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After fraying under a steady stream of disputes over the last 2 years, China-Western trade relations took a much-needed turn for the better last week with new reports showing that Beijing and its major trading partners were taking constructive steps to reduce the tensions. Two reports indicated Beijing will take steps to reduce some of the government support it gives to emerging high-tech industries, addressing a sore spot in its trade relations with the west. Read Full Post…
Fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi is back in the headlines with an update on a high-profile bet made last year by chief Lei Jun, who predicted his company would surpass the older and much larger appliance giant Gree (Shenzhen: 000651) in the next 5 years. At the same time, Lei has also updated a previous pledge that his company won’t go public during that time, which probably reflects the fact that Xiaomi will probably be losing money for much of the next 5 years. Lastly a separate news bit has Xiaomi investing in a GPS technology company, in a further indication that the company intends to follow a path similar to role model Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in its future development. Read Full Post…
A new cloud computing tie-up between US networking equipment giant Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and leading Chinese TV maker TCL (HKEx: 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) caught my attention more due to its broader implications for both companies rather than the modest size of the actual investment. The deal comes as Cisco is facing difficulties in China, the direct result of an ongoing spat between Washington and Beijing over cyber security. At the same time, it also represents the latest in a string of recent signals that TCL is eying some new global alliances, a decade after 2 high-profile tie-ups with other western partners ended in disaster. Read Full Post…
Several significant telecoms stories are buzzing through the headlines as China returns to work after a long holiday, led by news that iPhone sales have gotten off to a roaring start after initially hitting a regulatory roadblock in the world’s largest mobile market. Also of interest is word that China and the European Union are close to settling a long-running dispute that could give European networking equipment makers better access to the lucrative Chinese market. And finally there’s a bit of regulatory news that looks like a positive sign, showing China is trying to cut its vast bureaucracy to provide easier market access for makers of telecoms products. 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…
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 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…
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…
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…
Several news bits are casting a spotlight on growing stress in the low-end smartphone market, where a crowded field of Chinese companies have been engaged in a cut-throat series of price wars for the past year. Leading the headlines is word that Coolpad, a leading homegrown brand, is cutting 10 percent of its workforce as it explores a new joint venture with some of its distributors. At the same time, other reports say that China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) won’t be coming to the rescue of these struggling companies by selling their smartphones to its subscribers at subsidized prices, as the leading Chinese carrier embarks on its own cost-cutting campaign to bolster its sagging profits. Read Full Post…
If telecoms equipment giant Huawei was trying to convince the world it’s not closely linked to Beijing, then its new campaign to root out internal corruption certainly looks like a bad strategic move. Of course I’m being just slightly facetious, as any good corporation should always be vigilant against corruption within its workforce. But in terms of public perception, this new internal anti-corruption campaign seems strikingly similar to the much larger and high-profile campaign being waged throughout China by the 2-year-old administration of President Xi Jinping. Read Full Post…
