computer Archives ~ Business China : news for investors in China

PCs: Lenovo Kicked Out of Hang Seng Index

By newsdoug on May 7, 2018

Bottom line: Lenovo’s ejection from the Hang Seng Index caps its long fall from grace over the last four years, and leaves the company in an increasingly deep hole that may be hard to emerge from.

Capping its long fall from grace, PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) has been officially booted from the Hang Seng Index, in a move that looks highly symbolic but also has some very real ramifications for this former high-flyer. It’s probably too early to relegate Lenovo to the history books, but we can certainly say the company is down for the count with this latest blow.

As someone who has followed Lenovo for most of its life as a listed company, I can provide my own view that the company is certainly facing a life-or-death moment in its lifetime that dates back more than three decades, making it one of China’s oldest tech names. I have called repeatedly for the departure of CEO Yang Yuanqing and introduction of some newer, younger blood to the company’s top ranks. But it doesn’t seem that Yang’s boss, Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi, cares too much what I think, as he has repeatedly stuck with this right-hand man throughout the company’s decline. Read Full Post…

Shanghai Street View: Passing Parties

By newsdoug on July 18, 2016

This week’s Street View centers on Xuhui District, where 2 major developments spotlight how rapid changes are creating headaches for some residents and undermining businesses that were formerly thriving. The first development sent shockwaves through the expat party-going crowd, as Xuhui’s top official announced plans to shut down most of the bars and restaurants on the trendy Yongkang Lu in the former French Concession area. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES – Smartphones Drag Down Lenovo

By newsdoug on November 7, 2014

Bottom line: Lenovo’s latest results show its smartphone business continues to gain market share at the expense of profits, and it would be better advised to focus on building a strong brand to increase customer loyalty.

Lenovo smartphones post health sales gains

The latest results for leading PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992) don’t look too rosy, even as the company’s smartphone business continued to outperform the global market. There are quite a few pieces to this puzzle, which means the longer-term outlook for Lenovo’s smartphone business is still unclear as the overheated market undergoes a much-needed shakeout. The outcome of this story will be crucial to Lenovo’s future, since the global market for its core PC business is stagnating and even starting to contract as consumers gravitate to a newer generation of more mobile, specialized devices. Read Full Post…

Lenovo-Sony Tie-Up Reports: Too Many Good Deals

By newsdoug on February 7, 2014

Lenovo reportedly eyes Sony’s PC unit

Update: Shortly after writing this post, Sony has announced it will sell its Vaio unit to investment firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). I still believe that JIP could ultimately bring in Lenovo to help it operate the unit in a new joint venture or other tie-up.

Let’s begin my first post in the Year of the Horse with a look at PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which has suddenly gone into M&A overdrive with the latest word that it may be in talks to acquire Sony’s (Tokyo: 6753) PC business. I wrote just before the holiday that Lenovo might already be taking on too much with its $2.9 billion purchase of cellphone maker Motorola, which came late last month just a week after its $2.3 billion purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) low-end server business. (previous post) Individually each of these 3 deals actually look relatively smart, as all complement Lenovo’s existing businesses. But a single major acquisition is always tricky even in the best circumstances, and handling 3 such deals at the same time looks to me like a recipe for trouble. Read Full Post…

Lenovo Eyes IBM Servers, Jumps In Japan

By newsdoug on January 21, 2014

Lenovo still chasing IBM servers

After more than a half year of silence, Lenovo’s (HKEx: 992) dream to buy the low-end server business of IBM (NYSE: IBM) is suddenly back in the headlines, in a development that I predicted quite a while ago based on the fact that both sides really want to do this deal. The first time around saw the talks founder and ultimately stall due to disagreement on price. But such a deal makes so much sense for both sides that it’s almost inevitable that it will happen, which leads me to believe that we could see announcement of a preliminary agreement sometime in the first or second quarter. Meantime, Lenovo is also seeing a positive development on the Japan front, where its 3-year-old PC joint venture with local partner NEC (Tokyo: 6701) is doing better than expected. Read Full Post…

Lenovo Sets Sights on Russia, Style 联想进军俄罗斯市场，研发时尚型PC

By newsdoug on September 6, 2011

There’s a few interesting news bits out there on Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which sum up its interesting search for direction in a brave new world where its biggest rival, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is leaving the PC business altogether and its new top rival now appears to be Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). In the first news bit, Chinese media are quoting a Lenovo executive Lenovo chic? I don't think so. saying his company is on track to become Russia’s largest PC seller in the next two years. (English article) The second bit has Lenovo trying to spiff up its image by announcing a chic new line of ultra-portable laptops, clearly more aimed at developed markets (company announcement), while the third bit cites unnamed sources saying Lenovo’s new game console, the eeDoo, won’t debut on schedule this month for unspecified reasons. (English article) The Russian campaign is clearly a smart and necessary move, as that market, one of the world’s five BRICS, is the kind of place where Lenovo can best leverage its expertise as a emerging specialist and lay the foundation for solid future growth. The new line of ultra-light computers, aimed more at developed markets, is a nod to the future, taking Lenovo head-to-head with Apple, which currently dominates that space, both in terms of chic and ultra-portability. If Lenovo wants to compete in developed markets it will need to make more moves like this, though I personally think this particular campaign will flop. After all, no one associates Lenovo with chic, at least not yet, and it will take more than a few new PC models to change that image. As to the game console business, my response is a resounding “Who cares?” Lenovo clearly wants to diversify its products to compete in as many computing areas as possible, but the console business is a dying animal that Lenovo should ignore and focus on products with a brighter future.

