I had a sense of deja vu on reading reports that a group of workers at an IBM (NYSE: IBM) plant in south China had gone on strike, unhappy about the terms of their transfer to domestic PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) under a recent M&A deal. It seems the workers in the city of Shenzhen were offered similar pay and other terms under the transfer, which came as the result of Lenovo’s pending purchase of IBM’s low-end server business announced in January. But the workers were still unsatisfied, feeling they should get higher pay for agreeing to work at a domestic company rather than the more prestigious IBM. Read Full Post…
Embattled smartphone and telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is all over the headlines today, led by word that the company has strongly bounced back into the black after a major restructuring to cut costs and realign its businesses. ZTE also announced aggressive sales targets this year for its fast-growing smartphone business, which it hopes will offset much slower growth for its older networking equipment unit. But the upbeat news was partly offset by word that the US is launching a new probe into ZTE and several other smartphone makers, after a US company filed a patent infringement complaint. Read Full Post…
A week after declaring it was abandoning the US networking equipment market for now, Huawei is adding that it remains committed to the less controversial American smartphone market. At the same time, one of China’s biggest high-tech exporters is admitting it faces a long and difficult road in the highly competitive US smartphone market where global leaders Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Samsung (Seoul: 005930) dominate. This admission and newer low-profile approach look like a smart moves to me, since the chances of Huawei capturing more than 10 percent of the US smartphone market in the next 5 years are practically zero.
Some longtime Chinese workers at a Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) plant in Guangdong got a rude surprise when they were recently asked to take pay cuts, as the former cellphone giant struggles to halt its rapid decline. But rather than accept the cuts, the workers went on strike to protest the cost-saving measure after Nokia’s recent purchase by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), a move which could offer the best chance of saving the company. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 23-25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Rectification Coming For Mobile Game Sector – Culture Ministry Official (Chinese article)
Shares of 500.com, Sungy Mobile Roar On NY Trading Debut (English article)
Chinese Nokia Workers Pledge To Continue Strike (English article)
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) CEO Says NSA Fallout Impacting China Business (English article)
Alibaba Blocks Referrals To Mobile E-Commerce Platforms From WeChat (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Hundreds Of Chinese Nokia Workers Protest At Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Deal (English article)
Unicom (HKEx: 762), Huawei Partner To Offer Internet TV In Qingdao (English article)
Chalco (HKEx: 2600) Vice President Li Dongguang Under Investigation (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Sets Up Silicon Valley R&D Center (Chinese article)
500.com Raises Price Range For IPO To $11-$13 Per ADS, From Previous $9-$11 (Chinese article)
The latest moves from embattled telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies are showing it will continue its aggressive public relations campaign to convince the world it is a serious company and not just a spying arm of Beijing. One of those moves has Huawei actually lobbying on behalf of its major European rivals as everyone gets set to bid for billions of dollars in contracts to help China build its 4G mobile networks. The other comes in a new executive appointment that has Huawei hiring a major former top executive from Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V), as part of the company’s drive to make its management team look more global. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) Adds Another Deal With Offer For Carlyle’s Yashili (English article)
EU Trade Chief To Discuss Solar Dispute In Beijing (English article)
Software Developer SkyTech to IPO in HK – Source (English article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) To Roll Out Portable Wi-Fi Router Device (Chinese article)
Huawei, Responding To Rumors, Says No Plans To Buy Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Games Will Be Breakthrough Area For Tencent (HKEx: 700) WeChat – Ma (Chinese article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Acquires Online Video Business of PPS for US $370 Mln (PRNewswire)
Ex-Qidian Team to Provide Content for Tencent (HKEx: 700) Book Channel (English article)
Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) Changes China Head For 4th Time In 3 Years (Chinese article)
Alibaba Posts Q4 Profit Of $640 Mln, Up 172 Pct (Chinese article)
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.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941), Vodafone (London: VOD) To Bid For Myanmar License (HKEx announcement)
Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) Closes Biggest China Stores (Chinese article)
UBS Was Mystery Lender For Thai Group’s Ping An Buy (HKEx: 2318) – Sources (English article)
I’ve been following the world of technology for more than a decade now, and so many big names have come and gone during that time that nothing really surprises me anymore, especially in the cellphone space where 2 years is the equivalent of an eternity. That seems like an appropriate backdrop for the latest smarphone data, which show that Huawei has come roaring out of nowhere to become the world’s third largest player, according to the latest quarterly figures from data-tracking firm IDC. (English article; Chinese article) At the same time, another recent Chinese fast-riser, ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), has also cemented its place in the global top 5 by finishing at number 5. For anyone too lazy to connect the dots, that means that China now owns 2 of the top 5 spots in the important global smartphone market, with Huawei and ZTE collectively controlling about 9.2 percent of the market in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 7.5 percent a year earlier.
I’ve been following the world of technology for more than a decade now, and so many big names have come and gone during that time that nothing really surprises me anymore, especially in the cellphone space where 2 years is the equivalent of an eternity. That seems like an appropriate backdrop for the latest smarphone data, which show that Huawei has come roaring out of nowhere to become the world’s third largest player, according to the latest quarterly figures from data-tracking firm IDC. (
