The IPO story of the year has finally begun, with word that leading Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba has finally made its first public filing for a listing in New York. But anyone hoping for a blockbuster deal that would have been the biggest tech IPO since Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) 2012 offering will be disappointed to learn that Alibaba is seeking to raise a relatively modest $1 billion in the deal. Alibaba made the filing as a separate media report said the company’s high-flying Yu’ebao, its financial product that competes with traditional bank savings accounts, is about to have its wings clipped with new reserve requirement regulations from the central bank. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The growing feud between banks and China’s biggest Internet firms has taken a major new turn, with word that leading lender ICBC (HKEx: 1398) may be preparing to formally sever ties with Alibaba’s Alipay electronic payments platform. The move would be clearly aimed at Alibaba’s wildly popular Yu’ebao service, which lets users put excess funds from their Alipay accounts into a product that functions much like a traditional bank savings account but offers much higher interest rates. Of course the next big question is whether other big banks will follow ICBC’s lead, and I suspect the answer is that many will indeed do so. Read Full Post…
Where were you this past Saturday night? Most of us probably spent the evening having dinner out, or perhaps visiting friends. But for many of China’s tech executives, the date of March 15 has become for nervousness due to CCTV’s annual investigative reports broadcast that evening for Consumer Rights Day. The program often targets high-profile brands in its effort to uncover abusive business practices, and many of those names come from the tech sector. But this year’s program was a relative disappointment, with some observers cynically noting on their microblogs that CCTV seemed more interested in generating advertising revenue than protecting consumers. Read Full Post…
Chinese investors marked an important milestone last week when they rejected a bond offer by Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006; Shanghai: 600754), one of the nation’s leading hotel operators, reflecting their growing understanding of risk in China’s young financial markets. Chinese investors too often blindly pile into nearly any product offered by the latest hot company, bank, fund manager or even Internet firm, falsely believing they are guaranteed big returns on their money. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media 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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JD.com Rolls Out Financial Product Similar To Yu’ebao To Boost IPO (Chinese article)
E-House (NYSE: EJ) Announces Leju’s Plan For Proposed IPO (PRNewswire)
Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) to Acquire Yunshang Siji Hotel Management Co (PRNewswire)
ZTE (HKEx: 763), The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) to Release Game Console – Source (English article)
Ackman To Renew Attack On Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) With Aim On China Business (English article)
The worrisome “vampire” moniker heaped on Alibaba’sYu’ebao has died a quiet and appropriate death, with word that China’s top banker has no plans to kill the wildly popular investment product. The pronouncement from central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan caps a brief period of turbulence for Yu’ebao, beginning when an influential financial commentator branded the product a “vampire” nearly 2 weeks ago. That comment triggered a heated debate about new competition that private companies are suddenly posing for stodgier state-run banks, which until recently were the only low-risk option for most consumers to deposit their savings. But Zhou didn’t completely let Yu’ebao off the hook, adding that the fast-rising private banking sector needs to be more tightly regulated. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 5. 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 February 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba’s colorful and sometimes controversial founder Jack Ma has been called many things in the past, but even he must be surprised and somewhat alarmed at the latest monicker of “vampire” given to him by an influential commentator at CCTV, China’s leading broadcaster. I don’t usually take sides in this kind of politically sensitive debate, though in this case I really do think that CCTV’s claim is largely unjustified. I suspect the attack, which Alibaba is correctly taking quite seriously, was prompted at least partly at the urging of big state-run lenders that are unhappy about the meteoric rise of Alibaba’s Yu’ebao service, which competes with traditional savings accounts. Read Full Post…
