The following is Part 5 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
Tencent targets smart partnerships
Venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road always ask young entrepreneurs with little business knowledge what they would do if Facebook did the same thing, and similar concerns exist for China start-ups in dealing with the “Tencent factor”. With the strategic goal of providing users with “one-stop online lifestyle services”, nearly everything has become a must-have for Tencent, making it a public enemy for the entire community of Internet-based service providers in China. Read Full Post…
Investors have taken some of the shine off of recently listed online cosmetics seller Jumei International (NYSE: JMEI), following reports that some third-party merchants on its site were engaged in the sale of fake goods. In an interesting twist, the news had little or no effect on another recently listed e-commerce firm, JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), which was also mentioned in the same reports. To some extent the mixed reaction shows that investors are still less familiar with Jumei, which is a younger firm and was far less known to Wall Street before the company’s recent listing. Still, this kind of selling of knock-off goods is always a risk for any e-commerce firm that allows third-party vendors to sell products on its sites. Read Full Post…
US-listed Chinese companies were in the spotlight last week, after a new congressional report detailed the risks they pose to investors due to the unique structure they use to qualify for trading in New York. Uncertainties created by the variable interest entity (VIE) structure are just the latest in a long list of unusual risks that highlight why Chinese firms are quite different from other companies that trade in New York.
But while their risks may be different and often bigger, the rewards of investing in some of China’s biggest corporate names are also potentially huge, as evidenced by exponential growth for shares of some names. Read Full Post…
It seems that e-commerce giant JD.com’s decision to move slowly with its massive IPO was a good one, with word that the company’s shares have priced quite strongly in their long march to market . JD made its first public filing for a New York IPO back in early February, meaning the process of listing will have taken more than 3 months when its shares start trading on Thursday. That’s a long time in any market, and especially long for the current one where investor sentiment towards Chinese Internet IPOs was rapidly fading. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s most dynamic e-commerce firms are in the headlines today with new strategic moves, including JD.com’s purchase of a Russian rival and Vipshop’s (NYSE: VIPS) plans to open a small loan operation. Both of these moves look well conceived, taking their respective companies into new but related areas with big growth potential. The 2 moves come as JD prepares to launch a $1 billion-plus IPO in New York as soon as this week, and as Vipshop looks for acquisitions following a big fund raising exercise earlier this year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 20. 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 May 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Chinese Charge British Former Head Of GSK (London: GSK) China With Bribery (English article)
The booming market for Chinese IPOs in New York got some worrisome signals last week after investors shunned 2 new listing candidates, raising the very real possibility that the current wave of enthusiasm is quickly ebbing. That could mean a new period of stagnation or even a downturn is looming for the sector, which suffered for 2 years before rebounding sharply in the second half of 2013. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s leading Internet companies are taking their first baby steps outside their home market, with word that online game maker NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) is moving into the US and fast-rising discount e-commerce firm Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) is tying up with a Russian partner. The pair are joining China’s “big 3” Internet firms, Alibaba, Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Tencent (HKEx: 700), in making recent moves outside their home market, as each looks for new growth opportunities. All of these companies also want to convince the world that they can compete in the real world outside their own highly protected and heavily restricted home market. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 20 To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Huawei Targets 80 Mln Smartphone Shipments In 2014, Aims For No 2 Spot (Chinese article)
China Telecom, Unicom New Users Drop Sharply In February (Chinese article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Announces Annual Results For 2013 (HKEx announcement)
ZTE9 Releases FunBox – the World’s Fastest Home Entertainment Console (Businesswire)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) To Partner With Russian Flash Sales Site (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Half Of IBM (NYSE: IBM) Workers Quit At Shenzhen Plant, 20 Fired (Chinese article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) In Talks to Purchase Handset Manufacturer – Sources (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Prices $550 Mln Convertible Notes, 1.14 Mln ADSs (PRNewswire)
Coke (NYSE: KU) Worries Over Draft Law On Bottled Water Labeling (Chinese article)
Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) Reports Q4, Full Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
