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Tag Archives: Fosun
Fosun latest Business & Financial news from Doug Young, the Expert on Chinese High Tech Market, (former Journalist and Chief editor at Reuters) Fosun is Chinese company.
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Yum (NYSE: YUM) China Stake Sale Said Delayed as Suitors Miss Deadline (English article)
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to Invest $350 Mln in China Biotech Hub, First in Asia (English article)
Fosun (HKEx: 656) Plans to List US Insurer Ironshore ‘As Soon As Possible’ (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Says Temporary License Extended for Import of US Goods (HKEx announcement)
Bottom line: A strong field of cornerstone investors indicates BOC Aviation’s IPO could post moderate gains in its trading debut, while Didi’s IPO plan shows that New York remains an attractive option for Chinese firms that are leaders in their sectors.
Fosun, Boeing buy into BOC Aviation
A couple of major IPOs are in the headlines today, led by some encouraging signs for an upcoming listing from BOC Aviation, the aircraft leasing arm of Bank of China (HKEx: 3988; Shanghai: 601398) that’s in the process of making a $1.1 billion offering in Hong Kong. Meantime, we’re getting some of the first concrete signals of the IPO plans for Didi Chuxing, the homegrown Chinese equivalent of Uber, which is reportedly eyeing a US listing in 2018.
Let’s jump right in with BOC Aviation, which looks like an attractive IPO to me since it should benefit from China’s booming demand for air travel. Yet despite that potential, the offer has stumbled somewhat since Bank of China first announced its plans to make a separate listing for the unit back in March. BOC Aviation was initially hoping to raise up to $1.5 billion, but pared the amount back to the current $1.1 billion after meeting with lukewarm demand due to recent market volatility. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on May 14-16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Anti-Counterfeiting Group Suspends Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) After Member Outcry (English article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Invests $1 Bln in Chinese Ride-Hailing Service Didi Chuxing (English article)
Stock Exchange Queries LeEco (Shenzhen: 300104) Over Film Unit’s High Value (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Alibaba’s new co-production deal with Paramount suggests the pair could soon form an equity alliance, following Paramount’s February announcement that it may sell a stake of itself to a strategic partner.
Alibaba Pictures invests in 2 Paramount films
The hyperactive Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is in yet another major headline today, forming a tie-up to co-produce 2 of the most successful movie franchises from Hollywood giant Paramount. But what’s most intriguing about this latest deal is the timing, since it comes just over a month after Paramount announced it may be preparing to sell a stake of itself to a Chinese buyer.
Paramount announced that intent in late February, as part of a broader move by Hollywood to cash in on China’s booming box office that is the world’s second largest behind only the US. (previous post) Paramount and the other Hollywood studios also like the fact that Chinese buyers are often willing to pay big premiums for big-name brands, which should theoretically help to boost the stock prices of those foreign companies. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shanda’s purchase of a major stake in Legg Mason marks the start of a global investment spree that is likely to see 2-3 similar sized deals in the Chinese and global financial services sectors by the end of this year.
Chen Tianqiao kicks off Shanda global buying with Legg Mason stake
With its former online entertainment empire now firmly in the past, Shanda Group looks set to embark on the next chapter of its development as a private equity investor in the financial services sector. The first major step in that campaign is in the headlines today, with US asset manager Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) announcing that Shanda has just purchased 10 percent of the company.
The purchase looks like a small first step for Shanda onto the global stage in its new carnation. The company was formerly a Shanghai-based group founded by the financially savvy Chen Tianqiao, who was an early pioneer in China’s online game industry. But poor management and a series of unlucky developments led Shanda to lose its early lead in the space, and Chen has spent much of the last 3 years selling off his various entertainment assets. Read Full Post…
Bidding wars follow certain principles, but the recent battle for US hotel operator Starwood (NYSE: HOT) between local rival Marriott (NYSE: MAR) and Chinese insurer Anbang is quickly diverging from one of the most central rules. In a move that surprised many, including myself, Anbang has suddenly upped its bid for Starwood, increasing its original offer that was already 12 percent higher than Marriott’s original and only bid dating back to last year.
In all my years of covering M&A and bidding wars, this is the first time I can recall of a company increasing its own bid that wasn’t in response to a rival counter bid. The strange move probably reflects Anbang’s worries that its original offer might get rejected by Starwood, which I previously predicted would choose Marriott as a more dependable partner despite its lower offer. Now we’ll have to wait to see if Marriott responds by raising its original offer, which is now about 15 percent lower than Anbang’s latest bid. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Guo Guangchang’s appearance at this year’s meeting of China’s legislature is a positive signal for Fosun investors, designed to ease their concerns that he might be in danger of arrest as part of an anti-corruption probe.
