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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
In a quirk of timing, 2 completely unrelated rulings are boosting the outlook for Chinese new energy firms from the wind and solar sectors in their complex relationship with the US. The 2 cases are quite different, but each reflects the wariness Washington feels towards these Chinese firms due to their government ties. In the bigger of the 2 cases, a World Trade Organization panel has ruled that US anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese solar panel makers violate WTO rules. In the second case, a US judge’s ruling has given a boost to a Chinese firm that planned to build a wind farm in the state of Oregon, only to get vetoed by Washington over national security concerns. Read Full Post…
Two major regulatory moves could have opposite effects for different areas of the Internet, providing relief for e-commerce firms while posing yet another new challenge for online video operators. In the former category, media are reporting the regulator that oversees e-commerce is talking with major players about modifying a controversial policy that gives consumers the right to unconditionally return most merchandise within a week of buying it. In the latter category, other media reports say the broadcasting regulator is continuing an ongoing campaign to rein in online video sites by limiting their ability to operate dedicated program channels similar to traditional TV. Read Full Post…
Chinese tech executives were waxing nostalgic on their microblogs this past week, reflecting a broader seasonal business slowdown as we head into the quiet summer months when many people go on vacation. The flurry of memories from top executives at smartphone maker Xiaomi, security software maker Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) and e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) came as a nice break from the usual promotional hype in the microblogging realm, and shows that even executives need to take a break periodically from their usual self-promotion.
While the airwaves were mostly empty of the usual hype, another Xiaomi executive was still at work with his hints that the company has applied for a virtual network operator (VNO) license to offer telecoms services. That move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since a wide range of Chinese tech firms have also applied for such licenses, which allow them to offer mobile service under their own brand names to attract new users for their core products. Read Full Post…
PayPal watches a China licenses first foreign e-payments firm
China has issued so many electronic payment licenses by now that I mostly ignore the steady stream of announcements about new licensees, who now number more than 250. I was getting ready to ignore the latest report of a new batch of such licenses, when my attention was attracted by a news bit deeper in the story saying the fifth batch of awards included the long-anticipated first license for a foreign-backed company. The move looks promising for a number of foreign companies that have been waiting impatiently for years to enter the market, led by eBay’s (Nasdaq: EBAY) PayPal online payments unit. Read Full Post…
Electric vehicle maker BYD (HKEx: 1211; Shenzhen: 002594) has been zipping in and out of the headlines this past week, including its latest announcement that it will open a manufacturing plant in Brazil to service the BRICS country and the broader Latin American market. The company’s EV business, a major factor that attracted billionaire investor Warren Buffett as a major backer, also got good news from Beijing this week with word of a major government drive to boost new energy vehicle buying.
Despite those positive moves, the company still has yet to received its first major overseas order, though it has certainly set up many pilot programs. Such programs make good headlines, even though they result in very limited actual business. And those programs receive far less attention when they end in failure, which is what recently happened to a high-profile trial in a city near Los Angeles. Read Full Post…
Technology giant Legend Holdings has grabbed headlines in recent days with news of a record investment by its private equity arm in a leading British pizza chain, its first major overseas foray. The deal saw Legend’s Hony Capital agree to pay $1.6 billion for the PizzaExpress chain, as part of a growing trend by Chinese firms to invest in the overseas food and retail sectors.
The purchase comes as Legend gears up for an IPO as early as later this year, offering investors a chance to buy into a diversified group whose biggest asset is its controlling stake in PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). But the bigger headline in the Legend story is reports that the company is strongly considering staging its listing in Hong Kong rather than its native China. Read Full Post…
A rally for shares of China’s 3 major telcos early this week is raising the interesting question of whether an extended uptick is coming for these 3 companies, which are facing several developments that could help to lower costs and boost revenues, raising their profits. Media are citing the newest of those developments, the formation of an infrastructure joint venture between the trio, as the main driver for the Monday rally in shares of China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA). But the bigger story is a number of major factors at play, all of which could help these 3 stodgy state-run firms boost their profits. Read Full Post…
Two new deals in the food and beverage space are casting a spotlight on China’s growing hunger and thirst for foreign products, and also its desire to import better practices to combat a nonstop stream of domestic food safety scandals. The bigger of the deals will see Hony Capital, one of China’s largest and oldest private equity firms, pay $1.6 billion for British fast-food chain PizzaExpress, which is in the process of expanding in China. The other deal will see the owner of the Red Bull brand of energy drinks for China buy a stake in the parent of Vita Coco, and bring the US company’s flagship coconut flavored drinks to China. Read Full Post…
E-commerce leader Alibaba is disclosing yet more information on itself and what investors can expect to get in its upcoming IPO, including a revised estimate of its valuation that puts it roughly on par with archrival Tencent (HKEx: 700). The company is also giving more details revealing just how little control investors will have over the company under a corporate structure that will put all management decisions in the hands of a small group of partners. Neither of these revelations is hugely surprising, and instead reflects just how closely everyone is watching an IPO that could be the largest technology offering of all time. Read Full Post…
When the history books are written, “cybersecurity” will go down as one of the key buzzwords for Sino-US relations in 2014, following a nonstop war of accusations between Beijing and Washington. In the latest twist to this story, leading broadcaster CCTV is warning Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) fans to beware of security risks posed by data tracking functions on their iPhones. The implication seems to be that Apple is working closely with government spies in Washington to secretly collect data on the whereabouts of iPhone users throughout China. It’s not really clear why anyone would want such information, but that doesn’t seem to be important to CCTV. Read Full Post…
The old saying “One man’s trash can be another man’s treasure” certainly seems pertinent for drug firm Luye Pharma (HKEx: 2186), which has found a receptive audience in Hong Kong for its newly listed shares. The company’s high valuation and strong trading debut contrast sharply with its performance during a previous life as a listed company in Singapore, where it was ignored by investors before privatizing in 2012.
Some analysts are saying Luye’s move could mark the start of a wave of similar re-listings for “China orphans” — Chinese firms that listed in New York or Singapore, only to see their shares languish due to lack of investor interest. But I would caution that Hong Kong investors are quite sophisticated and will still be looking for firms with strong growth potential — a quality that was lacking in many of the New York and Singapore-listed firms that privatized over the last 2 years. Read Full Post…
