Bottom line: Alibaba’s combining of its mapping and web browser units under a single leader marks the start of a necessary rationalization of its many acquisitions over the last 2 years, which could produce some odd pairings.
Alibaba combines UCWeb, AutoNavi units
After nearly 2 years of making billions of dollars in strategic acquisitions, we’re finally seeing an attempt by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) to integrate and rationalize some of those purchases through new tie-ups and other pooling of assets. In this case the integration is coming in an executive move, which is seeing the founder of its AutoNavi online mapping division leave the company. His former position will be taken over by the founder and head of Alibaba’s UCWeb browser division, combining the 2 units under the leadership of a well-respected tech leader named Yu Yongfu. Read Full Post…
Sometimes reporting on China’s high-tech industries feels like being trapped in a world where the same things happen again and again, as Beijing and companies repeatedly make the same mistakes. The nation is famous for its boom-bust cycles fueled by companies piling into the latest hot products, leading to price wars and battles for market share before most players go bankrupt or leave the space. A similar phenomenon has occurred in computer operating system (OS) space, where China has tried repeatedly to foster development of products that can supplant Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) dominant Windows OS and more recently Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) popular Android OS for smartphones. Read Full Post…
I wrote earlier this week about how the free Firefox mobile operating system (OS) could intensify the already fierce competition in China’s smartphone market, and now we’re getting word that such a development could come quite soon with the release of new Firefox models from local leaders Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). It’s no coincidence that all this news is coming out around the same time, since all the major smartphone and mobile chip makers are currently showcasing their latest wares this week at the Mobile World Congress, the industry’s biggest show held each February in Barcelona. Read Full Post…