Fosun chief Guo attends annual Beijing political pow-wow
Local media are buzzing today with the latest thoughts from some of China’s biggest corporate leaders, many of whom are attending a big meeting in Beijing connected to the annual meeting of China’s legislature. But among all the chatter taking place on the pow-wow’s sidelines, the most interesting tidbit among companies I follow is the mere presence of Guo Guangchang, head of the massive Fosun conglomerate.
Guo’s appearance at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) would normally be a non-event, since he’s an official member of this group that provides advice to Chinese lawmakers. But Guo was in far more sinister headlines back in December, when he disappeared for a few days under murky circumstances and later said he was assisting in an unspecified government investigation. (previous post) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Vipshop looks like a strong bet due to its position as a focused e-commerce leader among consumers who are most interested in bargains and less concerned about famous brands.
Vipshop trives on bargain focus
So far this series on my favorite Chinese stocks has focused on big names like Tencent(HKEx: 700) and Fosun International (HKEx: 656), which are sector leaders with strong, focused management. But hiding behind these giants are a field of lesser-known second- and third-largest players in their sectors offering even better growth potential because they are far smaller and at an earlier stage in their development.
One such name is Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS), which has carved out a place as China’s third largest e-commerce company by honing in on shoppers who are more interested in bargains and less concerned with big-name brands. While some may call this area a niche, it’s really more of a focus since it encompasses quite a large segment of the Chinese shopping population. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Fosun International looks like a good stock pick for the next year due to strong profit growth, as long as founder Guo Guangchang can steer clear of China’s 2-year-old anti-corruption campaign.
Fosun’s Guo is company’s biggest asset, risk
Today marks the launch of a new series on some of my favorite Chinese companies, as I aim to spotlight a group of US, Hong Kong and China-listed names that look set for the best growth over the next 5 years. I’m kicking off the series with fast-rising private equity giant Fosun International (HKEx: 656) because it happens to be in the news, with word the company has launched a fledgling share buyback to support its struggling stock.
In many ways, Fosun encapsulates both the big potential benefits and also the major risks facing many private Chinese companies as they seek to become big players both at home and abroad. Fosun is actually part of a much larger group based in China’s commercial capital of Shanghai, and its private equity arm has been one of the most successful ventures of its savvy founder Guo Guangchang. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shanda Group is likely to emerge this year as China’s next major global investor with 2-3 major deals, while Renren’s plans to transform into a high-tech investment company stand a 50-50 chance of success.
Shanda, Renren see future in investment
Two former Internet high-flyers that later flamed out are looking for new beginnings in finance, with Shanda Group and Renren (NYSE: RENN) both discussing their transformation plans in separate reports this week. Shanda was once China’s leading online game operator, and its chief Chen Tianqiao dreamed of creating an online entertainment empire. Similarly, Renren was once China’s leading social networking service (SNS) opeartor, at one time often called the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) of China.
But both companies got overtaken in recent years, and were largely marginalized by better-run rivals like Tencent (HKEx: 700), NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) and Weibo (Nasdaq: WB). As a result, Shanda founder Chen Tianqiao has recently sold off the various pieces of his former empire, most recently closing the sale of his original Shanda Games operation. Renren is also in the process of privatizing, as its core SNS business rapidly shrivels. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Billionaire Guo Guangchang’s new sporting venture reflects his desire to move into entertainment, and also to win goodwill by supporting Beijing’s initiative to build up Chinese athletics.
Fosun’s Guo in sports tie-up with Europe’s GestiFute
After his brief and somewhat ominous disappearance last month, the man once called China’s Warren Buffett is back in the headlines, with word that Guo Guangchang has joined the growing ranks of Chinese billionaires making major investments in sports. In this case Guo is teaming up with Portuguese “super broker” GestiFute, whose main business is engineering the deals that allow European players to move from one soccer club to another. Among its deals, GestiFute was involved in previous transfers involving superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, showing the company is itself a major player in the business.
This particular deal is just the latest by some of China’s richest men and biggest private companies, which have suddenly discovered a huge appetite for all things sports. Previous investors in the growing trend include Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma and Wanda Group chief Wang Jianlin, who are 2 of the country’s wealthiest individuals. They also have been joined by a growing number of entertainment-related companies like online video firm LeTV(Shenzhen: 300104) and electronics retailer Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), which also owns a major online video site. Read Full Post…
