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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
US-listed Chinese companies have made a flurry of strategic moves on Wall Street over the long October 1 holiday, with former high-flyers Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) taking steps to prop up their sagging share prices. The correction now taking place is long overdue, following huge run-ups in New York-traded Chinese stocks over the last year and a half. Still, the sell-off doesn’t bode too well for car rental firm eHiCar Services, which has just become the first major Chinese firm to file for a Wall Street IPO following the blockbuster listing for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) last month. Read Full Post…
So much has been written already about the sudden approval of the iPhone 6 in China, after several weeks of unexplained delays, that I thought I would focus on the broader implications of this surprise move in the ongoing war of words between the US and China over cyber security.
I praised iPhone maker Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in August for emerging as a voice of reason in this war of words after it decided to use China-based servers for to store some of its local user data (previous post), and it seems like more praise is in order this time as well. Only this time the praise should go to Beijing, for finally taking a break from the cyber security war of words by realizing that companies like Apple are far more interested in doing business than engaging in cloak-and-dagger spying games. Read Full Post…
Just months after tapping financial markets for nearly $250 million, solar panel maker Trina (NYSE: TSL) has just announced another plan to raise a similar amount as it tries to take advantage of improving sentiment towards its sector. Such fund-raising would have been unthinkable as recently as a year ago, when recovery of the solar panel sector was far from certain following a prolonged downturn. In a relatively positive sign, Trina’s latest fund-raising plan didn’t trigger a major sell-off in its shares, indicating investors are more confident of the company’s and the sector’s future prospects. Read Full Post…
Senior and mid-level executives from a wide range of Chinese tech firms were on the move this past week, crossing the Pacific to tour some of the top US tech names in Silicon Valley. Stops on the tour, co-organized by a Chinese outfit with the colorful name of Geek Park, included such Internet giants as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), as well as newer companies like Airbnb and Pinterest, and electric car powerhouse Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). But certainly the biggest and most intriguing stop on this Silicon Valley tech tour was a visit to the global headquarters of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), which also happens to be in the process of opening a China office. Read Full Post…
We will be on holiday from October 1-7 in observance of the Chinese National Day holiday. A limited number of articles will be published during that time, with a return to the regular schedule on October 8.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 1-6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Available In China On Friday, October 17 (Businesswire)
Alibaba (NYSE BABA) Makes Investment in Shiji Information Technology (Businesswire)
New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Announces Completion Of SEC Investigation (PRNewswire)
In a sign of just how overheated M&A in China’s tech sector has become, 2 major purchases by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and online travel leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) are receiving scant attention from investors, even though they are worth nearly $1 billion combined. Instead, the big news grabber is another headline involving Alibaba, with word that the world’s second largest Internet firm has just become one of a handful of private Chinese companies to win new private sector banking licenses being awarded by Beijing. That development will see Alibaba and several partners open an Internet-based bank that will cater to smaller savers and borrowers, an area often neglected by the current field of big state-run lenders. Read Full Post…
A significant move of consolidation occurred in China’s fragmented microchip design sector last week, when global leader Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) purchased a strategic minority stake in a Chinese company formed through the recent combination of 2 midsized players. The step will bring together domestic smartphone chip designers RDA Microelectronics and Spreadtrum, with Intel’s huge financial resources, R&D muscle and global sales network. Read Full Post…
A pair of articles in today’s English-language China Daily nicely illustrates the recent woes being felt at a number of major foreign multinationals in China, as they face an unusual wave of government hostility that may be partly due to their strong market position. German carmaker Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG) is the central player in the pair of articles, as it tries to recover from a recent wave of negative publicity for its Audi brand. The saga follows years of stellar growth that has made Audi cars a must-have product for Chinese government officials and many of the nation’s newly wealthy individuals. Read Full Post…
A new management shakeup in the top ranks of eLong (Nasdaq: LONG) didn’t excite investors too much, but hints that something is happening behind the scenes at this online travel laggard controlled by US giant Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). The shakeup has seen eLong’s CFO and COO both resign, though the company’s CEO is staying in his current position, at least for now. Rumors circulated earlier this year that a buyout could be coming for eLong from sector leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP), though such a deal never came. Read Full Post…
A trio of headlines are shining a spotlight on a new twist in the brutally competitive smartphone market, where national security is suddenly becoming a major new headache for manufacturers. In one headline, Chinese smartphone sensation Xiaomi is being investigated in Taiwan for national security risks related to the storage of local user data on some offshore mainland Chinese-based computers. In a similar news bit, Beijing is reportedly considering forbidding government workers from using foreign-made smartphones.
And in yet another related story, global smartphone giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is reportedly finally on the cusp of winning approval to sell its new iPhone 6 in China, following an embarrassing delay that may be related to the cybersecurity issue. Read Full Post…
