Bottom line: Airbnb should have a strong chance for success in China, thanks to its good choice of local partners, strong experience in its field and relatively little competition from homegrown rivals.
Airbnb hangs out China shingle
Not too many foreign Internet companies are coming into China these days, mostly due to the poor track record for previous big names. But that lackluster record of isn’t deterring online travel site Airbnb, which has been quite high-profile with a formal announcement of its entry to China.
The road into China is littered with cases of failure, with big names like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) all entering the market at various times, only to withdraw later. In most cases companies failed to anticipate stiff competition, which was ready to use many tactics the big international names considered unacceptable. Failure to adapt to local tastes was also a factor, as many of these big names tried to use identical business models for China that they did in the west. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Tujia’s new fund raising reflects strong investor confidence in its business model and market positioning, which could help the company to post strong growth before an IPO in the next 1-3 years.
Tujia raises $300 mln
It seems like hot Internet sites only need to say they’re looking for new money these days, and they can automatically attract big investor interest that allows them to raise huge funds and get lofty valuations. The latest company to follow the pattern is Tujia, a site that allows homeowners to rent out their vacant properties to travelers, using a similar model to popular US site Airbnb. Just a month after media reported that Tujia was finalizing a new funding round worth $250 million (previous post), the latest reports say demand was so strong that it ended up raising $300 million. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Rupert Murdoch’s shift in China strategy towards less controversial retail and entertainment projects looks smart, but is likely to meet with lukewarm success due to lack of awareness of 20th Century Fox among Chinese consumers.
Rupert Murdoch eyes China theme park
Rupert Murdoch just can’t seem to ignore the China story for too long, with new reports saying his Twenty-First Century Fox (Nasdaq: FOX) is finalizing plans for a theme park in a country that has been quite elusive for the aging media mogul. The theme park approach certainly looks safer than Murdoch’s previous attempts to enter China with more traditional media like TV and movies, and mirrors what some of the world’s other top media companies have done. Of course that means Murdoch and Fox are coming a bit late to this particular show, and the fact that 20th Century Fox theme parks aren’t exactly a well-known brand means his media empire could face a steep uphill ride finding a Chinese audience. Read Full Post…
Tech executives welcomed in the New Year with some intriguing hints on their microblogs, with posts suggesting major new moves in China from global media titan News Corp (Nasdsaq: NWSA) and online video operator LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). In the former case, a local tech executive posted a photo of himself meeting with Rupert Murdoch in China, indicating the News Corp chief was back doing business in the country after a long absence. In the latter case, LeTV chief Jia Yueting was hinting that his company could soon become the latest Chinese Internet firm to enter the overheated smartphone market. Read Full Post…
