The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Meituan-Dianping in Rumored Merger Talks with Baidu’s Nuomi, Dining Service (Chinese article)
Ctrip.com Proposes Offering of $750 Mln Convertible Senior Notes (PRNewswire)
China’s Online Chatter Muted Ahead of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 7 Launch (English article)
Didi Chuxing Raises Shunfeng Car Service Prices 20-50 Pct in Some Cities (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bottom line: Solar consolidators like GCL-Poly and Shunfeng will suffer short-term pressure due to difficult acquisitions, but could be longer-term beneficiaries as they earn government goodwill for their actions.
Outlook turns cloudy for Poly-GCL
The latest deal involving an insolvent solar panel maker is seeing a group led by GCL-Poly Energy (HKEx: 3800) take control of bankrupt Chaori Solar, in a takeover that looks slightly ominous but also potentially interesting for investors. The ominous element comes from the fact that these bankruptcy proceedings are occurring Chinese courts, where local politics are often more important than forging deals that make commercial sense.
But the interesting element comes from the fact that many of these insolvent companies enjoy strong backing from their local governments. That means that once all the finances are cleaned up for these insolvent firms, they could actually become good longer-term assets for their new owners. Read Full Post…
Regular readers will know I’m a bit bearish lately on the solar panel manufacturing sector, largely because I believe its recent rebound is being fueled as much by hype as real business after a prolonged downturn. A new report on some of the sector’s so called “growth engines”, coupled with a separate report on a dispute at one of the top surviving players, are adding fuel to my skepticism that the sector’s recent sharp rebound isn’t really happening. At the very least, the recent reports indicate the rebound isn’t nearly as strong as many are claiming, and solar panel makers and their shares could soon be set for far slower growth than many were hoping for. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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After Delay, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox One China Launch Set For Sept 29 (English article)
Jack Ma Becomes China’s Richest Man, Lei Jun Enters Top 10 – Hurun Report (Chinese article)
iPhone 6 Still Being Reviewed, Results Expected Shortly – MIIT Chief (Chinese article)
Shanghai Gov’t Requires Officials To Use Domestic Brand Smartphones (English article)
Shunfeng (HKEx: 1165) 500 Mln Yuan Ningxia Solar Power Station Hits Obstacle (Chinese article)
The war of words against Chinese solar panel makers is heating up from both sides of the Atlantic, with growing signs that Europe may reconsider anti-dumping duties as the US moves closer to imposing its own new duties on the beleaguered manufacturers. Meantime, 2 of the biggest Chinese victims of the sector’s recent turmoil have risen from the ashes, with LDK and Suntech both announcing new moves more than a year after each became insolvent. Among those 2 moves, LDK’s looks the most worrisome, potentially bringing major new volumes of polysilicon, the main ingredient in solar panel production, back into a market whose current recovery is still quite weak. Read Full Post…
Opportunities for me to write about former solar pioneer Suntech (OTC: STPFQ) are growing fewer with each passing day, as its life as an independent company nears an end with the imminent finalization of its bankruptcy liquidation. That said, a company announcement saying that a new Suntech has emerged after the yearlong bankruptcy storm seems like a good opportunity to write about this company one last time before it and its stock permanently disappear. The announcement features a photo of Suntech’s youthful looking new CEO, Eric Luo, and says the company is preparing a new push into Europe, starting with Britain. (company announcement) Read Full Post…
The month of February could mark the final sunset for solar panel maker Suntech (OTC: STPFQ), with 2 major events on the calendar that look like the swansong for this former solar energy pioneer. If the ending does indeed come, it would be almost a year after Suntech first was forced into bankruptcy in a Chinese court in its home city of Wuxi, kicking off a contentious process that saw many of its top executives and board members leave and rival Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) purchase most of its China-based assets. One of the biggest remaining questions will be how much, if anything, holders of the company’s stock get for their shares. Read Full Post…
The year 2013 will go down as a major turning point for China’s solar panel makers, with some names emerging as new sector leaders after a prolonged downturn while others quietly disappeared. The latter category saw former leader Suntech (OTC: STPFQ) go bankrupt and LDK (NYSE: LDK) quietly sell off many of its assets, while the former category has seen Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Shunfeng (HKEx: 1165) emerge as names to watch in the future. Canadian Solar in particular has been coming back strong in the second half of this year with a steady stream of good news, including its latest mega-deal to sell panels in China. Read Full Post…
CNNIC says China Internet users cross 600 mln mark
It’s a quiet news day on this Black Friday after the US Thanksgiving holiday, so I thought I would close out the week with a couple of interesting items that show how quickly the China’s Internet market is still growing and how e-commerce’s influence is rising. The rapid growth is showing up in the latest government data that says China’s Internet community has officially passed the 600 million user mark, further bolstering the market’s position as the world’s largest. At the same time, another new report involving Shunfeng, a leading domestic parcel delivery firm, is revealing a potential new trend that could see e-commerce firms form new alliances with their suppliers and logistics companies. Read Full Post…
Spring is most definitely in the air this week for embattled solar panel makers, with Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Shunfeng Photovoltaic (HKEx: 1165) emerging as new sector leaders with different pieces of upbeat news. From my perspective the Canadian Solar news is the most exciting, even though some may say it doesn’t come as a big surprise. The company announced it will post a net profit for the third quarter, becoming the first major solar firm to return to the black after 2 years of losses. Meantime, Shunfeng has announced details of its highly anticipated deal to buy the main assets of bankrupt former solar pioneer Suntech (NYSE: STP), marking a major step forward in the industry’s restructuring. Read Full Post…
