Bottom line: Tiger Brokers could see strong growth by banking on Chinese demand for US and Hong Kong stocks, but also faces some risk if Beijing decides to regulate the company as a financial firm.
Tiger Brokers eyes Chinese with appetite for US, HK stocks
I’m kicking off my new series on noteworthy venture-backed companies with the fast-growing Tiger Brokers, which is feeding off a Chinese love of stocks and growing demand for access to overseas markets. In the current climate where China’s own stock markets have become quite volatile and prone to big sell-offs, Tiger’s gateway to the US and Hong Kong stock markets could prove a potent draw to Chinese traders looking to diversify their portfolios with international stocks from more mature markets.
In a small but highly symbolic footnote to this story, Tiger is also finally giving Chinese investors access to many of China’s hottest companies that are traded overseas, including the Internet “big 3” of Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700). That could ultimately provide some upside for many of those stocks over the longer term, since Chinese investors are likely to boost trading volumes for many of these homegrown companies whose shares previously languished due to lack of familiarity among western investors. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A sudden spate of new mega-fundings by Meituan-Dianping, Lufax and JD Finance show there is still big interest in China’s private tech and finance sectors, despite the nation’s rapidly slowing economy.
Investors throw billions at Meituan-Dianping, Lufax, JD Finance
It seems I may have been a bit premature with my recent prediction that the mega-fundings that crested in China a year ago were finished. That’s my assessment after reading about 3 new mega-deals in the tech sector this week, all worth more than $1 billion. Leading the pack was recently merged group buying giant Meituan-Dianping, whose whopping $3.3 billion in new funding values the company at $18 billion.
That latest news came just a day after media reported another deal that saw peer-to-peer (P2P) lending giant Lufax just raise its own new funding of $1.2 billion, valuing the firm at $18.5 billion. Last but not least was announcement at the start of the week that the finance unit of e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) had just raised 6.65 billion yuan, or just over $1 billion, valuing the firm at 46.7 billion yuan ($7 billion). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lufax Completes Fundraising, Valuing Company at $18.5 Bln (English article)
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Unveils $280 Mln Joint Venture with Chinese Province (English article)
Fosun’s Guo Guangchang in Sports Tie-Up With European “Super Broker” (Chinese article)
Synutra (Nasdaq: SYUT) Announces Receipt of “Going Private” Proposal (PRNewswire)
Huawei Sets 2016 Sales Target of $81.8 Bln (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 9-11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Ping An’s Online Finance Platform Lufax Wins $900 Mln Series B Funding (English article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Making First Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Project Tango Phone (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Apologizes Over Fake Moutai Scandal (Chinese article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Sports in Alliance with NFL American Football League (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Removes Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Products From App Store (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Fairchild Semiconductor (Nasdaq: FCS) Turns Down Higher, Unsolicited China Offer (English article)
Bottom line: Mango TV’s scaled-back new funding reflects the potential and stiff competition in China’s online video market, while Lufax’s Chinese and foreign roots could make it a name to watch in the emerging private financial services sector.
Mango TV nears $1.5 billion funding
Two fund-raising deals likely to be among China’s largest next year are in the headlines as we close the week, led by a major paring back of plans by upstart online video company Mango TV. The other news is shedding more light on aggressive expansion plans by Lufax, another upstart in the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending space, which is in the process of seeking $1 billion in new funds.
Let’s jump right in with the Mango deal, which is reportedly close to wrapping and will see the company raise $1.5 billion. (Chinese article) I’m admit I’m not completely sure that the figure is US dollars, as the Chinese report doesn’t specify if it’s dollars or Chinese yuan. But the US dollar figure is more consistent with reports last month, which said Mango was seeking to raise up to 20 billion yuan, or about $3.2 billion in its second funding round. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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P2P Lending Operator Lufax Said to Seek $1 Bln at $15 Bln Value (English article)
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Jumps Most in 4 Years on Patent Deal With Xiaomi (English article)
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) Plans First Asia-Pacific Data Center in Taiwan – Govt Official (English article)
Unicom (HKEx: 762) in New Management Shuffle at Provincial Offices – Source (Chinese article)
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) Reports Q3 Results (PRNewswire)
Bottom line: Beijing should eliminate barriers that are slowing the flow of private money into lending services, in a move to offset a slowdown in lending from traditional banks that are dealing with a growing bad-loan crisis.
Obstacles hinder private lending growth
A flurry of headlines last week highlighted the recent move by private companies into China’s financial services market, led by reports that Apple(Nasdaq: AAPL) could become the first major foreign company to offer electronic payments in the country. At the same time, a chilly reception for a Hong Kong IPO by regional lender Qingdao Bank (HKEx: 3866) highlighted the difficulties many traditional Chinese banks now face due to concerns about a looming bad debt crisis.
Beijing regulators should be commended for their recent efforts to open up the financial services market to more private investment, but should consider accelerating the campaign by streamlining bureaucracy for big and well-financed domestic and foreign names like Apple and Tencent(HKEx: 700). It should also consider a similar streamlining of bureaucracy for foreign banks, many of which have left China off their global roadmaps due to stiff restrictions that make doing business difficult. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 28-30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) in $5 Bln Deal to Consolidate TieTong Assets (English article)
Oddo Counters Fosun (HKEx: 565) with 760 Mln Euro Offer for BHF Kleinwort Benson (English article)
Alibaba-backed (NYSE: BABA) Evergrande Soccer Team to Raise Over $400 Mln (English article)
P2P Lending Site Lufax to List on HK Stock Exchange in 2016 – Source (English article)
58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Hopes to Get Financial Services License in 2 Year – CEO (Chinese article)
Bottom line: New fund-raising signals indicate car services giant Uber could spin off its China unit within a year, and that Ping An-backed P2P lending platform Lufax could make a major IPO in the same time frame.
Uber, Lufax send new fund-raising signals
Two big new fund-raising stories are in the headlines, led by a modest new funding commitment that hints at a spin-off soon for the China unit of hired car services leader Uber. Meantime, the rush to see which of China’s fast-growing peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sites will be first to market has officially begun, with separate reports saying an IPO is in the planning stages for Lufax, a Shanghai based company that is backed by one of China’s top traditional financial services firms.
Both of these deals are in the mid-range in terms of size, probably worth the $100-$500 million, contrasting with a spate of deals earlier this year that were worth much more when China’s stock market was booming. It’s still possible we could see one or two more mega-fundings worth $1 billion or more by the end of the year, though such large deals could quickly disappear if China’s stock markets and economy remain in the doldrums. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 22-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Said Nearing Overhaul of Big 3 Telecom Leadership (English article)
Citic Fund Unit Said to Plan $100 Mln Uber Investment (English article)
Ping An (HKEx: 2318) Says Plans IPO for Lufax Online Lender (English article)
Huawei Prepares to Launch Honor Brand Smartphones in US (Chinese article)
Group Buying Site Meituan Losing 600 Mln Yuan Per Month – Source (Chinese article)
