Bottom line: Huawei’s new lawsuits against Samsung in China and T-Mobile in the US are designed to show the company is now a major global player, and could also be preemptive to deflect attention from upcoming bad news.
Huawei files new suits against Samsung, T-Mobile
China’s latest smartphones superstar Huawei is suddenly getting quite aggressive in the courtroom, with word the company has filed new lawsuits against global leader Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and US wireless carrier T-Mobile (Nasdsaq: TMUS). Those reports are coming as new data show that Huawei boosted its position as China’s leading smartphone brand with 17.3 percent of the market in the second quarter. (English article) Huawei’s sales surge continues an ongoing trend, though the sudden courtroom aggression is relatively new for the company, which was more used to getting sued in the past than suing other companies over patent violations. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Drops to Fifth in China’s Mobile Market as Locals Rise (English article)
Huawei Files US Patent Lawsuit Against T-Mobile (Nasdaq: TMUS) (Chinese article)
SAIC, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) to Mark Chinese Foray Into Connected Cars With SUV (English article)
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Sells Solar Power Projects in China (PRNewswire)
China Resources Beer (HKEx: 291) Plans $1.2 Bln Rights Issue to Buy SABMiller’s JV Stake (English article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi and Meizu are trying to expand their exports by working through third-party distributors, and could make a formal entry into the US later this year after studying the market for patent-related liability.
Meizu eyeing US?
After dancing around the edges of the lucrative but extremely competitive US market for much of the last 2 years, fast-fading Chinese superstar Xiaomi and up-and-coming local rival Meizu may finally be preparing to enter the market through tie-ups with local carriers. A flurry of new media reports say the pair of Chinese brands are already making the move via a tie-up that will see their smartphones offered by US Mobile, a virtual network operator (VNO) that uses T-Mobile’s (Nasdaq: TMUS) network.
But no sooner did the reports emerge that Xiaomi issued its own statement saying it had no plans to sell its phones in the US, and that US Mobile was not one of its authorized distributors. Meizu also said it has no announced plans to enter the US. What seems clear from all this is that both companies are probably talking with one or more distributors about selling their smartphones in the US and possibly other western markets, even though neither is quite ready to make a formal announcement. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Yingli (NYSE: YGE) Gets 2 Bln Yuan Bank Loan Infusion, Prepares to Reorganize (Chinese article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Leads $800 Mln Funding for Augmented Reality Firm Magic Leap (Chinese article)
China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) to Form China Time Share JV with Weshare (Chinese article)
China Media Capital Invests 100 Mln Yuan in Financial New Media Huaerjie Jianwen (Chinese article)
T-Mobile Supplier to Import Xiaomi, Meizu Smartphones (Chinese article)
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.
