October is quickly shaping up as a Golden Telecoms Month for China, with a growing number of major events looking set to take place in the month that starts off with the October 1 Golden Week holiday. Major developments that look likely to occur next month include the long-awaited awarding of 4G mobile licenses, and the announcement of another highly-anticipated deal that would see dominant telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) finally offer an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone on its network. But perhaps the biggest development for the month could see China’s telecoms regulator announce its first round of highly anticipated licenses for up to 6 new “virtual telcos”, known in the industry as virtual network operators (VNOs). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Xiaomi Turns Profitable, No IPO In Next 5 Years – Executive (Chinese article)
MIIT Approves 4 TD-LTE Smartphones, Observers See 4G Licenses Near (Chinese article)
Oriental DreamWorks (NYSE: DWA) Rewrites Its China Production Strategy (English article)
Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Qunar To Make IPO As Early As Q4 – Sources (Chinese article)
SCA (Stockholm: SCAA) To Bid For Control Of Chinese Tissue Maker Vinda (HKEx: 3331)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Telecom, NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) In JV For Instant Messaging App “YiChat” (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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KFC (NYSE: YUM) Ice Cubes Found Dirtier Than Toilet Water (English article)
Glaxo (London: GSK) Says Executives Appear To Have Broken Chinese Law (English article)
TAL Education (NYSE: XRS) Announces Unaudited Fiscal Q1 Results (PRNewswire)
China’s regulators have never been known for moving fast on anything, and that case seems to apply even more when it comes to allowing foreign players into emerging markets like third-party payment services. More than 2 years after China began awarding licenses for its domestic companies to offer such, foreign companies are still waiting for equal rights in the lucrative domestic market. But now US e-commerce giant eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) is saying it could soon become the first foreign licensee to enter the market, providing both a big opportunity but also a major challenge as it seeks to catch up to Chinese rivals with more than a 2-year head-start. Read Full Post…
China telecoms watchers are scratching their heads in complete puzzlement today, following the latest media reports that Beijing may require the nation’s 3 big telcos to all build 4G networks based on a homegrown Chinese technology called TD-LTE. This latest signal coming from unnamed sources at China’s telecoms regulator surprised even me, as there was no indication before that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) might make this requirement. But then again, the MIIT has become famous for its mixed signals over the years, in what I suspect are deliberate leaks by the agency designed to get more public feedback on internal policy debates. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Reports Q1 Results (PRNewswire)
When in doubt, regulate. That seems to be the growing attitude in Beijing these days towards China’s tech sector, following the latest media reports that one government agency is getting ready to tackle the problem of mobile spam, while another prepares rules for the newly emerging industry of apps that help people call taxis. I do agree that many problems like mobile spam need to be controlled, and that emerging sectors like taxi apps could always use some guidance to promote orderly development. But China’s growing tendency to try to regulate all things in the tech realm is a bit worrisome, and reflects a broader national love of rules, regulations and bureaucracy. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The non-stop debate over Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular WeChat mobile instant messaging service has moved south to Hainan island, where executives on both sides of the issue are speaking out at a major annual forum in the city of Boao. On one side of the issue, former China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) Chairman Wang Jianzhou is saying that WeChat and other popular mobile apps are a huge burden for the nation’s telcos, which must invest big bucks in infrastructure that these Internet-based programs require to operate. On the other side of the issue, Tencent President Martin Lau is saying that WeChat will remain free, contradicting recent signals from the telecoms regulator that Tencent will soon start to charge for the service. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 0700) Will Definitely Charge Fees For WeChat – MIIT Official (Chinese article)
Oil Spill Lawsuit Against ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Finds Way To Texas Court (English article)
Nestle (Switzerland: NESN) Brews Fresh Investment As World Savors Pu’er Coffee (English article)
3 US Retailing Giants Enter China Using E-Commerce Channels (Chinese article)
China’s Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Eyes Return To Profit In H2 (English article)
In the space of just a half year, Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular mobile messaging WeChat app has gone from obscurity, to red-hot rising star, to its latest position as a target of attack from just about everyone. The popular app has come under assault in the last 3 months from the nation’s 3 telcos, which complain that WeChat users are taking up a growing share of their network capacity. The trio have found a potent ally in the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which has stepped in to help “mediate” the dispute. On top of all that, a wave of envious rivals with copycat products is quickly appearing on the scene. Read Full Post…
