Note: After originally publishing this article, a Qunar spokesman pointed out that the company’s report that it had $80 million in cash was as of September 30, which would not have included the $194 million that it raised in its IPO, which occurred at the beginning of November.
Newly listed Internet companies Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) and LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) are trying hard to kill a recent window of positive sentiment towards Chinese IPOs in New York, with each announcing quarterly results that can only be described as disappointing. Not surprisingly shares of both companies tumbled after the results came out, with LightInTheBox falling well below its IPO price. More broadly speaking, this outcome reflects the pressure that Chinese Internet companies feel to put on their prettiest faces before their IPOs, which creates disappointment when a clearer picture inevitably emerges in the following months. Read Full Post…
Two highly successful IPOs late last week by Chinese tech firms may officially mark the arrival of spring for such offerings after a long winter. But now that spring has finally come on so strong, the new question becomes: Is an overheated summer on the way? My answer to that question is “quite possibly”, following the very strong debut last Friday for Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) the fast-rising online travel site that hopes to someday take on industry leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP). Qunar’s meteoric debut follows the strong opening a day earlier for online classified advertising site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA), which rose 41 percent on its first trading day. Read Full Post…
How quickly things can change! China tech stocks are suddenly back in vogue on Wall Street after more than 2 years of frigid sentiment, as evidenced by an unexpected surge in demand for 2 new offerings from classified ads site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) and online travel agent Qunar. My initial reaction to the strong demand is relief, since it previously looked like shares of Chinese tech firms might remain in an endless winter after a series of accounting scandals in 2011 that rocked investor confidence. But now I’m just a bit concerned that this sudden explosion in interest may lead to unrealistic expectations for these companies, causing turbulence for their shares.
China’s return to work following the weeklong National Day holiday has seen a sudden acceleration in the IPO plans by leading online classified advertising site 58.com, which has just made its first public filing for a New York listing. Interestingly but certainly not surprisingly, the company has suddenly turned profitable just in time for the listing. At least some Chinese media are questioning the sudden move into the profit column, and indeed such swings are often the result of creative accounting done to boost investor demand. Still, the offering looks like a potentially interesting one, following the successful debut of online game developer Forgame (HKEx: 484) in Hong Kong last week. Read Full Post…
I want to use one of my final posts for September to take a look at the IPO outlook for Q4, specifically what we might expect to see for new Chinese offerings in New York in the final 3 months of 2013. When the history books are written, this year will probably go down as one of the weakest in recent memory for New York IPOs by major Chinese firms. But that said, I do still expect to see a small flurry of activity in the fourth quarter, based on recent reports of new listing plans and signs that a 2-year-old purge of dubious Chinese firms from US stock markets may be finally wrapping up. Read Full Post…
In a somewhat ironic development, the latest application for a New York IPO by a Chinese firm is coming from one of the biggest US theater chains, AMC Entertainment, which was purchased by Chinese real estate giant Wanda Group last year for $2.6 billion. I’m calling the move ironic because most China watchers have been waiting for more than a year for the resumption of IPOs by Chinese firms in New York, following a 2 year winter that saw only a handful of companies list due to frigid investor sentiment. This latest development by Wanda and AMC may show that it’s still too early to say the recent IPO winter has finally ended, since AMC is really a US-based asset despite its Chinese ownership. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I’m calling today “legal Thursday” following word of a series of shareholder lawsuits against state-run oil giant PetroChina (HKEx: 857; Shanghai: 601857; NYSE: PTR) and e-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), whose shares have both dropped sharply in the last 2 weeks. These lawsuits may just be the first in what’s likely to become a bigger wave of similar actions by law firms that will accuse the companies of hiding information that led to their share declines, costing investors millions of dollars. In particular, we could see a flood of similar share plunges and lawsuits at other major publicly listed state-run firms if Beijing continues its recent campaign to root out rampant corruption at many of these companies.
LightInTheBox flirts with IPO price after weak earnings
The latest developments for New York listed e-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) and Singapore-listed China Mingzhong Food (Singapore: MINZ) are showing just how fragile a nascent turnaround for battered overseas-listed Chinese stocks could be. Shares of the recently listed LightInTheBox have plunged over the last week following a weak earnings report, bringing them close to their IPO level after an initial surge in their June trading debut. Meantime, Mingzhong shares have plunged even more rapidly, losing half their value after a short seller attack questioning some of the company’s financials. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Geely (HKEx: 175) Targets US Exports With Volvo-Developed Models in 2016 (English article)
E-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), the only major Chinese company to list in New York this year, is learning that Wall Street can be a volatile place, following the release of its maiden earnings report that showed slowing growth. Meantime, another much smaller Chinese micro-lender called China Commercial Credit (Nasdaq: CCCR) is making a similar discovery following a strong reception for its own microscopic New York IPO last week. Read Full Post…
