I was a bit surprised by the just-released latest quarterly results from cellular crybaby China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), which I expected to contain abundant evidence supporting its grievances in an ongoing battle with Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700). China Mobile complains that Tencent’s popular WeChat mobile instant messaging service is hogging up capacity on its network, and is pressuring Tencent to start charging fees for the service so that both companies can share that revenue. At the same time, China Mobile is also complaining that WeChat helps mobile subscribers circumvent traditional SMS services by routing messages over the Internet, robbing China Mobile of an important revenue source. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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GM (NYSE: GM) Renews Cadillac Campaign In China (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Launches 20 Bln Yuan Tender For TD-LTE (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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LightInTheBox Applies For NYSE IPO To Raise Up To $86 Mln (Chinese article)
PBoC May Issue Payment License to Tencent (HKEx: 700) WeChat (English article)
China CITIC Bank (HKEx: 998), MasterCard Sign Strategic Cooperation MOU (Businesswire)
Glencore (London: GLEN) Clinches Chinese Approval With Copper Deal (English article)
China Auto Rental Receives Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) Investment, May Restart IPO (Chinese article)
We’re seeing some interesting new moves in the smartphone space from e-commerce leader Alibaba and dominant carrier China Mobile, as each makes big new bets in the fast-evolving area. Alibaba is launching its mobile operating system (OS) on a new series of smartphones with several Chinese partners, following a similar aborted attempt last year. China Mobile, meanwhile, is planning a major overhaul for its popular but rapidly aging Fetion mobile messaging service, in an attempt to compete with newer, more popular third-party apps like Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat. Read Full Post…
A new media report is underscoring the importance of games for the future of China’s mobile app developers, who are desperately looking for ways to monetize the big sums of money they spend developing such applications. Social networking sites Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Renren (NYSE: RENN) are all good examples of companies that have quickly built up communities of tens and even hundreds of millions of users by developing popular desktop and mobile apps. But earning money from those huge communities has proven much more difficult, as all of these companies are quickly discovering. In that environment, games have emerged as one of the few things that users of these popular apps are actually willing to pay for. Read Full Post…
The non-stop debate over Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular WeChat mobile instant messaging service has moved south to Hainan island, where executives on both sides of the issue are speaking out at a major annual forum in the city of Boao. On one side of the issue, former China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) Chairman Wang Jianzhou is saying that WeChat and other popular mobile apps are a huge burden for the nation’s telcos, which must invest big bucks in infrastructure that these Internet-based programs require to operate. On the other side of the issue, Tencent President Martin Lau is saying that WeChat will remain free, contradicting recent signals from the telecoms regulator that Tencent will soon start to charge for the service. Read Full Post…
Security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is learning that bad news comes in waves, with new reports saying the company’s highly hyped new search engine isn’t doing quite as well as previous reports indicated. The news, if true, would follow another major setback for the company last month when an anti-monopoly lawsuit it filed against Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) was thrown out by a judge in a courtroom in southern Guangdong province. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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In China, Off-Balance-Sheet Lending Risks Lurk In The Shadows (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) WeChat Cost to Carriers Far Exceeds New Revenue – Wang Jianzhou (Chinese article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Strength in Smartphones Delivers Increased Profitability (Businesswire)
Huawei CFO Says Revenue To Grow 10 Pct Annually In Next Few Years (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 0700) Will Definitely Charge Fees For WeChat – MIIT Official (Chinese article)
Oil Spill Lawsuit Against ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Finds Way To Texas Court (English article)
Nestle (Switzerland: NESN) Brews Fresh Investment As World Savors Pu’er Coffee (English article)
3 US Retailing Giants Enter China Using E-Commerce Channels (Chinese article)
China’s Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Eyes Return To Profit In H2 (English article)
A new memo that has been reportedly leaked from China’s second largest mobile carrier, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), shows the nation’s 3 telcos may not be nearly as united as many may think in their approach to Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular WeChat mobile app. This revelation, if true, doesn’t surprise me at all, since industry giant China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has been leading the assault on WeChat from the very beginning, complaining the popular mobile instant messaging app uses huge amounts of its networking capacity. But it’s far from clear if the nation’s other 2 mobile carriers, Unicom and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) share China Mobile’s discontent. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Cook Apologizes For After-Sales Service Lapses (Chinese article)
