Tag Archives: TCL

INTERNET: Tencent Limits Gamers, Joins with TCL

Bottom line: Tencent’s roll-out of time playing limits for teenager gamers for a popular new title looks aimed at preventing a regulatory intervention, while its new TCL tie-up could presage a spin-off of its video business.

Tencent limits teenage gamers

Internet titan Tencent (HKEx: 700) is in a couple of headlines as the US observes its Independence Day holiday, starting with word that it’s limiting teenagers from playing too much of a very popular new title. The other headline has the company teaming up with TV stalwart TCL (HKEx: 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) in a new smart TV tie-up.

The only real common thread to these headlines is that they both involve Tencent, though each does spotlight a certain pattern that’s quite typical for China’s most successful Internet company. In the first case, the game story spotlights Tencent’s strong record at developing and operating games, which are its largest source of revenue. The TCL story highlights Tencent’s fondness for making strategic minority investments, often with mixed results. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Creditor Chases LeEco; TCL Teases BlackBerry

Bottom line: A new arbitration claim by a LeEco supplier could trigger a domino effect that sends the company into crisis, while TCL’s first BlackBerry model is likely to get lukewarm reviews when it debuts in March.

TCL teases first BlackBerry model at CES

We’ll close out the week with a couple of smartphone headlines, which seems appropriate since the world’s biggest consumer electronics show, CES, is taking place this week in Las Vegas. All 3 companies in the news are showing off their wares at CES, including cellphone stalwart TCL (Shenzhen: 000100), which is teasing us with video of its first model under a new tie-up with struggling smartphone pioneer BlackBerry (Toronto: BB).

Meantime, the other company on my radar, the cash-challenged LeEco (Shenzhen: 300104), was also in CES headlines earlier this week after showing off a sexy new energy car it’s helping to develop. But the company has just landed in a far more ominous headline here in China, where one of its smartphone manufacturing partners is calling for arbitration to try and get cash for a growing pile of unpaid bills. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Two Losers Unite in BlackBerry, TCL Alliance

Bottom line: TCL’s new licensing deal with BlackBerry will end up as a quiet failure due to TCL’s weak R&D skills and lack of consumer appeal to the BlackBerry name.  

TCL, BlackBerry in licensing tie-up

When does adding two negatives yield a positive? The answer is “never”, but dying smartphone makers BlackBerry (Toronto: BB) and TCL (Shenzhen: 000100) are hoping that maybe this time will be different. Of course, it’s easy for me to predict disaster for this particular new alliance, and I’d be much bolder if I said this partnership might revive the two dying companies. But the truth is that neither BlackBerry’s nor TCL’s smartphone business have much going for them these days. Read Full Post…

BUYOUTS: iKang Gets New Suitor, TCL’s Tired Phone Unit Bows

Bottom line: A bidding war for iKang could see prices rise above the current highest offer of $25 per ADS, while a buyout bid for TCL Communication will be priced at a slight premium to the current stock price and meet with little resistance.

iKang attracts new buyout offer

The twisted privatization tale of private clinic operator iKang (Nasdaq: KANG) has just taken a new turn, with its receipt of another buyout offer from Yunfeng Capital, the private equity investor with ties to e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). This development makes Yunfeng the third party to bid for iKang, which has easily become the most contested of some 40 US-listed Chinese companies trying to privatize from New York. Meantime, a far less contested buyout offer has just come in Hong Kong, where faded cellphone maker TCL Communications (HKEx: 2618) has just received a buyout offer from its China-listed parent. Read Full Post…

China News Digest: June 7, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on June 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Bitauto (NYSE: BITA) Announces $300 Mln Investment from Tencent, Baidu, JD.com (PRNewswire)
  • Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Pays 270 Mln Euros for 70 Pct of Soccer Club Inter Milan (Chinese article)
  • TCL (Shenzhen: 000100)  to Take Handset Maker TCL Communication (HKEx: 2618) Private (English article)
  • Yingli (NYSE: YGE) Announces Preliminary Financial Results for Q1 (PRNewswire)
  • Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) Board Approves Kuka Investment, Acknowledges Difficulties (Chinese article)

China News Digest: May 21-23, 2016

The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on May 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • CIC Ends Talks With Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) Over China Business – Sources (English article)
  • Mystery Canadian Hotel Buyer Said Potentially Tied to Anbang (English article)
  • Samsung (Seoul: 005930) Integrates Alipay Mobile Pay Function Into Smartphones (Chinese article)
  • Chinese Buyers Circle Soccer “Super” Agent Stellar Group (English article)
  • TCL (HKEx: 1070) Sets Up TV Joint Venture Factory in Egypt (Chinese article)

CONSUMER: Midea Shopping Spree Moves to Germany

Bottom line: Midea should limit its new plan to buy a major stake in Germany’s Kuka to a strategic partnership, and avoid temptation to help Kuka lower costs by moving major parts of its manufacturing to China.

