A new “scandal” involving a popular brand of bottled water is casting an embarrassing spotlight on China’s tendency to over-regulate many consumer goods and services, creating confusion among the very people such oversight was meant to protect. China should see this case as a wake-up call and take steps to unify and streamline its complex and sometimes contradictory regulatory system. Otherwise it risks a continuing stream of similar “scandals” that will bruise the country’s reputation as a good place to do business, and needlessly worry consumers. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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‘Django Unchained’ Abruptly Pulled From China Theaters (English article)
Wanda Establishes E-Commerce Subsidiary in Beijing (English article)
Bertelsmann (Frankfurt: BTGGg) Joins With Kaixin Targeting Mothers, Children (Chinese article)
Shanda Games’ (Nasdaq: GAME) Actoz to Issue Shares For Mobile Expansion (PRNewswire)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Transforming To Compete With Apple, Samsung – CEO (Chinese article)
The rapid rise of location-based services (LBS) on the Internet is spawning a new generation of start-up companies, with taxi finders one of the latest to join the trend. Such apps use GPS technology to create services that rely on a person’s location, such as helping that person to find nearby restaurants or shops. Just this week a friend was telling me about one such new LBS to help frustrated consumers find taxis, and now we’re reading about 2 other companies that are moving onto the investor radar with their own new tie-ups. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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SAIC: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Apology Not Enough (English article)
Suntech (NYSE: ST) Receives Continued Listing Standards Notice From NYSE (PRNewswire)
A new attack on software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) by an English-language Chinese broadcaster looks like a relatively minor affair and would probably not even qualify as news in most western markets. But this is China, where all media are owned by the state and often support each other by speaking with a single voice. That means this new criticism by China National Radio could be just the opening shot against the world’s largest software maker, similar to an ambush faced by rival Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) just weeks ago. Read Full Post…
Global sector leaders Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) have finally broken their silence with PR counter blitzes, after getting pummeled by the Chinese media for weeks in a series of local scandals. Before I go any further, I’d like to personally give myself the award for my inability to read the news, as I previously said the 2 crises now facing these 2 firms in China looked like non-news that would quickly subside. Clearly I was wrong. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Cook Apologizes For After-Sales Service Lapses (Chinese article)
I’m feeling a bit cranky and contrarian today, so I’m going to be somewhat bold and give the following response to yet the latest headlines trumpeting China’s passing the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market: Who cares? I’ll admit that my response to this development is perhaps a bit unfair, since China’s attainment of the world’s smartphone title is certainly an important milestone for a country where even traditional wired telephone service was still rare as recently as 20 years ago.
New subscriber data for China’s 3 major telcos has just come out for January, so it seems like a good time to take a look at what’s ahead this year as Beijing gets set to issue 4G licenses that will usher in a new era for the sector. Based on the data and other recent developments, it does indeed look like industry leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) could finally return to a growth track in the Year of the Snake after years of stagnation as it struggled under its own massive weight. That prediction comes at least partly from the latest industry data, that shows China Mobile’s share in the important 3G market has finally stabilized after it lost steady share over the last 2 years to more aggressive rivals China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU).
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 7. 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 January 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Sharp (Tokyo: 6753), Lenovo (HKEx: 992) In TV Joint Venture Talks – Report (English article)
Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024) Misses 2012 Sales Target By Big Margin (English article)
Group Buying Transaction Volume Reaches 21.4 Bln Yuan in 2012, Up 93 Pct (Chinese article)
Iron Man Joins China’s TCL (HKEx: 2618) to Challenge Apple Smartphones (English article)
Singapore Government Sells Some Of Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Stake (HKEx announcement)
I’m feeling a bit cranky and contrarian today, so I’m going to be somewhat bold and give the following response to yet the latest headlines trumpeting China’s passing the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market: Who cares? I’ll admit that my response to this development is perhaps a bit unfair, since China’s attainment of the world’s smartphone title is certainly an important milestone for a country where even traditional wired telephone service was still rare as recently as 20 years ago.
New subscriber data for China’s 3 major telcos has just come out for January, so it seems like a good time to take a look at what’s ahead this year as Beijing gets set to issue 4G licenses that will usher in a new era for the sector. Based on the data and other recent developments, it does indeed look like industry leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) could finally return to a growth track in the Year of the Snake after years of stagnation as it struggled under its own massive weight. That prediction comes at least partly from the latest industry data, that shows China Mobile’s share in the important 3G market has finally stabilized after it lost steady share over the last 2 years to more aggressive rivals China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU).
