The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 15-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════
WuMart Joins Bidding for China McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), 3 Groups Submit Bids (Chinese article)
PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) Reaches Deeper Into China With UnionPay Partnership (English article)
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Investigates Potential Autopilot Link in Fatal China Crash (English article)
China or India Next on Pokemon Go Roadmap – Reports (Chinese article)
Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) Unexpected Changes Chief, Danone (Paris: DANO) Plays Bigger Role (Chinese article)
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on March 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════
Marriott (NYSE: MAR) Wins Back Starwood (NYSE: HOT) With New Offer (English article)
US to Offer ZTE (HKEx: 763) ‘Temporary Relief’ on Export Curbs: Official (English article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Reaches 3 Trillion Yuan Milestone Even as China Slows (English article)
A widening web of anti-trust investigations has snared one of China’s biggest overseas investors, with word that General Motors (NYSE: GM) has become the latest foreign company to be probed for monopolistic practices. News of this particular investigation shows that no one is exempt from such probes, since GM is one of China’s oldest and largest foreign investors in the automobile sector and is quite chummy with longtime partner SAIC (600104), one of Shanghai’s largest companies. Thus by potentially punishing GM, China’s anti-monopoly regulator would also be punishing a leading Shanghai company, hurting its profits and potentially slowing its growth and future investment from GM. Read Full Post…
China’s campaign to clean up its fragmented and scandal-plagued food industry has gotten a boost on the meat front, with word of a new tie-up between national grains giant COFCO and global private equity giants KKR and Baring Private Equity Asia. This latest move is part of Beijing’s growing effort to bring in foreign expertise to create a handful of major food groups that can ensure product quality and food safety. Unfortunately, nearly all the major giants now emerging are big state-run companies, meaning most of these firms are likely to be quite bureaucratic and most won’t be available to foreign stock buyers. Read Full Post…
Bright Dairy (Shanghai: 600597) and Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) are rapidly emerging as China’s 2 dairy firms to watch as Beijing encourages consolidation in the scandal-plagued sector in a bid to create a handful of giants that can win back consumer confidence. Both companies have been in a steady stream of headlines over the last 2 days, showcasing their growing clout not only at home but also on the world stage. Bright is making news as it nears a deal to take a big stake in Israeli dairy Tnuva, and also as it receives big new funding from a global investor. Meantime, Mengniu is also making headlines as it boosts its growing ties with French giant Danone (Paris: DANO), and as its shares mark an important milestone on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) Eases Permissioning Process For Shanghai, Other Big Cities (Chinese article)
Wangfujing Department Store, Tencent (HKEx: 700) Partner on WeChat Payment (English article)
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Prices Offerings of 2.78 Mln Shares, $130 Mln Convertible Notes (PRNewswire)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Reports Unaudited Q4, Full Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
Danone (Paris: DANO) To Raise Stake In Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) For $665 Mln (English article)
Leading domestic dairy company Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) and e-commerce company LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) are in the headlines with new foreign tie-ups, including a joint venture for the former and a modest acquisition for the latter. I personally find the Mengniu development more interesting and significant, as it marks the latest move in the company’s drive to become China’s leading dairy products maker and positions it for an eventual global expansion. But investors were much more excited by the LightInTheBox move, which sparked a major rally for the firm’s languishing shares. Read Full Post…
Media are buzzing about the latest survey on China’s most valuable brands, with each providing its own interpretation of the latest list from global advertising giant WPP (London: WPP) and its Millward Brown affiliate. Many companies that I regularly write about are at the top of the list, but an equally interesting is who isn’t there. I’m referring to consumer brands that are common elements of daily life for most people, printed on everything from shampoos to instant noodles. This category is currently dominated by foreign names, but the new list hints that 1 or 2 Chinese firms could be positioned to become the country’s first equivalent of Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) or Unilever (London: ULVR). Read Full Post…
China’s state planner has always been a potent force in making big investment decisions that affect the macro economy, and now it’s quickly emerging as a potent regulator of product pricing by the private sector. That’s my major conclusion following news for the second time this week that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is conducting yet another pricing investigation against foreign firms it suspects of fixing prices artificially high. Earlier this week the target of a new probe was foreign milk powder makers, and this time it’s foreign drug makers including Merck (NYSE: MRK), GlaxoSmithKline (London: GSK), Novartis (Switzerlan; NOVN) and around 2 dozen other companies. Read Full Post…
A new price-fixing investigation looks suspiciously aimed at tarnishing the reputations of foreign milk powder makers like Danone (Paris: BN) and Nestle (Switzerland: NESN), demonstrating one of the many unusual challenges that such firms face when doing business in China. Such negative campaigns against foreign firms are relatively common, and often involve real issues such as product mislabeling or other minor transgressions. The fact that these issues often become big news in the Chinese media reflects a subtle tactic by Beijing, aimed at undermining the reputation of such firms in the eyes of Chinese consumers who often trust the foreign brands more than their domestic rivals. 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.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
China Investigates Danone, Nestle on Milk-Powder Pricing (English article)
Japanese Car Sales in China Decline for Fourth Quarter (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) To Redeem Outstanding Notes Due 2013 (PRNewswire)
Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Board Selects Advisor On Tsinghua Offer (PRNewswire)
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) a Winner in China Mobile Wars, Citigroup Says (English article)
