Tag Archives: Postal Savings Bank

CHINA VIEW: Dinosaurs Haunt Halls of China Post

China Post set for extinction?

The rapid demise of post offices worldwide certainly isn’t limited to China, and is just one of the many global trends being fueled by the Internet. But in China the trend seems particularly poignant, thanks to the country’s penchant for bloated bureaucracy and lifetime employment for government workers.

I’m one of the few people below the age of 60 who still uses China’s post offices, not because I want to but often because I have no choice. And my trips to the post office, while not excruciating, are often unpleasant enough to make me wish that each trip might be my last. Most poignantly, the post office is staffed with legions of young bureaucrats who will only do things a certain way, by the book, and refuse to vary from their official protocols. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: September 29, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Postal Savings Bank (HKEx: 1658) Fails to Make Waves in $7.4 Bln HK Debut (English article)
  • New Century Cruise (Shenzhen: 002558) to Buy Mobile Games Business Playtika (English article)
  • Fosun (HKEx: 656) Joins First Public-Private Funded High-Speed Rail Line Group (Chinese article)
  • Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Picks Beijing for First China R&D Center, to Invest 300 Mln Yuan (Chinese article)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Self-Driving Car to Debut in 2018, Cost More Than 1 Mln Yuan (Chinese article)

IPOs: NetEase Eyes Portal Spin-Off, Friends Deliver for Postal Bank

Bottom line: NetEase is likely to complete a spin-off of its news division, possibly through a sale to Sina, while Postal Savings Bank’s massive IPO will meet with tepid reception due to limited growth prospects.

NetEase plans portal spin-off

Two significant but very different IPOs are in the headlines as we get set for the Mid-Autumn holiday break, one from China’s vibrant private sector and the other from a big state-run behemoth. In the former category is NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), one of China’s oldest Internet companies, which is reportedly mulling an IPO for its news portal, one of its original businesses with a history dating back to the 1990s. In the other news, China Postal Savings Bank has reportedly placed most of the shares for its massive $8 billion listing with a group of 6 cornerstone investors. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: September 14, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Postal Savings Bank $8.1 Bln IPO Mostly Covered by Cornerstone Investors (English article)
  • LeEco (Shenzhen: 300104) Launches Smartphones in Russia (Chinese article)
  • Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Huawei Join in Cybersecurity Message (English article)
  • NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Plans to Spin Off News Unit for IPO or Sell for $300 Mln (Chinese article)
  • Second-Hand Car Site Guazi Raises $250 Mln, to Spend 1 Bln Yuan on Ads (Chinese article)

IPOs: Investors Cool on Postal Bank, Lufax Delays Listing

Bottom line: Weakening sentiment towards Postal Bank’s IPO reflects concerns about China’s economic slowdown, while Lufax’s choice of Hong Kong for its IPO should help to attract more international investors.

Lufax IPO bound for HK

What’s likely to be this year’s biggest IPO by Postal Savings Bank of China is limping ahead, with word the ultra-conservative lender is set to sign up $6 billion in commitments for its Hong Kong offering. But western investors are reportedly staying away from the deal, worried over high valuations and China’s sputtering economy.

Meantime, another financial IPO by leading P2P  lender Lufax is back in the headlines, with word the listing probably won’t happen until next year and will occur in Hong Kong. That news marks a flip-flop from reports earlier this week, when media cited Lufax’s largest backer saying plans were still on track for an IPO this year, with Shanghai as the preferred listing location. Read Full Post…

IPOs: Postal Bank Eyes $10 Bln, Yum China Seeks Backers

Bottom line: Postal Savings Bank’s IPO is likely to get a moderately strong reception and come close to the upper end of its $10 billion target, while Yum China’s IPO is unlikely to come until the end of this year at earliest.

Yum China spin off plans hit delays
Yum China spin off plans hit delays

What’s likely to become the world’s biggest IPO in 2 years has just officially launched in Hong Kong, with word that China’s Postal Savings Bank has made its first filing for an offering that could raise up to $10 billion. Meantime, another high-profile IPO by the Chinese unit of fast-food giant Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) is getting hit by delays, as operator of the KFC chain seeks key local backers in the run-up to a listing that could also come in Hong Kong. The Yum offering could also be quite large at around $2 billion, though it appears the deal may not come now until the end of this year or may even get pushed back to 2017. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: July 1, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China’s Postal Savings Bank Files for Potential $10 Bln IPO (English article)
  • 21Vianet (Nasdaq: VNET) Announces Withdrawal of Going Private Proposal (GlobeNewswire)
  • Bank of China (HKEx: 3988) to Sell Assets to HK Unit for $887 Mln (English article)
  • Shenzhen Businessman Buys Australian Soccer Club Newcastle United Jets (Chinese article)
  • Billionaire Wang’s Bid for Global Theater Behemoth Falters (English article)

IPOs: Postal Bank, Orient Securities Line Up for Listings

Bottom line: A new IPO from Postal Savings Bank will price and debut strongly thanks to its conservative stance, while another offering from Orient Securities could also do moderately well due to its small size.

Postal Bank set for mega-IPO in HK

Two financial institutions are lining up to launch IPOs in Hong Kong this week, led by what’s likely to be the biggest offering this year by China’s stodgy Postal Savings Bank, whose listing could raise up to $8 billion. In a far smaller deal, brokerage Orient Securities is also set to announce a HK$1.15 billion ($174 million) IPO deal as soon as today, in what looks like a slightly desperate bid for cash following its much larger Shanghai listing last year at the height of China’s stock market boom. Read Full Post…

FUND RAISING: Alibaba’s Ant Chases New Funds in March to IPO

Bottom line: Domestic buyers are likely to comprise most of the investors in Ant Financial’s latest fund raising, though the use of foreign advisers indicates some overseas participation may also be allowed.

Ant Financial raises new funds

Ant Financial, the financial services arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), is going back to investors for a new mega fund-raising, just a year after taking money from private investors for the first time. But any foreigners hoping to buy into Ant will probably be disappointed, since it appears this new funding round will be mostly open to Chinese institutional buyers. Likewise, Ant’s IPO that could come as soon as next year is likely to happen on one of China’s domestic stock markets, again locking out foreign investors.

Perhaps it’s only fair that foreign investors stand on the sidelines in Ant’s high-growth story, since such investors already have easy access to some of China’s top private companies that are listed overseas. By comparison, domestic Chinese investors have little or no access to shares of Alibaba, Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) or Tencent (HKEx: 700), even though that trio of corporate giants derive nearly all their money from China’s booming Internet market. Read Full Post…

News Digest: December 9, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Resources Challenges ON Semiconductor with Fairchild (Nasdaq: FCS) Bid (English article)
  • Postal Savings Bank Signs China Life, Ant Financial, Tencent as Investors for HK IPO (Chinese article)
  • Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Registers Company in Shanghai Free Trade Zone (Chinese article)
  • ZTE (HKEx: 763), Shanghai Oriental Pearl in Strategic Cooperation (HKEx announcement)
  • Uber Releases China ICP Permit Number in Response to WeChat Blockage (Chinese article)

News Digest: November 13, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China’s Postal Savings Bank Nears $8 Bln Stake Sale Ahead of IPO (English article)
  • Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Posts First Quarterly Loss in 6 Years (English article)
  • JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Announces Singles Day Orders Up 130 Pct (GlobeNewswire)
  • Ele.me Confirms to Receive Investment from Car Services Provider Didi (Chinese article)
  • MSCI to Include Chinese ADRs in Benchmarks as Xi Focuses on Tech (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)