Midea eyes Germany’s Kuka

A recent overseas M&A binge by top Chinese home appliance makers is taking a somewhat unexpected turn, with word that Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) is pursuing a deal to buy a major stake or even outright purchase Germany’s Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2). In this case the deal comes as something of a surprise, since Kuka isn’t an appliance maker but instead manufactures industrial robots that Midea is using to modernize its production lines.

This particular deal could carry a price tag of more than $1 billion, and would come just 2 months after Midea’s smaller deal to purchase the home appliance business of scandal-tainted Japanese electronics giant Toshiba (Tokyo: 6502). (previous post) This latest deal is logical, though could also carry a large degree of risk due to previous poor results for Chinese companies that bought manufacturers in the tough French and German markets. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Lenovo Brings Zuk Home, TCL China Sales Plunge

Bottom line: Lenovo’s new emphasis on its year-old Zuk smartphone brand and TCL’s plunging sales reflect ongoing cutthroat competition in China, though neither company is likely to give up the domestic market anytime soon.

Lenovo launches new Zuk phone

New headlines surrounding 2 of China’s bigger stumbling smartphone makers reflect the market’s current state of chaos, as more than a dozen well-funded brands battle for surpremacy. Leading the headlines is PC titan Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which has decided to bring its young Zuk smartphone brand back into the parent company after initially letting it operate independently.

At the same time, faded giant TCL (HKEx: 2618) has just reported worrisome quarterly results that show its China smartphone sales plunged by more than half due to the market’s fierce competition. Both Lenovo and TCL are rapidly becoming victims in China’s bloody smartphone wars, though each is unlikely to withdraw from the market anytime soon due to strong backing from a cash-rich parent. Read Full Post…

CONSUMER: Midea Follows Haier Abroad with Toshiba Talks

Bottom line: Midea’s reported bid for Toshiba’s home appliance business reflects a renewed global push by Chinese white goods maker, but is likely to fail due to Midea’s lack of experience managing a global brand.

Midea eyeing Toshiba’s white goods?

Leading appliance maker Haier (HKEx: 1169) could quickly discover it’s not the only Chinese company roaming the globe for acquisitions, with word that domestic rival Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) is in talks to buy the white goods business of Japan’s Toshiba (Tokyo: Tokyo). This particular news comes as Haier finalizes its purchase of the home appliance unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE), and is part of a larger push by big western companies to sell their lower-margin white goods businesses.

A subset of that bigger story has seen Japanese brands engage in their own campaign to sell off assets from their lower margin businesses, many of which are losing money. That trend has culminated in prolonged talks that are likely to see the struggling Sharp Corp (Tokyo: 6753) sell itself to Taiwan’s Hon Hai (Taipei: 2317), in what would mark the largest-ever sale of a Japanese electronics company to a foreign buyer. Read Full Post…

CHIPS: Western Digital, Taiwan Threaten Tsinghua Chip Dreams

Bottom line: Chinese buyers may be forced to abandon their pursuit of chip makers in the west and Asia, following the latest collapse of a deal for a stake in Western Digital over concerns of a national security veto by Washington.

Unigroup scraps Western Digital investment

Globally acquisitive chip makers Tsinghua Unigroup and sister company Unisplendour are quickly becoming the belles at the ball who can’t find a mate despite their huge dowries. That’s the bottom line in this tale of China’s dream of building a global semiconductor chip giant, which has just received a major setback with word that Unisplendour has formally dropped its bid to buy 15 percent of US hard drive maker Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC).

If Unisplendour and Unigroup are the wealthy belles at the ball in this story, then the character intent on spoiling any potential unions is Washington, which worries such marriages could threaten national security by giving Beijing sophisticated technology. Taipei is also looming as another potential spoiler, as other headlines say the government there will give unprecedented scrutiny to a series of similar proposed stake purchases of local chip makers by Unisplendour and Unigroup. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Under Pressure, China Brands Skip Global Show

Bottom line: The absence of most mid-sized Chinese smartphone brands from the world’s biggest telecoms show this week in Spain reflects their inability to mount serious global campaigns, and also growing financial pressures many are facing.

Mid-sized Chinese brands skip MWC
Mid-sized Chinese brands skip MWC

China’s crowded field of low-cost and mid-range smartphone brands may claim to have global aspirations, but you would never know that judging by their loud absence at the world’s biggest telecoms show this week in Spain. I’ll admit that I’m not personally attending this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, so I’m dependent on the show’s website and media reports to determine who is and who isn’t attending.

But based on my own findings, including talks with spokesmen from at least one of the big domestic brands, most companies are skipping this show that has emerged in recent years as a major venue for debuting new smartphones. There are several reasons for skipping the show, but I suspect that chief among those is costs. Read Full Post…