Tag Archives: Xunlei

Chinese Xinlei latest Business & Financial news from Doug Young, the Expert on Chinese High Tech Market, (former Journalist and Chief editor at Reuters)

VIDEO: Xunlei Founder Resigns as CEO, Sale Coming?

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Bottom line: The resignation of Xunlei’s founder as CEO, even as he retains his chairman’s title, could indicate a sale is coming soon, with the most likely buyer as Xiaomi.

Big shifts happening in Xunlei boardroom

The incredible shriveling online video company Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) is making a tiny splash in the headlines as we head toward the weekend, with word that its founder is relinquishing his position as CEO. The move seems potentially significant, since one of the main obstacles that keeps more companies from being acquired in China is resistance by their founders to relinquish their “empires” to someone else.

In this case, Xunlei’s empire is rapidly vanishing, as it gets overtaken by larger rivals like Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi and video services operated by Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). That may mean that no one really wants Xunlei anymore, including ordinary stock investors. The company’s shares have been on a downward trajectory since its Nasdaq IPO three years ago, and now trade at $3.24 apiece, about a quarter of their IPO price of $12. Read Full Post…

BUYOUTS: Kingsoft Writes Down 21Vianet, Xunlei Stakes

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Bottom line: Kingsoft’s write-down in the value of its investments in 21Vianet and Xunlei could auger a sale of its stakes in both companies, following a failed privatization bid for 21Vianet and little hope for a Xunlei recovery.

Kingsoft writes down 21Vianet, Xunlei investments

A week after data center operator 21Vianet (Nasdaq: VNET) became the second US-listed Chinese company to abandon its privatization bid, one of the financial backers that was leading that bid is providing some hints at what led to its actions. That’s my interpretation of the new disclosure from software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) saying it has written down $125 million related to slumps in the values of its investments in 21Vianet and also in struggling online video downloading site Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET). Read Full Post…

China News Digest: July 5, 2016

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The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on July 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • CICC (HKEx: 3908), China Investment Securities Said to Be in Merger Talks (English article)
  • Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) Buys Stake in Germany’s Kuka (Frankfurt: KU2) for $1.3 Bln (English article)
  • Fosun (HKEx: 656), Ant Financial in Strategic Partnership (Chinese article)
  • Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Makes $125 Mln H1 Provision for Losses at Xunlei, 21Vianet (HKEx announcement)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Completes Literature Unit Sale to Perfect World, No Price Given (Chinese article)

VIDEO: PPTV’s Cryptic Farewell, Xunlei Swings to Loss

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UPDATE: Since issuing its original microblog post, PPTV has issued new posts on its account that appear to indicate it won’t be closing. To view the latest posts, please click here.

Bottom line: PPTV looks set to become the first major victim of China’s online video wars after its microblog publication of a farewell message, while the money-losing Xunlei could become the second casualty.

PPTV bidding farewell?

Two of China’s major online video companies with mid-sized backers are in the headlines today, with ominous signals coming from PPTV and Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) that reflect the intense competition they face. The most intriguing headline has PPTV, which is owned by electronics retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), announcing on its official microblog that it is closing, even as its actual website remains active.

The other headline has Xunlei, which is backed by smartphone maker Xiaomi, announcing its latest quarterly results that showed it swung to a loss as it battles with much larger rivals for an audience. We can probably also assume that PPTV was losing big money, and in fact just about everyone in China’s online video space is now in the red. Typical of the group is Youku Tudou, the industry leader whose net loss doubled to $70 million in last year’s third quarter before it was bought by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Baidu Scandal Unleashes Crackdown Wave

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Bottom line: A flurry of new corporate crackdowns will have the biggest impact on Baidu due to its role in a scandal over false advertising claims, and indicates this year’s summer crackdown season could be hotter than usual.

China cracks down on web merchants, drug makers

Summertime in China is a season for crackdowns, and we’re getting a taste of a potentially hot summer ahead fueled by a high-profile scandal involving false advertising claims on leading search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Three separate crackdowns are in the headlines as we begin the new week, including 2 that look potentially tied to the Baidu scandal.

That scandal consumed China for much of last week, after a student with cancer claimed he was duped into seeking treatment at a hospital that made false claims about its ability to treat his disease. (previous post) In his long list of complaints before he died of his illness, Wang Zexi also accused Baidu of deception for putting the hospital and its inflated claims high in his search results simply because the hospital paid a rich premium for such high placement. Read Full Post…

INTERNET: Xunlei Swings to Loss, Where’s Xiaomi?

