Tag Archives: Jiuxian

IPOs: Lee Kai-fu’s Innovation Works Eyes China OTC Listing

Bottom line: Innovation Works’ China OTC IPO plan shows the year-old small-cap board is rapidly becoming a popular place to list for money-losing companies that might have previously gone to New York.

Innovation Works files for China OTC listing

China’s year-old over-the-counter (OTC) market is suddenly becoming the hot place for new listings by young tech firms, with word that the technology incubator founded by Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) former China head has become the latest in a recent string of companies to file for listings there. The OTC application by Innovation Works highlights a new path to market for money-losing Chinese companies that might have previously chosen to list in New York.

The main stock exchanges in China and Hong Kong don’t allow money-losing companies to list, with the result that many private start-ups used to go to New York where profitability isn’t a requirement. But New York investors are also increasingly showing lack of interest in money-losing Chinese firms, causing their shares to languish and some like online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) to sell themselves and de-list. Read Full Post…

IPOs: CICC Surges in HK, Jiuxian Bubbles Up on China OTC

Bottom line: CICC and Jiuxian are benefiting from a growing number of domestic listing options for private Chinese companies, but both will still need to show they can be profitable industry leaders for investors to take them seriously.

Jiuxian finally debuts on China OTC

A couple of new IPOs are highlighting the growing allure of China’s increasingly diverse stock markets for domestic companies that used to flock to New York. Leading the headlines is a very respectable performance in the long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut for CICC (HKEx: 3908), China’s oldest investment bank. The strong debut came even after CICC had to scale back the offering due to weak demand, and market watchers are attributing the performance to separate news that China will resume domestic IPOs by year-end after a pause of several months.

In the other headline, online wine seller Jiuxian has become the latest Chinese Internet firm to list on the country’s 2-year-old over the counter (OTC) market. The loss-making Jiuxian had initially aimed to list in New York, but abandoned that plan for a simpler offering at home. It joined other money-losing startups making similar listings over the last week, including online classified ad site Baixing and Alibaba-backed (NYSE: BABA) soccer club Evergrande Taobao. (previous post) Read Full Post…

News Digest: November 10, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════

  • China’s Oldest Investment Bank CICC (HKEx: 3908) Jumps in HK Trading Debut (English article)
  • Online Wine Seller Jiuxian Lists on China OTC, Eyes Main Board Next Year (Chinese article)
  • Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) ‘On the Move’ to Buy Stake in SCMP (HKEx: 583) – Market Talk (English article)
  • Shenzhen Probes Meituan, Ele.me for Using Unauthorized Restaurants (Chinese article)
  • China Issues Draft E-commerce Counterfeit, Online IPR Infringement Rules (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

IPOs: Wine Seller Jiuxian, Dangdang Write Off New York

Bottom line: Jiuxian’s decision to list in China and Dangdang’s continued effort to de-list from New York show that low-quality Chinese firms will have difficulty getting attention from US investors and are probably better listing in their home market.

Jiuxian wine cellar to list on China’s OTC

Two news items continue to show a growing distaste for New York by Chinese web firms, led by word that veteran online wine seller Jiuxian has just received approval for an IPO on China’s over-the-counter (OTC) board. The second items comes from veteran e-commerce site Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), whose outspoken CEO is quoted complaining about his company’s low valuation and saying his plans are moving forward to de-list from New York and re-list in China.

The most commonly heard theme to these stories is that Chinese firms can get better valuations in their home market than New York, because their names are more recognized in China. But another theme that gets far less attention is that many of these complaining companies are simply low-quality products whose only real attraction is their “made in China” label. Read Full Post…

FUND RAISING: Wine Seller Jiuxian Dilutes, Baidu Buys Back

Bottom line: Jiuxian’s raising of a seventh funding round reflects fading investor interest in online wine sellers due to a luxury slowdown, while Baidu’s share buyback plan looks like a good use of cash to support its sagging stock.

Investors lose taste for online wine sellers

I’ve been a financial news reporter for quite some time now, but even I was surprised to read that online wine seller Jiuxian has just raised funds in a new round of G-series funding. This marks the first time I’ve seen the letter “G” in such a context, and I had to do some counting on my fingers to finally figure out the 500 million yuan ($80 million) funding round represents the seventh for this company that apparently has yet to make a profit despite so much private investment.

