The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China PICC In Talks With AIG (NYSE: AIG) As Buyer For $4 Bln HK IPO (English article)
- Jingdong Mall Posts 2.5 Bln Yuan in Sales For 3 Days Around Nov 11 Singles Day (Chinese article)
- NetEase Reports Q3 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- National Cable Operator To Be Formed Without China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Capital (Chinese article)
- Dangdang Announces Q3 Results (PRNewswire)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Two very different stories are emerging from the latest results of discount online retailer Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) and social networking site Renren (NYSE: RENN), which are both trying desperately to escape from the loss column amid growing investor impatience with money-losing Chinese web firms. On the one hand, Vipshop’s latest results show it is likely to emerge into the profit column in the final quarter of this year, prompting cheers from investors. But Renren appears to be moving in the opposite direction, reporting a widening loss as China’s ad market worsens. Meantime, new details are also emerging on the latest fund-raising by e-commerce giant Jingdong Mall, which also points to growing investor impatience with money losing web firms.
New reports from the e-commerce space show that Alibaba continues to dominate the sector with its popular TMall, even as leading rival Jingdong Mall shows no signs of easing its challenge as it has raised $400 million in new funds. Before I go any further in this discussion, I should add a disclaimer saying that both of these companies are private and not required to disclose any information publicly. As such, both have become masters at strategically giving or leaking information to the media that plays to their greatest advantage. That said, there’s usually at least some truth to the information they release, which is what makes it worth looking at.
There are a few interesting news bits on the e-commerce front, led by word that Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is busy overhauling the management at its newly acquired Yihaodian online store, in what looks like a questionable move that could set the company up for failure. Meantime, media are also reporting that the e-commerce arm of Tencent (HKEx: 700) is launching a direct assault on Jingdong Mall, in the latest chapter of China’s never-ending online price wars.
After failing badly in its first attempt in China, US e-commerce giant eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) is preparing for a second try at the market by teaming up with a local player online apparel seller named Xiu.com. Media reports are citing an unnamed knowledgeable source about this latest tie-up, but from my perspective it seems quite credible as eBay has been reportedly looking for a new China partner for much of the last year. (
After a brief quiet spell, e-commerce is suddenly splashing back into the headlines on several fronts, with big news coming from the sector’s top 3 players, Alibaba, Jingdong Mall and Suning.com (Shenzhen: 002024), as each chases new business. Alibaba leads off the headlines with word that it’s preparing to launch a major new promotion on its popular TMall platform; while Jingdong is getting ready to launch a major overseas foray; and last but perhaps most interesting is Suning.com, which is chasing a new acquisition.
I’ve been trying to ignore a noisy war of words developing between e-commerce giant Jingdong Mall and one of its key couriers, but I’m finally surrendering and writing about it because it’s a relatively slow news day and also I haven’t written for a while about China’s chaotic e-commerce space. This particular issue is part of what looks like a broader growing discord between Jingdong, which also goes by the name 360Buy, and many of the courier companies that deliver the millions of goods that consumers buy online. Such discord is just as much a sign of the chaos that now plagues China’s e-commerce space as it is of the rampant competition that has pushed most major players deeply into the red.
