For the latest news on U.S.- and Hong Kong-traded Chinese stocks, visit our new Bamboo Works site.
Journalist China
Business news from China By Doug Young.
Doug Young, journalist, has lived and worked in China for 20 years, much of that as a journalist, writing about publicly listed Chinese companies.
He is based in Shanghai where, in addition to his role as editor of Young’s China Business Blog, he teaches financial journalism at Fudan University, one of China’s top journalism programs.
He contributes regularly to a wide range of publications in both China and the west, including Forbes, CNN, Seeking Alpha and Reuters, as well as Asia-based publications including the South China Morning Post, Global Times, Shanghai Daily and Shanghai Observer
Bottom line: ZTE’s relaunch to focus on a wider range of interconnectivity products and services looks smart and well-conceived, but could be harder to execute if it tries to do too much too quickly.
ZTE launches new logo
The last few years have been a difficult time for telecoms equipment giant ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), but the company is hoping to kick off a new chapter this year with the launch of a new strategy that focuses on interconnectivity at all levels. A news release and CEO’s letter detailing this new approach are filled with hype and buzzwords, though the broader idea looks strategically smart. I’ll admit I’m just a little skeptical that this company is capable of such a broad transformation, though I’m also hopeful that it can achieve at least some of its goals to jump-start its prospects. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Fosun is prepared to up its latest bid for Club Med by another 20-30 percent, while Anbang needs to be careful in its investments to avoid ending up with a portfolio of overvalued, underperforming assets.
Fosun ups Club Med bid
Two of China’s most active institutional investors are in the headlines today, led by a new sweetened bid from private equity giant Fosun International (HKEx: 656) as it competes with an Italian group to buy French vacation resort operator Club Med (Paris: CU). Meantime, another recently acquisitive investor Anbang Insurance is back in the headlines, with word that it’s boosted its stake in Minsheng Bank (HKEx: 1988 Shanghai: 600016), China’s oldest and largest privately owned lender. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The snowballing of a recent series of mudslinging remarks by major companies underscores the rampant lack of business ethics in China, and could prompt some much-needed public debate on the topic.
China business ethics in need of fixing
What started as a couple of stories highlighting the shady business practices that are all too common in China is starting to snowball, with home appliance giant Gree (Shenzhen: 000651) and a local start-up air purifier maker adding their voices to this entertaining year-end war of words. At the heart of this verbal mudslinging is a toxic Chinese business culture where practices like illegal copycatting, corporate espionage and violation of business contracts are quite common and even accepted to a certain degree. Read Full Post…
Cantonese cuisine has become a local favorite in Shanghai these past few years, reflecting the city’s growing taste for both regional and international foods. An interesting twist on that trend has seen China’s financial capital snub higher-end Cantonese food for more down-market chacanting-style restaurants, which are Hong Kong’s equivalent of the local greasy spoon diners in the west. But these Canto diners that have rapidly colonized Shanghai hardly look like their Hong Kong cousins, and have taken on a decidedly mid- to even high-end approach to the dining experience. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lenovo and TCL Communications’ profits are likely to take a hit in the current quarter and into early 2015 due to currency loses related to economic turmoil in Russia.
Geely profits slip on Russia crisis
The economic crisis in Russia is capturing headlines around the world, but far less attention is going to non-Russian companies that are likely to take a hit as a direct result of the turmoil. Automaker Geely (HKEx: 175) has become one of the first to reveal the damage that some companies may face, citing the slide in the Russian ruble as one of the biggest causes for a halving of its profits for 2014. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) Set To Buy Smartphone Maker For 5 Bln Yuan – Source (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Makes 1.266 Bln Yuan Investment In Midea (Shenzhen: 000333) (Chinese article)
Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR) Wins $148 Mln From Hony, JD.com, Ctrip (Chinese article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 762) Drops to Eight-Month Low As Manager Probed (English article)
Childcare E-commerce Site ‘Miyabaobei’ Secures $60 Mln Series C Funding (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Apple’s Cook Meet China’s Internet Minister In US (English article)
Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) Pop-Up Window Service Shut Down For Pornography (Chinese article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Acquires 28 Pct Stake In Shuntai Leasing (PRNewswire)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) To Acquire Affiliated Le Vision Pictures (English article)
Game Operator Linekong To Make HK IPO December 19, Raise Up To $190 Mln (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Feiyu’s weak IPO isn’t surprising and its shares will keep trading down, while Momo’s New York listing could get a slightly better reception but will open flat to up slightly in its trading debut this week.
Feiyu listing aims to raise up to $100 mln
The usual flurry of offshore Chinese IPOs has materialized as we head into the end of 2014, capping a banner year for such offerings. But the year-end rush has been surprisingly devoid of tech names, though we’ve just seen what could be one of the final such IPOs of the year with the Hong Kong debut late last week of mobile game developer Feiyu Technology. Feiyu’s weak debut comes as mobile social networking (SNS) firm Momo also gets set to make its New York trading debut this week, in what could well be the last 2 tech offerings in a banner year for the group. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Best Buy’s sale of its Five Star chain represents a long-overdue withdrawal from traditional retailing in China, and it would be wise to consider an e-commerce option if it tries to return later.
Best Buy sells Five Star chain
Some might see retailing giant Best Buy’s (NYSE: BBY) newly announced sale of its Five Star electronics chain as a retreat from China, but I would personally congratulate the company for a shrewd move that was long overdue. That’s because traditional retailing is rapidly dying in China, as shoppers opt for the convenience, better selection and lower prices of e-commerce. What’s more, the traditional electronics retailing sector is already overcrowded and highly competitive, dominated by big national chains led by Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and Gome (HKEx: 493) Read Full Post…
Reports about an innovative new app to assist shoppers in Xujiahui made me realize just how far China has come over the last 25 years in terms of providing convenience to average consumers. Of course it’s been more than a decade since I lived in the west, and systems similar to the one being rolled out now in the popular Xuhui District shopping area may also be available in the US.
Still, many of the electronic innovations coming out in China these days often seem even more advanced than those in the west, especially when it comes to shopping and socializing. That’s probably in large part because common western technologies like fixed-line phones and even simple cash registers were quite uncommon in China just a quarter century ago. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
China’s CGN Power Prices Hong Kong IPO At Top Of Range, Raises $3.2 Bln (English article)
JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Announces Pricing Of Secondary Offering Of Its ADSs (PRNewswire)
Meat Supplier OSI Says Six China Workers Arrested (English article)
ICBC (HKEx: 1398) Markets Record Offshore Yuan Bond Sale Amid Currency Push (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Selling 617 4G Devices 1 Year After Launch Of TD-LTE (Chinese article)
