Tag Archives: George Soros

INTERNET: Time to Enter Alibaba, Baidu After Soros Departure?

Bottom line: Alibaba’s stock could be set for a modest rebound in the remainder of the year after a round of heavy institutional selling, while Baidu’s shares could see more downward pressure on concerns about its stagnating profits.

Alibaba shares set for rebound

Big news at the end of last week saw billionaire investor George Soros declare that he recently sold most of his shares in China’s 2 leading US-listed Internet companies, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), as he decided to lock in profits on concerns the stocks were overvalued. His actual holdings in both stocks weren’t that big, but his huge influence almost certainly prompted other big fund managers to follow suit. That could explain the big downward pressure both stocks felt during the second quarter.

Of course small investors like myself and anyone reading this post are usually the last to find out about this kind of trading by influential buyers, meaning it’s already already too late to trade on this news. But the more interesting prospect is whether or not shares of one or either companies have reached a bottom and could be set for a rebound. Read Full Post…

China Mobile Eyes Myanmar

China Mobile buzzes Myanmar

Dominant Chinese mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has a well established track record for its inability to do much outside its home market, but that could change soon with word that it’s teaming with European giant Vodafone (London: VOD) to bid for a mobile license in Myanmar. I’m often quite critical of China Mobile, as I think this cash-rich but lazy company has done little to take advantage of its huge size and resources to innovate and expand both at home and abroad. But in this case we’re finally seeing an initiative that looks well conceived, giving it a good chance of success as China Mobile looks to move into more competitive global markets. Read Full Post…

HNA: China’s Next Big Global Investor? 海航集团:中国下一个大型全球投资者?

China’s HNA Group is taking an unusually high-profile approach to global M&A, seeking out assets at bargain prices as it attempts to become one of China’s  first major private investors on the worldwide stage. HNA, controlled by tropical Hainan province, is perhaps best known for its ownership of Hainan Airlines (Shanghai: 600221), a flagship asset long considered one of China’s best run airlines and whose investors also include billionaire George Soros. Now the company is talking about a recent global buying spree that has seen it snap up assets in a range of industries, including shipping and hotels, and boasting it has an additional war chest of more than $6 billion for more purchases. (English article) This company already caught my attention last year when its name popped up as a serious bidder for struggling US film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, better known as MGM. In August it teamed up with a private equity firm to buy GE’s (NYSE: GE) SeaCo container leasing unit for $1 billion, and its top executive said it’s sniffing around for other major deals as well. Despite its government ties, this company is quite interesting as it behaves much more like a private firm than other big Chinese global investors, whose moves are often motivated as much by politics as by commercial factors. As such, HNA looks strikingly similar to CITIC, the sprawling, quasi-private Chinese investment group that became a pioneer in the 1980s and ’90s by buying up assets outside China, many of those in Hong Kong, as the country began opening to the West. It’s still far from clear that HNA can become a serious new Chinese investor on the global stage, as the major transactions it is trying to pursue are often expensive, complex and could potentially run into political issues. But HNA certainly seems determined to become a player, and its strong connections and limited successes so far could mark the beginning of its longer-term emergence as a big new player on the global investment scene.

Bottom line: HNA Group could become China’s next big major global investor if it can extend its short but relatively successful strategy for global M&A.

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