The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Cuts $2 Bln From Phone Subsidy Budget (English article)
Chinese Group Proposes To Buy US Chipmaker OmniVision (English article)
Many smaller Chinese companies may be getting little or no respect from Wall Street these days, but private equity seems a bit more interested in these undervalued firms. That’s my latest assessment following word that a bidding war has broken out for Chindex (Nasdaq: CNDX), an operator of clinics in China. Chindex said it received a sweetened buyout offer from a managed-led group that first bid for the company in February, after a rival bidder stepped in. This kind of bidding war has been relatively rare in the recent flurry of privatizations by Chinese firms, though this particular case hints that we could see 1 or 2 more similar wars occur as the trend plays out. Read Full Post…
I wrote earlier this week about how the free Firefox mobile operating system (OS) could intensify the already fierce competition in China’s smartphone market, and now we’re getting word that such a development could come quite soon with the release of new Firefox models from local leaders Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). It’s no coincidence that all this news is coming out around the same time, since all the major smartphone and mobile chip makers are currently showcasing their latest wares this week at the Mobile World Congress, the industry’s biggest show held each February in Barcelona. Read Full Post…
It seems appropriate that 2 more longtime-listed Chinese companies are bowing out of New York as we head into the final days of 2013, with word that shareholders have approved plans to privatize telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) and drugmaker Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR). AsiaInfo was the more lively of these 2 de-listing stories, with a narrow majority of shareholders approving a buy-out offer after several months of protest from others who thought the price was too low. Meantime, Simcere’s looming privatization raises the question of what’s next for this neglected company, whose foreign partners include Bristol-Myers Squbb (NYSE: BMY) and Merck (NYSE: MRK). Read Full Post…
Leading cellphone chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) has become the latest foreign firm to encounter resistance in China following the Edward Snowden spying scandal, as Beijing shows it can also play the national security card to the detriment of big western tech firms. But in this case, the US chip giant is not only seeing sales to its Chinese customers drop, but is also facing scrutiny from China’s powerful state planner on allegations of monopolistic behavior. Both of these developments show that Beijing is quite capable of using the national security pretext to play tit-for-tat games with Washington, potentially costing US tech firms billions of dollars in lost China sales. Read Full Post…
The end of life as a public company is fast approaching for telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA), marking the end of a long chapter for one of China’s first technology firms to list overseas. A newly announced special meeting will see AsiaInfo shareholders vote on a plan to privatize the company, whose shares have been ignored for years now by western investors. More broadly speaking, AsiaInfo’s looming buyout represents the challenges that smaller China tech firms face as they struggle to be noticed by western investors.Read Full Post…
In the more than 2 years since I started this blog, today marks the first time I’m writing about telecoms equipment and services provider UTStarcom (Nasdaq: UTSI), which has just announced that a plan to privatize the company has derailed. The reason I point out this fact is that when I first started writing about Chinese tech firms a decade ago, UTStarcom was an investor darling, riding high on a low-end wireless technology. But investors quickly abandoned the company after it failed to find a new blockbuster product, and now it appears that even its potential rescuer has decided to give the company a pass. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Mead Johnson (NYSE: MJN) Announces China Probe Resolution, Fined $33 Mln (Businesswire)
Lacoste Launches Online Business in China (Businesswire)
China Steps Up Internet Financial Sector Oversight (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) WeChat-Customized Wo SIM Pre-Orders Exceed 1 Mln (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Glaxo (London: GSK) Executives Admit to Bribery, Tax Crimes, China Says (English article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Final Talks To acquires Sogou For $1.4 Bln (English article)
Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Agrees To Be Acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Investigates Danone, Nestle on Milk-Powder Pricing (English article)
Japanese Car Sales in China Decline for Fourth Quarter (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) To Redeem Outstanding Notes Due 2013 (PRNewswire)
Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Board Selects Advisor On Tsinghua Offer (PRNewswire)
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) a Winner in China Mobile Wars, Citigroup Says (English article)
