.
The latest reports also contain a new figure on Ant’s valuation following its first major capital raising. That figure of $45 billion is substantially larger than an earlier figure of $30 billion that was contained in initial reports on the funding just a week ago. (previous post) But those earlier reports also pointed out the low valuation was based on shares that were probably sold at a discount to a big domestic institutional investor, perhaps for strategic reasons, and that the real value could be as high as $50 billion. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Ant Financial’s valuation looks low but reasonable based on its first major fund raising, and the figure is like to triple or more by the time it makes its domestic IPO in around the next 2 years.
Ant Financial gets low valuation in new funding
After months of negotiations, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) affiliated financial services unit Ant Financial has finally closed its first major funding round as it revs up a campaign to challenge established state-run banks. But what most surprised me in the latest reports were the low valuation that Ant got from the funding, with the final figure coming in far below all of the earlier forecasts.
The moral of the story is that Ant Financial and other similar privately funded financial services companies still have big potential. But limitations that restrict such companies from seeking foreign investment are likely to limit their valuations, since only a small field of domestic Chinese institutional investors have big enough sums of money to finance high-growth companies like Ant. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 4-6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Ant Financial Raises 13 Bln Yuan in First Funding, Valued at 180 Bln Yuan (Chinese article)
Alibaba-backed (NYSE: BABA) Meizu Sells 8.9 Mln Smartphones in H1, Up 540 Pct (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Shanghai will bid aggressively for Chinese tech firms to list on a new Nasdaq-style board planned for the city, while shares of companies privatizing from New York will continue to sag in sync with China’s stock market sell-off.
Soccer club eyes IPO on new Shanghai board
A new Shanghai-based Chinese board that aims to compete with Wall Street for new high-tech listings is moving closer to reality, with reports that Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi online video service and Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) affiliated Ant Financial unit will be among the exchange’s inaugural listing candidates. A separate report also says that another Alibaba-affiliated company, soccer team Evergrande Taobao, will also list on the board, which is being referred to right now as the new strategic industries board.
Meantime in New York, the current week looks set to end with just a single privatization announcement for a US-listed Chinese firm, a sharp slowdown from the 20 earlier offers in the month of June. In this case the abrupt slowdown is at least partly due to the plunge in China’s stock markets this week, and we’re unlikely to see any more offers until the situation stabilizes. Read Full Post…
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.
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iQiyi, Ant Financial Picked to Make First IPOs on New Strategic Industries Board (Chinese article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Said in Talks for More Seattle-Area Office Space (English article)
Xiaomi Sold 34.7 Mln Smartphones In H1 2015, Up 33 Pct Year-On-Year (English article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 763) Makes 4G Service Available to MVNOs (Chinese article)
Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Receives Final Judgment in Its Dispute With eLong (GlobeNewswire)
Bottom line: Alibaba’s boosting of its stake in a leading Indian e-payments firm is part of a broader strategy that aims to replicate its China success in India through a series of acquisitions, and looks relatively well conceived.
Alibaba eyes new India investment
Just a week after abruptly pulling out of a major US investment, e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is increasingly focusing on India as the first major stop on its global expansion, with word that it’s in talks for a major new investment in a local e-payments firm. The new investment in Paytm, which would be worth about $600 million, is just the latest in a growing string of similar Indian acquisitions for Alibaba as it tries to replicate its success in China in overseas markets.
From a strategic perspective, India looks like a smart bet for Alibaba. The Indian market shares many characteristics with China, including the lack of a mature western-style retail industry from the pre-Internet era. As a result, a far bigger percentage of people in these markets are more likely to shop online. What’s more, the Indian retail market is relatively less competitive than western markets, and is experiencing rapid growth. Read Full Post…