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Bottom line: Xunlei’s performance and stock price could come under pressure over the next year due to stiff competition in China’s consolidating online video market and lack of support from struggling strategic partner Xiaomi.

Xunlei swings to quarterly loss

As rumors swirl of a potential merger between the online video services of Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), smaller rival Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) has just announced its latest quarterly results that show why it may be difficult for the company to remain independent in the rapidly consolidating sector. Xunlei swung to a loss in the quarter and saw its revenue contract — hardly encouraging signs for a company that’s already quite a small player in China’s fiercely competitive online video market.

The big “elephant in the room” in this instance is struggling former smartphone sensation Xiaomi, which purchased 30 percent of Xunlei around the time of its 2014 IPO for a reported price of about $200 million. Xiaomi went on to form a content distribution service with Xunlei last summer, leading me to predict that it could make an offer to buy the company outright. (previous post) Read Full Post…

China News Digest: March 11, 2016

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The following press releases and news reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China to Ease Commercial Banks’ Bad Debt Burden Via Equity Swaps (English article)
  • Alibaba (HKEx: BABA) Says Agrees $3 Bln 5-Year Loan (English article)
  • Tech IPOs Dwindle in H2 2015, As Investors Look Towards E-Payments (Chinese article)
  • BYD (HKEx: 1211) Dealer Hangs Self, Owed Company 30 Mln Yuan (Chinese article)
  • Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) Announces Financial Results for Q4 Fiscal Year 2015 (GlobeNewswire)
  • Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

News Digest: August 14, 2015

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Lenovo (HKEx: 992) faces Motorola Hangover, Cuts 3,200 Jobs as Sales Slide (English article)
  • Xiaomi Announces New Products, Including MIUI 7 Operating System (Chinese article)
  • Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) China to Accelerate Local Investment – President (Chinese article)
  • Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) Announces Q2 Results, Profit Slides 74 Pct (Chinese article)
  • Startling Pink Buns Embrace KFC (NYSE: YUM) China’s New Chicken Burger (English article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

INTERNET: Xunlei Ties With Baidu, 58.com Works on ChinaHR

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Bottom line: Baidu could buy a small stake in Xunlei but is unlikely to acquire the company outright as part of their new alliance, while 58.com’s plan to rebuild its newly acquired job site should have good chances of success.

58.com goes to work on ChinaHR

I’ve been predicting a marriage for a while for online video orphan Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET), even as it remains stubbornly single despite its lack of scale to survive as an independent company. First it appeared the company might get bought by smartphone sensation Xiaomi after the pair boosted their strategic tie-up in May, but then nothing more happened. Now the gossip mills are likely to start turning again, following the latest announcement of a major partnership between Xunlei and Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi online video service.

58.com

Meantime in another Internet news bit, the top executive at leading online classified ad site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) is saying he will need 2 years to turn around the underperforming online job site ChinaHR, which he acquired earlier this year. His assessment comes after the site laid off nearly all of its staff as part of the deal that saw 58.com buy ChinaHR from its Irish owner. Read Full Post…

News Digest: June 27-29, 2015

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 27-29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Guotai Junan (Shanghai: 601211) Soars in Debut As China’s Biggest IPO Since 2010 (English article)
  • Didi Kuaidi Sets $2 Bln Target for Latest Fund-Raising Round (Chinese article)
  • JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) ZestFinance in JV to Expand Consumer Credit in China (GlobeNewswire)
  • Legend Holdings Sets IPO Price at HK$42.98, 45 Times Oversubscribed (Chinese article)
  • Xunlei (Nasdsaq: XNET), Xiaomi Ally to Release CDN Service Brand ‘Xingyu’ (English article)

IPOs: China Internets Set For Soft Landing On Wall St

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Bottom line: Chinese Internet stocks are likely to see a soft landing after a correction period in the first half of the year, with leaders and high-growth second tier players likely to experience a rebound in the second half.

China Internet stocks headed for soft landing

A new scorecard is casting a worrisome spotlight on the bumper crop of Chinese Internet firms that listed last year, pointing out that more than half are now trading below their IPO prices. The sagging prices continue a trend that I pointed out in my IPO scorecard at the end of last year. That trend has seen shares of many New York-listed Internet firms come back to their offering levels or lower as investors pocketed profits from strong post-IPO rises. (previous post) But rather than label this a reason for worry, I would argue instead this broader wave represents a rationalization of the market that will ultimately see the best-performing names rewarded and the money losers languish. Read Full Post…