Bottom line: Lenovo’s campaign to win Russia is a bold and necessary step to confirm its place as the world’s top emerging markets PC maker, but its bid to become a fashion leader looks misguided.

最近有几则关于联想公司的消息耐人寻味，联想看似正在探索公司发展的新方向。随着惠普剥离个人电脑业务，联想新的最大竞争对手似乎换成了苹果。第一则消息称，中国媒体援引联想高管的报导称，联想将努力在两年後成为俄罗斯最大的个人电脑卖家。第二则消息称，联想宣布一系列超级轻薄的笔记本电脑，这明显是瞄准了发达国家市场；联想尝试以此转变公司形象。第三则消息援引未具名的消息人士称，联想的新游戏机eeDoo本月将不会如期上市，但没有透露具体原因。进军俄罗斯显然是明智之举，也很有必要。在俄罗斯市场，联想能够最大限度地发挥自身的专家优势，并为将来的稳步成长打下基础。以发达国家市场为主打的最新系列超轻薄电脑是对未来的试探，将联想推向与苹果正面竞争的舞台，当前，苹果主导这个市场。如果联想希望在发达国家市场竞争，将需要在这方面多做努力，不过我个人认为本次活动将落败。毕竟还没有人，至少现在还没有人将联想和时尚型产品联系到一起。联想需要推出多款新机型来改变这一形象。至于游戏机业务，我的感觉是“谁去关心它？”，联想显然是希望以多元化产品在尽可能多的科技领域投入市场竞争，但是游戏机业务是个夕阳产业，联想应该对其敬而远之，聚焦于具有更光明未来的产品。

一句话：联想希望赢得俄罗斯市场的举动很大胆、也很有必要，是证明其全球最大新兴市场个人电脑生产商地位的重要一步，但公司希望成为流行科技产品行业领导者的努力看似有些误入歧途。

Apple on a China Roll, Ambushing Nokia, Lenovo 苹果伏击诺基亚和联想在华发展势如破竹

By newsdoug on July 25, 2011

Apple bulldozes Lenovo, Nokia What a difference a couple of years makes. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), a tiny player in China as little as two years ago, has suddenly become a new dominant force in both China’s computing and cellphone scene, taking on traditional market leaders Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V.HE) in their respective spaces. The US maker of wildly popular iPhone cellphones and iPad tablet PCs officially surpassed Lenovo in terms of total China sales in the quarter through June (English article), while it also picked up share on Nokia, whose China sales plunged 41 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to research firm Gartner (English article). At this point, Apple looks nearly unstoppable in China, with companies scrambling to import more iPads to meet ever-growing demand and the country’s leading mobile carrier, China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) on the cusp of signing a landmark deal to offer iPhones in China that will run on its 3G network. The pirates have been making iPhone and iPad look-alikes for a while now, and even retailers are getting in on the action with a recent headline-making knock-off Apple store opening up in southwestern Yunnan province. (English article) Apple’s sudden surge in China, the world’s biggest cellphone market by subscribers and the second biggest PC market, must be coming as a shock to both Lenovo and Nokia, neither of which has strong offerings in the smartphone or tablet PC space to fend off the attack. If Apple continues to surge, which seems likely, look for Nokia and especially Lenovo to see their China business start to weaken in the next 1-2 years as each looks on powerlessly at China’s new fascination with this innovative US tech giant.

Bottom line: Apple’s sudden surge in China will spell headaches in the next 1-2 years for Lenovo and Nokia, which each lack strong offerings to counter popular iPhones and iPads.

真是三十年河东三十年河西！两年前在中国还势单力薄的苹果公司(AAPL.O: 行情)突然间成了中国电脑和手机行业新的主导力量，向传统的市场领头羊联想(0992.HK: 行情)和诺基亚(NOK1V.HE: 行情)分别发起了挑战。截至六月份的第二季度，苹果在华电脑总销量正式超过联想，同时还夺取了诺基亚的市场份额。据市场研究公司Gartner的数据，诺基亚2011年第一季度在中国的销量骤降41%。目前，苹果在中国的发展势如破竹，各大公司竞相争取进口更多的iPad，以满足中国不断增加的需求。中国移动(0941.HK: 行情)(CHL.N: 行情)接近签署一项具有里程碑意义的协议，在华引进使用其3G网络的iPhone手机。而盗版厂商们则一直在生产与iPhone和iPad酷似的电子产品，就连零售商也加入了“山寨”行列，云南昆明的“高仿真”苹果零售店就是典型案例。苹果在中国的突然崛起无疑令联想和诺基亚深为震惊，而後两者在智能手机和平板电脑领域均无强势产品可以进行反击。如果苹果继续高歌奋进，且这一趋势似乎也很有可能，诺基亚，尤其是联想未来1-2年在中国的业务肯定会缩水，因两者面对中国人对苹果产品的迷恋却无能为力。

一句话：苹果在中国的突然崛起会在未来1-2年内让联想和诺基亚头疼不已，因後两者均缺少可以抗衡iPhone和iPad的强势产品。