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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
Two news stories in the telecoms space reflect the obstructionist role that the country’s big 3 telcos often play when it comes to boosting competition in their tightly regulated sector. The first story involves moves by the regulator to revive its sputtering program to juice up the sector with competitive products offered by dozens of recently licensed virtual network operators (VNOs). The second story involves the glacially slow progress in “number portability” — a years-old initiative that would encourage more competition by allowing consumers to keep their old mobile phone numbers when changing carriers. Read Full Post…
Major news items involving shenanigans at 2 of China’s top financial media are shining a spotlight on a phenomenon that doesn’t get much coverage in the west, but which is quite common in China and can often wreak havoc on companies’ stock prices. In one case, police have detained 2 top editors at the 21st Century Business Herald, one of China’s most respected financial newspapers, following an extortion scandal at the company’s website. In the other, leading instant noodle maker Master Kong, owned by Hong Kong-listed Tingyi (HKEx: 322), says it is preparing to sue the similarly prestigious China Business News for false reports that damaged its business. Read Full Post…
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), the sputtering “Wintel” pair that once dominated the high-tech industry, are both in the China headlines today, as each tries to reverse its downward slide in the important market. In the first case, Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella is visiting China in his first overseas trip since assuming his current title, and is quickly finding himself quite busy putting out fires on a number of fronts. In the latter case, Intel is paying a hefty premium for a Chinese cellphone chipmaker as it attempts to find a place in a critical sector that is rapidly overtaking its core business making chips for traditional PCs. Read Full Post…
Product development centers aren’t extremely expensive as investments, but they carry a much higher level of prestige for developing countries due to their status as cutting-edge centers for innovation. Against that backdrop, major new R&D moves by global corporate giants Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE) and Visa (NYSE: V) certainly don’t look too good for China. In the former case, software giant Adobe has announced it will shutter its China R&D facility, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs. In the latter, financial services giant Visa has also snubbed China by announcing a major new global technology development strategy that includes a new center in neighboring India but not in China. Read Full Post…
Two news bits involving employee movements are casting a spotlight on major stories that have rippled through the Chinese corporate headlines over these last few months. The first has employees of leading PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992) moving into the Chinese corporate headquarters of faded cellphone giant Motorola, indicating the former is confident of closing its landmark purchase of the latter. The second has US-owned meat processor Husi laying off most of the workers at its Shanghai plant, which is reeling from a massive downturn after investigative TV reporters uncovered food safety violations at the facility. Read Full Post…
Two major news events were at the center of the microblogging realm this past week, as tech executives from across the spectrum commented on the blockbuster IPO for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and the debut of latest iPhone from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Executives were generally full of praise for the Alibaba IPO, which shattered numerous records when the stock began trading last Friday in New York. But there were also some hints of jealousy, as top executives from fast-fading e-commerce rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) suffered from valuation envy.
Meantime, domestic smartphone makers Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) took advantage of the iPhone’s formal launch last Friday to tout their own products, which are far cheaper and enjoy a reputation for reasonable quality. But unlike the iPhone, Huawei and ZTE still suffer from the “Made in China” stigma, and don’t command anything near the level of respect and buzz that the iPhone gets. Read Full Post…
The headlines are buzzing today about the latest Hurun Report listing the richest people in China, which has a decidedly tech flavor this year that hints at trouble ahead for the overcharged Internet sector. The report has become a gold standard for gauging the latest business trends in China, but is also famous for focusing on industries that have become overheated. That’s not too surprising, since it’s often such overheating that leads to huge surges in company share prices, which are most often the main foundation for calculating individuals’ wealth. This year half of the top 10 richest men in China come from the tech sector. Read Full Post…
Regular readers will know I’m a bit bearish lately on the solar panel manufacturing sector, largely because I believe its recent rebound is being fueled as much by hype as real business after a prolonged downturn. A new report on some of the sector’s so called “growth engines”, coupled with a separate report on a dispute at one of the top surviving players, are adding fuel to my skepticism that the sector’s recent sharp rebound isn’t really happening. At the very least, the recent reports indicate the rebound isn’t nearly as strong as many are claiming, and solar panel makers and their shares could soon be set for far slower growth than many were hoping for. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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After Delay, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox One China Launch Set For Sept 29 (English article)
Jack Ma Becomes China’s Richest Man, Lei Jun Enters Top 10 – Hurun Report (Chinese article)
iPhone 6 Still Being Reviewed, Results Expected Shortly – MIIT Chief (Chinese article)
Shanghai Gov’t Requires Officials To Use Domestic Brand Smartphones (English article)
Shunfeng (HKEx: 1165) 500 Mln Yuan Ningxia Solar Power Station Hits Obstacle (Chinese article)
I decided to write about leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) today after reading a new report that says the company has posted a hefty 1.77 billion yuan ($290 million) in losses since its New York IPO 4 years ago. A little math will show that translates to average losses of about $20 million in each of the approximately 15 reporting quarters since it went public in December 2010. Much has changed in China’s online video space over that time, including a recent regulatory campaign to stop Youku Tudou and its peers from competing directly with traditional TV stations. Read Full Post…
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) fever has finally peaked, as shares of the e-commerce leader and its 2 major proxies took a needed breather after a turbo-charged IPO that made it China’s most valuable Internet firm. As a final footnote, the company also made the widely expected announcement that its underwriters exercised their rights to buy additional shares in the offering, officially making it the biggest IPO of all time. But the looming question for now is whether the sell-off on the second day of trading is short-term or the start of a much-needed correction. Regular readers will know my forecast is that the stock is set for turbulent trading over its first month or two, before it moves steadily downward over the next year to levels closer to its IPO price. Read Full Post…
