Forget about Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), the US computer giant that overtook China’s Lenovo (HKEx: 992) to retake the spot as the world’s biggest PC maker late last year. In discussing its latest quarterly results released late on Wednesday, Lenovo’s talkative chief executive Yang Yuanqing had scant time to discuss his company’s recent loss of the global PC crown to HP, a previous obsession for him for much of the previous 2 years. (results announcement) Instead, Yang appears to have turned his sights to some equally big targets in the form of Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world’s top 2 makers of smartphones, as Lenovo makes its own aggressive push into the space.
Tag Archives: Huawei
News Digest: January 31 报摘：2013年1月31日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Announces Fiscal 3rd Quarter Results (HKEx announcement)
- ChinaHR Begins Layoffs, Some Employees Protest (English article)
- Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Nasdaq: RUTH) Expands Global Presence to China (Businesswire)
- CNOOC (HKEx: 883) Announces Business Strategy For 2013 (HKEx announcement)
- EU Requests Huawei, ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Raise Exported Product Prices 29 Pct (English article)
US Elections Behind, A123 Sale Moves Ahead 美国大选之后，A123出售新进展
After a stormy 2012 that saw growing trade friction between China and the US, I’m happy to see that 2013 is getting off to a better start with Washington’s approval of a potentially sensitive sale of a bankruptcy US technology firm to a Chinese buyer. Many readers will know that I’m talking about the case of A123 Systems, a former high-flying US battery maker that fell on hard times as new energy industries worldwide experienced a broader downturn in demand for their products.
Huawei, ZTE: Uneasy Smartphone Giants 华为和中兴：创业易守成难
I’ve been following the world of technology for more than a decade now, and so many big names have come and gone during that time that nothing really surprises me anymore, especially in the cellphone space where 2 years is the equivalent of an eternity. That seems like an appropriate backdrop for the latest smarphone data, which show that Huawei has come roaring out of nowhere to become the world’s third largest player, according to the latest quarterly figures from data-tracking firm IDC. (English article; Chinese article) At the same time, another recent Chinese fast-riser, ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), has also cemented its place in the global top 5 by finishing at number 5. For anyone too lazy to connect the dots, that means that China now owns 2 of the top 5 spots in the important global smartphone market, with Huawei and ZTE collectively controlling about 9.2 percent of the market in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 7.5 percent a year earlier.
News Digest: January 29 报摘：2013年1月29日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Goldman (NYSE: GS) Launches ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Selldown Of About $1 Bln (English article)
- Ban On Games Consoles May Be Lifted, Suggests Culture Ministry Source (English article)
- Xiaomi, CNTV Partner on Internet TV Set-Top Box (English article)
- China’s SMS Volume Grows Just 2 Pct in 2012 (Chinese article)
- Huawei Enters Global Top 3 For Smartphones, Profitability Low (Chinese article)
Huawei’s Ren: China’s “Wizard of Oz”? 华为任正非：中国的《绿野仙踪》？
I’m just coming back after a week’s absence, so thought I would mark my return by writing about one of my favorite subjects: Ren Zhengfei, the super-shy founder of telecoms giant Huawei Technologies. I don’t usually believe in conspiracy theories, but if I did I might be starting to wonder if Ren is really the powerful and insightful person Huawei keeps describing for us. Instead, I might be starting to wonder if perhaps Ren was a myth created for public consumption, much like the title character in the famous novel “The Wizard of Oz” turned out to be a modest, largely powerless man instead of the powerful wizard he wanted everyone to believe he was.
News Digest: January 5-7 报摘：2013年1月5-7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 5-7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Qihoo 360 (Nasdaq: QIHU), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Nearing Partnership Deal (English article)
- Automakers In China Brace For Year Of Tepid Growth As Japanese Struggle (English article)
- China’s Huawei Expects Profit Jump After Reporting Drop In 2011 (English article)
- China Galaxy Securities Files Application For $1.5 Bln HK-Shanghai IPO (English article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Enters Online Gaming Market – Source (English article)
ZTE Sells Assets, Huawei Courts Iran 中兴出售资产，华为讨好伊朗
After a few weeks of silence, embattled telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) are back in the headlines again for the wrong reasons, with more bad news for each of these 2 companies that have lately entered an endless downward spiral. Exactly where this spiral of bad news will end is anyone’s guess, and I suspect 2013 won’t be a particularly good year for either company. But we could finally see the situations at both firms stabilize around the middle of the year, especially if either starts to gain some traction for its less controversial newer smartphone business.
News Digest: December 15-17 报摘： 2012年12月15-17日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Regulator: Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) China’s Kindle Store Violates Regulations (English article)
- US Drops China’s Alibaba’s Taobao, Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sougou From ‘Notorious’ List (Chinese article)
- iPhone 5 Gets Chilly China Reception, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Shares Drop 3.8 Pct (Chinese article)
- Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) COO Du Hong to Become CEO – Source (Chinese article)
- Huawei’s US-Based Telecoms Infrastructure Unit Cuts More Than 100 People (Chinese article)
ZTE, Huawei Scale Back Invesments 中兴、华为收缩战线
A couple of months after suffering a major setback in the US, hobbled telecoms equipment giants Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) are trying hard to convince the world that they are still committed to expansion in the west with 2 new investment announcements. But neither announcement looks very exciting in terms of size, and both look like feeble efforts to try to prove that neither company is ready to admit a slowdown in its global expansion. Both cases involve investment in new product development, with ZTE announcing a plan to invest in the US and Huawei focusing on Europe.
Canada OKs CNOOC Buy, AIG Tests US 中海油竞购尼克森获批
Fresh on the heels of a victory in its bid to buy Canadian energy exploration firm Nexen (Toronto: NXY), China is preparing to test its luck once again with another sensitive attempt to buy one of the largest US aircraft leasing companies from insurance giant AIG (NYSE: AIG). I previously predicted the Canadian government would ultimately approve the purchase of Nexen from state-run Chinese oil major CNOOC (HKEx: 883; NYSE: CEO), which the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper finally did just before the weekend after months of foot dragging. But a separate group of state-backed buyers that includes China’s biggest bank ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) should look closely at the fine print in final Nexen verdict, which could presage a bumpy flight path ahead in their surprise $5.5 billion bid for ILFC, the aircraft leasing arm of AIG.
