Tag Archives: clinic

IPOs: 51Talk IPO Falls Flat, iKang Bidders Back Off

Bottom line: A lackluster debut for China Online Education and abrupt end to the bidding war for iKang point to weak investor interest in US-listed Chinese stocks, which is likely to persist through year end.

51Talk operator fizzles in NY trading debut

Chinese IPOs in New York continue to sputter heading into the summer months, with the latest offering by China Online Education Group (NYSE: COE) debuting flat after raising a very modest $46 million. Meantime, one of the most hotly contested privatizations in an exodus of Chinese companies from New York has come to an abrupt and somewhat disappointing end in the case of clinic operator iKang (NYSE: KANG). That development has come with word that 2 groups vying to buy out iKang have suddenly dropped their bids, yielding to a third group associated with e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Read Full Post…

CONSUMER: iKang Calls for Anti-Trust Regulation of Private Sector

Bottom line: China’s anti-trust regulators need to wake up to the growing clout of big nmes like Tencent and Ctrip in emerging industries and move more aggressively to stop them from engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

iKang accuses rival of monopoly behavior

A war of words broke out last week between two of China’s largest private clinic operators, as one accused the other of violating the nation’s anti-monopoly laws with a recent purchase. The case pitting iKang (Nasdaq: KANG) against larger rival Health 100 (Shenzhen: 002044) casts a spotlight on growing concerns about anti-competitive behavior in China’s vibrant private sector, which boasts many companies whose size is already approaching some of the nation’s largest state-run giants.

And yet despite the size of these companies and increasing cases of anti-competitive behavior, China’s anti-monopoly regulators have largely ignored the domestic private sector, focusing instead on big foreign and state-run firms. The validity of iKang’s accusations against Health 100 still need to be proven, since China’s private clinic sector is still very young and may not have the scale to qualify for monopoly consideration. Read Full Post…

iKang Growth Steady, A Long-Term Play

iKang posts solid but unspectacular Q2 results

Let’s take a break from the usual tech and trade war chatter today to look at the healthcare sector, focusing on the newly released maiden results from private clinic operator iKang (Nasdaq: KANG). The results look relatively solid but unspectacular, though that didn’t stop investors from dumping iKang’s shares in after-hours trade after the report came out. Even if that 17 percent sell-off holds in regular trading on Tuesday, iKang’s shares are still up about 40 percent from their IPO price back in April. Read Full Post…

Legend Finds Smiles In Dental Firm Investment

Legend invests in dental clinics

Legend Holdings is trying to show it’s more than just a technology company in the run-up to an IPO as early as this year, with word that it’s investing in one of China’s largest dental clinic operators. The move looks like a smart one for several reasons, and should certainly help convince investors that Legend is different from its biggest individual holding, PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). That kind of differentiation will be critical to the success of an IPO, which could offer a chance for investors to buy into one of China’s oldest entrepreneurial firms. Read Full Post…