Panasonic Archives ~ Business China : news for investors in China

Alibaba Eyes Hollywood: Investment Coming?

By newsdoug on October 24, 2014

New reports are saying that Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) CEO Jack Ma, flush with cash just weeks after his company’s blockbuster New York IPO, is headed to Hollywood to talk deals with the industry’s top players. The reports focus mostly on the potential for new content-purchasing deals, as Alibaba looks for a spot in China’s booming market for movies and online video. But what caught my attention was a brief mention in the reports that Ma may be looking for something bigger on his trip, namely a stake in a major or mid-sized Hollywood studio. Read Full Post…

Lenovo-Sony Tie-Up Reports: Too Many Good Deals

By newsdoug on February 7, 2014

Lenovo reportedly eyes Sony’s PC unit

Update: Shortly after writing this post, Sony has announced it will sell its Vaio unit to investment firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). I still believe that JIP could ultimately bring in Lenovo to help it operate the unit in a new joint venture or other tie-up.

Let’s begin my first post in the Year of the Horse with a look at PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which has suddenly gone into M&A overdrive with the latest word that it may be in talks to acquire Sony’s (Tokyo: 6753) PC business. I wrote just before the holiday that Lenovo might already be taking on too much with its $2.9 billion purchase of cellphone maker Motorola, which came late last month just a week after its $2.3 billion purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) low-end server business. (previous post) Individually each of these 3 deals actually look relatively smart, as all complement Lenovo’s existing businesses. But a single major acquisition is always tricky even in the best circumstances, and handling 3 such deals at the same time looks to me like a recipe for trouble. Read Full Post…

News Digest: September 22-24, 2012 报摘： 2012年9月22-24日

By newsdoug on September 21, 2012

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 22-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Microsoft Asks PetroChina (HKEx: 857), Others to Stop Using Pirated Office – Sources (Chinese article)

Qunar Monthly Air Ticketing Revenue Surpasses Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) (English article)

Volvo Cars Likely to Miss 2015 China Sales Goal: CEO (English article)

Suntech (NYSE: STP) Receives Continued Listing Standards Notice from NYSE (PRNewswire)

Panasonic (Tokyo: 6752) Details Damage to China Manufacturing Sites (Businesswire)

Patent Filing: Beijing’s Latest Directive 专利申请：政府最新指导

By newsdoug on March 7, 2012

China fixates on patents It seems Beijing has decided China’s companies need to innovate more and has instructed them to do so, resulting in a flood of new patents for Chinese companies and other entities that I suspect are worth little more than the paper they’re printed on. That’s my major conclusion for why the nation’s regional governments and companies are suddenly flooding the media with reports showing off how many new patents they’ve received, as all vie to comply with Beijing’s silly innovation directive. According to new statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization, patent applications rose 10 percent globally last year, but China’s rise was 3 times that much at 33 percent. (English article) Chinese telecoms giant ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) pushed aside Japan’s Panasonic (Tokyo: 6752) to take the crown for the individual company with the most patent applications, filing for a hefty 2,826 patents versus 2,463 for Panasonic. ZTE’s crosstown rival Huawei also was busy at the patent office, filing 1,831 applications to finish third among individual companies. ZTE even put out a press release to publicize its accomplishment, adding that more than 60 percent of its filings were related to 3G, 4G, the Internet of things and cloud computing, all areas of the future. (company announcement) Meantime, one Chinese media report saw authorities from Jiangsu province congratulating themselves for seeing nearly 200,000 patents granted in their territory last year, with more than 348,000 applications filed — the biggest total for any individual province. (English article) I don’t want to be too cynical here, but am I the only one who sees all these numbers and self congratulation as a bit too loud and aimed at capturing the attention of Beijing central planners who have ordered this ongoing campaign to innovate more? I think it would be far more interesting to see how useful any of these patents are, rather than just looking at the number of actual patents, although obviously patent usefulness is far more difficult to quantify than simple figures. I do find it a bit ironic that ZTE, despite saying how hard it is working to develop new technologies like 3G, 4G and cloud computing, seems to be focusing the majority of its effort these days on becoming a top global name in low cost smartphones. Maybe they should be talking about how many patents they’ve received on that front, which could be far more important to their future than more abstract things like cloud computing and the Internet of things, which are most likely still a long way from becoming profitable business lines.

Bottom line: Beijing’s directive for more innovation is causing Chinese companies and government officials to pay too much attention to patents instead of real innovation.

Haier Takes Strong SE Asia Step With Sanyo Buy 海尔购三洋白电业务

By newsdoug on July 31, 2011

Haier opens door to Southeast Asia with Sanyo buy Home appliance maker Haier (HKEx: 1169), a former rising star among Chinese exporters that has gone quiet in recent years, has re-entered the spotlight with its pending purchase of the Southeast Asian refrigerator and washing machine business of Japan’s Sanyo Electronics. (company announcement) This deal could provide a nice boost for Haier, which was already working with Sanyo in some of the markets included in this deal, but strong execution will be critical — something Haier may or may not be able of doing. Sanyo says it is selling the business to Haier as part of a broader reorganization to eliminate overlap with its parent, Panasonic (Tokyo: 6752), which purchased a majority stake in Sanyo in late 2009. I have no doubt that this is true, but it’s also true that Sanyo lost money in its last fiscal year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if its home appliance division contributed to those losses. Part of those losses no doubt come from any of Sanyo’s costs structures in expensive Japan that Haier would inherit as part of this deal. Haier would presumably move any such operations to cheaper locations to make the business profitable. Working to Haier’s advantage, the business it is buying is also relatively modest, with revenue of around $1 billion. Haier also brings a few strong points to this deal, including its previous joint ownership of the Sanyo Thailand refrigerator business. Overall, given the relatively small scale of the business Haier is acquiring, combined with Haier’s own experience working in developing markets like its own home China market, this purchase looks like a relatively safe one for Haier and should ultimately contribute to its bottom line if it can successfully integrate the business into its own global network.

Bottom line: Haier’s plan to purchase Sanyo’s Southeast Asia white goods business looks like a smart and manageable move for Haier in its quest to become a global brand.

中国家电制造商海尔集团<1169.HK>重新进入人们的视野，公司将购入日本三洋电机在东南亚的洗衣机和冰箱业务。这项交易可对海尔起到很好的提振作用，但关键是执行，海尔在这方面的能力还不是很好说。三洋电机称向海尔出售业务属整体重组的一部分，目的是砍掉与母公司松下<6752.T>重叠的业务。我认为这种说法不假，但还有一点也不假：三洋上财年亏损，如果家电业务对其亏损有一定“贡献”，我不感意外。毫无疑问，部分亏损源於三洋在日本的成本结构，其中部分可能也会转嫁到海尔身上。海尔估计会让此类业务转入成本较低的地点，以实现盈利。海尔所购业务规模不算大，营收大约10亿美元，这点对海尔有利。总体而言，由於海尔所购业务规模不大，加上海尔自身在新兴市场的丰富经验，此桩交易对海尔似乎相对保险，而且最终应会增加海尔的净利，但前提是海尔能将收购的业务成功融入其全球网络中。

一句话：在海尔努力成就全球品牌地位之际，公司购三洋在东南亚白电业务看起来比较明智、可控。