Bottom line: Live broadcasting specialists Inke and Huya should do well over the next year but could face difficulty after that as popularity of such services fades, while Xiaomi’s stock gains over the last two days look like a dead-cat bounce.
Inke goes live with strong trading debut
Following the unimpressive debut of smartphone maker Xiaomi(HKEx: 1810) earlier this week, live streaming site Inke (HKEx: 3700) is the latest high-tech listing in the headlines with a more impressive debut in Hong Kong. This latest deal follows the US listing for Huya (NYSE: HUYA), China’s first live streaming site to make an IPO, which has tripled since its New York IPO in May.
There are some mixed messages in here, perhaps indicating mixed investor sentiment towards many of these new-economy companies as investors try to separate the wheat from the chaff. If that’s the case, investors certainly seem to think that Huya and perhaps Yinke represent the wheat in the hot online streaming category. Meanwhile, they seem less certain about Xiaomi, which fizzled in its trading debut on Monday but has come bouncing back somewhat since then. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Reuters decision to put its Chinese-language website on hold is partly a surrender to Beijing, but also acknowledges that new approaches are needed to succeed in the nation’s restrictive media space.
Reuters revamps China consumer strategy
No one else is writing about the latest strategic shift at Reuters’ (NYSE: TRI) Chinese language news site in Beijing, probably because the actual number of headcount reductions is quite small, at less than 10. But the move has huge symbolic significance, since it looks like an admission of defeat to Beijing censors who blocked the site in China more than a year ago. At the same time, the move also represents a certain realism, and the fact that Chinese consumers increasingly get their news via other channels anyhow, most notably social media. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Jack Ma is unlikely to tamper with content at the South China Morning Post if he buys a stake in the iconic Hong Kong newspaper, but instead will look for ways to leverage its content using more dynamic new media platforms.
Jack Ma eyes HK newspaper stake
A sketchily-sourced report from 2 weeks ago is suddenly getting major new credibility, with word that Alibaba(NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma is near a deal to take a major stake in Hong Kong’s SCMP Group (HKEx: 583), publisher of one of Asia’s oldest and most profitable English language newspapers. The biggest twist in the latest reports is that Ma himself and not Alibaba would invest in SCMP, owner of the South China Morning Post newspaper.
The earlier reports were based on a story citing vague rumors that Ma was in talks with the SCMP, leading me to say that such a move looked logical even if sourcing in the reports was quite shaky. (previous post) The newest report has far more solid sourcing and comes from the reputable Bloomberg, meaning the chances are high that a deal is really happening. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Mobile data usage will grow by triple-digit amounts this year as telcos boost 4G promotions, while box office growth will start to slow and the ongoing decline in traditional SMS text messaging will accelerate.
Hongbao chatter fuels mobile data surge
The usual rush of Lunar New Year-related data is coming in, painting a mixed picture for traditional and new media. The clear winner in the mix is new media, whose surging popularity helped to fuel a 70 percent jump in mobile data traffic over the holiday period. Traditional movies also performed well, with China’s box office rising 36 percent during the period. It will also come as no surprise that the big loser over the holiday was traditional SMS text messages, whose volume plunged by 25 percent. Read Full Post…
Major news items involving shenanigans at 2 of China’s top financial media are shining a spotlight on a phenomenon that doesn’t get much coverage in the west, but which is quite common in China and can often wreak havoc on companies’ stock prices. In one case, police have detained 2 top editors at the 21st Century Business Herald, one of China’s most respected financial newspapers, following an extortion scandal at the company’s website. In the other, leading instant noodle maker Master Kong, owned by Hong Kong-listed Tingyi (HKEx: 322), says it is preparing to sue the similarly prestigious China Business News for false reports that damaged its business. Read Full Post…
Private equity investor Fosun International (HKEx: 656) is closing in on a landmark but controversial deal to buy US publishing giant Forbes Media, which would become the first purchase of a major western media firm by a Chinese company. The deal is almost certain to draw attention in the US where Forbes is based, with some calling for the government to stop the sale over concerns that Fosun could interfere with Forbes’ editorial independence and block publication of sensitive content. Read Full Post…
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (Nasdaq: NWSA) ended its stormy love affair with Chinese television late last week, when it sold its last remaining major asset to a private equity firm. The company’s gradual withdrawal over the last 3 years underscores the difficulty that many western media firms still face in China’s TV market despite rapid changes over the last year. Domestic and foreign companies alike need space to act more commercially in a streamlined regulatory environment for China to develop a truly world-class industry that can someday challenge the dominance of Hollywood. Read Full Post…
