Telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is hoping to avoid the fate of faded cellphone giants Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) and Motorola by focusing on smartphones as it hones an expansion strategy that it hopes will revive its stagnating fortunes. That seems to be the latest message from the embattled company, whose profits have plunged in recent quarters as its core telecoms equipment business weakens and it pumps major new investment its cellphone unit. Personally speaking, I do think the emphasis on smartphones is a smart one as these computer-like phones are clearly the wave of the future and will probably outsell older phones within the next 5 or 6 years.
Tag Archives: Huawei
News Digest: September 15-17, 2012 报摘： 2012年9月15-17日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China’s Sany (Shanghai: 600031) Seeks Covenant Waiver on $510 Mln Debt (English article)
- Home Depot’s (NYSE: HD) Do-It-Yourself Model Fails in China’s Do-It-For-Me Market (English article)
- Huawei, ZTE (HKEx: 763) Deny Threat to US Security (English article)
- Vancl Tests Out Vietnam Market (Chinese article)
- China Telecom’s (HKEx: 728) Anhui Unit Begins Accepting iPhone 5 Pre-Orders (English article)
Lee Kai-Fu, Huawei Turn Up the Offense 李开复“军团”和华为开始反击
I lauded a group of Chinese Internet leaders earlier this week for finally taking a more offense-oriented approach to a prolonged series of short seller attacks against them, saying Chinese firms needed to be more aggressive when they found themselves being bullied by foreigners on the global stage. Now it seems that same group is turning up its attack a notch by demanding an apology from the short sellers; and in a similarly aggressive and offense-oriented move, telecoms equipment maker Huawei is indirectly expressing outrage and frustration at a steady stream of US allegations that its equipment contains deliberate security lapses designed for to enable spying by Beijing.
News Digest: September 14, 2012 报摘： 2012年9月14日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Unicom (HKEx: 762) to Release iPhone 5 within 3 Months – Official (English article)
- Paper Published By China’s Huawei Decries US Treatment (English article)
- Aviva (London: AV) Exits China Funds Sector Amid Rising Competition, Falling Assets (English article)
- Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR) Announces Appointment of New CEO (PRNewswire)
- Lee Kai-Fu, Business Leaders Demand Apology First From Citron (Chinese article)
News Digest: September 7, 2012 报摘： 2012年9月7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Solar Panel Imports Investigated by European Union (English article)
- China’s Huawei Negotiating Conditions to Join US Hearing (English article)
- NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Launches E-Commerce Search Engine (English article)
- Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) Privatization Hits Obstacle With Request for Higher Price (Chinese article)
- China Jo-Jo Drugstores (Nasdaq: CJJD) Receives Delisting Notice from Nasdaq (Businesswire)
Smartphones Surge As Apple Support Fades 中国国产智能手机崛起 运营商或减少iPhone补贴
There are a couple of interesting reports out today from the smartphone space, highlighting the rapid rise of these feature-packed phones with the growing availability of affordable, high-quality models supplied by newcomers like ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), Huawei and Xiaomi. Those increasingly popular models, many selling for 2,000 yuan or less, could quickly pose a major challenge to high-end specialists like Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), amid early signs that Chinese mobile carriers are looking to cut back their generous subsidies for these more expensive models.
Apple’s Next Targets: ZTE, Huawei, TCL 华为、中兴及TCL或成苹果下一轮专利诉讼目标
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) big courtroom victory in its smartphone patent dispute with Samsung (Seoul: 005930) could soon send a chill through China’s up-and-coming tech sector, with the US giant likely to soon file a series of similar lawsuits against companies like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). This probable new twist in Apple’s ongoing quest for global smartphone dominance would not only hit the Chinese firms financially, but would also shine a spotlight on the uncomfortable fact that most still depend strongly on foreign technology for many of their higher-end products.
Google’s Latest China Headache: Motorola 谷歌在华又遇头疼问题：摩托罗拉
The colorful love-hate relationship between Beijing and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) never seems to stop evolving, flaring up this time with extensive coverage in state-run media over big China layoffs at Google’s recently acquired Motorola cellphone unit. In all fairness, Motorola’s decision to lay off 1,400 China employees is certainly big news by itself, with the China reductions accounting for more than a third of a recently announced round of 4,000 global job cuts by Motorola. But that said, I have little doubt that domestic media are being quietly encouraged to report extensively on the cuts by Beijing leaders who still feel stung by Google’s 2010 high-profile decision to withdraw from the China online search market.
US Partners Flee Troubled ZTE 中兴遇美国顾问卸任
A key US consultant has severed his ties with troubled telecoms equipment and cellphone maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), in a worrisome development that could presage more similar defections as people seek to distance themselves from the controversial company. ZTE and crosstown rival Huawei were already facing a difficult time in the US and Europe for several trade- and security-related reasons, but ZTE’s outlook grew dimmer still last month when word got out that the company was being investigated for allegedly selling banned US computer equipment to Iran to help that country set up a sophisticated telecoms surveillance system.
Xiaomi: China’s New Apple? 小米：下一个中国的苹果公司？
The sales and marketing people at smartphone wannabes like ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), Huawei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) are probably green with envy over the surge in publicity surrounding the upcoming launch of the newest low-cost smartphone by up-and-comer Xiaomi. I’m not usually someone who gets too excited by new product launches, but I have to admit that even I am increasingly intrigued not only by this new phone, Xiaomi’s second following the launch of its first model last fall, but also by Xiaomi itself. The hype looks very similar to the kind of excitement that companies love but often have difficulty generating for their new product launches, with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as one of the few companies that can successfully generate such buzz.
ZTE Stock: Long Winter Ahead 中兴股价的冬天或将很长
Amid a growing wave of setbacks for telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), I thought it might be interesting to look at the company’s stock and whether it might be a good time to buy shares for a firm that seems to have good long-term potential despite its recent string of negative news. A quick look at the numbers leads me to conclude that despite losing nearly 60 percent of their value over the last 52 weeks, ZTE shares are probably still overpriced and are unlikely to make any major gains from their current levels over the next year.