Baidu

Meantime, online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) was in a spending mode with its announcement that it would dole out up to $1 billion over the next year to support its sagging stock that plunged to a 1-year low this week on a weak earnings report. This particular use of money looks reasonable for a cash-rich company like Baidu. I do find the timing just slightly ironic, since Baidu raised $1.25 billion through a bond offer just a month ago, meaning this latest buyback will be funded by the same investors who have recently been dumping the company’s stock.  more information here Read Full Post…

News Digest: July 31, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Announces $1 Bln Share Repurchase Program (PRNewswire)
  • Focus Media May Drop Backdoor Listing, Eyes New Strategic Industries Board (Chinese article)
  • Wine E-tailer Jiuxian Lands 500 Mln Yuan Series G Funding (English article)
  • China Renaissance Earmarks Half of 5 Bln Yuan Fund Raising for VIE Buyouts (Chinese article)
  • China Box Office Posts Monthly Record with 5 Bln Yuan in July (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

News Digest: April 5, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  • Chinese IPO Drought in New York Ends as Tarena (Nasdaq: TEDU) Advances (English article)
  • Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Announces Up to $600 Mln Share Repurchase Program (PRNewswire)
  • Alibaba’s Jack Ma Invests $532 Mln In Financial Software Firm (English article)
  • Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Makes $90 Mln Investment In Video Site Xunlei (Chinese article)
  • Online Wine Merchant Jiuxian Announces 260 Mln Yuan Fifth-Round Funding (English article)

Dynasty Warning: Wine Bubble Bursting 王朝酒业发布盈利预警 葡萄酒行业泡沫破裂

There must be something festive in the air as Chinese New Year approaches, since I’m writing about the alcoholic beverages industry for the second time this week with word that leading domestic wine maker Dynasty Fine Wines Group (HKEx: 828) has issued a profit warning. But whereas my previous post talked about the big potential in the baijiu industry for high-alcohol spirits (previous post), my latest post is decidedly more downbeat and points to a big bubble starting to burst in the fast growing but increasingly crowded market for western-style grape-based wines.

Read Full Post…

China Wine Plays: Oversaturation? 中国红酒电商:“跟风潮”来袭?

Two news bits from the wine sector are making headlines, shining a spotlight on this hot industry whose fast growth is being fueled by millions of new middle class Chinese who are willing to pay big money for premium products like wine and coffee. But these latest 2 deals also reflect intensifying competition in a sector that could easily become the next bloody battlefield for over-eager Chinese start-ups, resulting in big losses and ultimately an ugly consolidation.

Read Full Post…

News Digest: December 7 报摘: 2012年12月7日

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  • GM (NYSE: GM) China November Sales Increase 9.7% on Buick, Chevrolet (English article)
  • Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Tests Out Finance With Small Loan Unit (Chinese article)
  • Yum (NYSE: YUM) Tweaks China Growth Plans, Targets More Pizza Huts (English article)
  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Says Apple Must Discuss IPhone Benefit Sharing (English article)

Jiuxian Targets Taste For Wine

One week after brewing giant Anheuser Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) made headlines with the launch of its Stella Artois brand as a premier beer for the China market (previous post), online wine merchant Jiuxian is making a similar splash with disclosure of its latest venture funding, reflecting the growing spending power of an emerging class of affluent Chinese yuppies. Jiuxian isn’t giving a lot of details, except to say that it recently received the funding from a group led by US heavyweight Sequoia Capital and another venture firm called Oriental Fortune, and that the amount was bigger than its first-round funding of 20 million yuan, or just over $3 million, that it received in April. (English article) Previous reports had indicated Jiuxian was aiming to raise as much as $50 million in its second round of funding, so clearly things are moving along smoothly for the company as it builds a network of warehouses throughout China to cater to the tastes of affluent young urbanites who don’t mind spending a little extra for a bottle of red or white wine to show off their status. Back in September, Chinese media reported that another online wine merchant, WineNice, secured 80 million yuan in first-round funding from 2 Chinese venture companies, again underscoring the high growth potential of this space. (Chinese article) Like Jiuxian, WineNice, which was founded just 3 years ago, said it would use the money to build up a national infrastructure to deliver its wine to China’s large cities where demand is growing fast, adding it expects sales this year to top 150 million yuan, equaling about 1.5 million bottles of imported wine. Unlike the overheated broader e-commerce space, this niche market for online premium products like wine looks a little safer, as there’s less competition so far and the market for affordable luxury products like wine and premium beer is likely to grow rapidly in the next few years. That said, I would watch for Jiuxian, WineNice and others in this space to quickly turn profitable, and for the first IPOs from this sector to start popping up by the end of 2014.

Bottom line: The latest funding for online wine merchant Jiuxian underscores the big growth potential for this sector, spurring the rise of a new group of companies that could make their first IPOs as soon as 2014.

Related postings 相关文章:

InBev Taps China’s Thirst for Luxury Brands 中国人重面子百威英博趁机引入高端啤酒品牌

Diageo’s China Baijiu Bid: Aiming for the Middle 帝亚吉欧瞄准中国中档白酒市场

Coke’s China Formula: A Pulpy and a Smile 可口可乐入乡随俗显成效