The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I don’t usually pay too much attention to the domestic Chinese IPO market, largely because most companies that list on the main boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen are stodgy state-run firms that aren’t open to foreign investment anyhow. But new reports that fast-rising real estate and entertainment star Wanda Group is planning 2 new offerings this year actually got me just slightly excited, especially as word buzzes that one of those will be for the company’s rapidly expanding China-based theater chain. While such an offering would almost inevitably come on one of the mainland-based stock exchanges, it would also probably attract huge attention from global investors if Wanda’s billionaire founder Wang Jianlin were to consider a dual listing in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…
Many companies from traditional sectors have been taking a serious look at the Internet these days, worried that failure to develop a solid web strategy could result in their eventual demise. For sectors like retail and some other traditional product categories, I agree that strategy makes sense as the Internet radically changes the way that these industries operate. But I find the recent Internet obsession by the CEO of Vanke (HKEx: 1036; Shenzhen: 000002), one of China’s leading real estate developers, a bit more difficult to understand, since property doesn’t seem like a sector that can easily migrate to the web. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Hershey (NYSE: HSY) To Buy Majority Of Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co (Businesswire)
AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Stockholders Approve of Merger Agreement (PRNewswire)
Alibaba, Wanda Group Team Up On Movie Ticket Payments On Alipay (Chinese article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Invests in Online Car Rental Firm Yongche (English article)
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Starts Offering Cars In China With No Chinese Name (English article)
I’ll end the week with a lighter look at an emerging trend in the China corporate world, which has seen some of the nation’s biggest tech personalities make high-profile bets with their equally successful peers from more traditional sectors. The latest in these high-tech wagers has seen Lei Jun, the charismatic founder of fast-growing smartphone maker Xiaomi, make a bet with Dong Mingzhu, often considered China’s most successful business woman as the chairman of appliance giant Gree (Shenzhen: 000651). These bets are mostly for entertainment and publicity on the one hand; but they do also represent the very real challenge that traditional industries are feeling from e-commerce and other emerging high-tech business models. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Wanda Group‘s Wang Jianlin To Enter E-Commerce (Chinese article)
Walmart’s (NYSE: WMT) Yihaodian Consolidates Under Shanghai FTZ Company (English article)
In what looks like a highly coordinated ambush, a group of China’s top online video sites have teamed up with Hollywood to sue Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) for video piracy. This is the first time I can recall seeing big western names team up with Chinese companies to launch such a major lawsuit, creating not only legal headaches but also a huge wave of negative publicity for Baidu. The action also comes as Baidu makes a series of major moves in the online video space in a bid to challenge industry leader Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU), which is also one of the co-plaintiffs in this new lawsuit. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 13. 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 July 27-29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Activision (Nasdaq: ATVI) Goes Solo In $8.2 Bln Deal, Tencent (HKEX: 700) Invests (English article)
EU, China Resolve Solar Dispute – Their Biggest Trade Row By Far (English article)
US Extends Review Of Shuanghui, Smithfield (NYSE: SFD) Merger (English article)
Wanda Orders Up to 120 New Imax Theaters for China （English article)
TMall Daily Mobile Gross Merchandise Value Exceeds 100 Mln Yuan (English article)
Commercial real estate giant Wanda Group is continuing its recent global push, with announcements of a new major purchase of a British yacht maker and plans to build new high-end hotels in New York and London. While some of the plans look interesting, I do think that perhaps this company has just a bit too much money and even more ambition, and that it may be moving too quickly into unfamiliar areas both in terms of products and geography. It’s obviously way too early to predict success or failure for any of these new ventures, but I would caution the company to perhaps slow its rapid overseas expansion or risk running into some major problems in the future. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Wanda To Spend $1.6 Bln On UK Yacht Maker, Hotel (English article)
GM (NYSE: GM) Aims For 10 Pct Of China’s Luxury Car Market By 2020 (English article)
