Bottom line: A Beijing lawsuit against Tesla over an accident that killed the driver of one of its cars is quite possibly baseless, but will add to a recent string of negative publicity for the company and China’s problem-plagued new energy vehicle sector.
Tesla sued over driver death in China
Electric car maker Tesla (Nasdaq: TLSA) is in the negative headlines in China driving into the new week, following reports of a Beijing lawsuit against the company over the death of a driver of one of its cars. I’ll be quite direct and say that the lawsuit looks a bit dubious and perhaps unrelated to Tesla’s technology, though it’s also possible that Tesla’s carefully worded statement is designed to give that impression. But even if the lawsuit is baseless, this kind of negative headline is the last thing that Tesla needs in a problem-plagued market that it once hoped would fuel its difficult drive into profitability. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US Bank Regulators Join Investigation Into JPMorgan’s (NYSE: JPM) China Hiring (English article)
Bottom line: Alibaba is the biggest beneficiary of business lost by Baidu after a scandal earlier this year, with search rivals Qihoo and Sogou also likely to pick up new business.
Baidu loses digital ad crown to Alibaba
A couple of news items are showing how Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) core search business is coming under assault from several directions, in an ominous sign for the company’s main revenue source. The first item shows that Baidu has officially lost its crown as China’s top digital adverting platform to e-commerce titan Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), following a scandal earlier this year that wiped out up to a fifth of its revenue. In the other item, reports are saying that China’s other Internet titan Tencent (HKEx: 700) has boosted its stake in Sogou, one of Baidu’s main search rivals, to 45 percent. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: NetEase’s move into cloud computing and closure of its forum service are part of an overhaul positioning it for future growth, and could propel it into China’s top 3 Internet companies in the next 5 years.
NetEase launches cloud service
China’s lowest-key Internet giant NetEase is making some more new adjustments, extending reports last week that it was planning to spin off or sell its old but stagnating web portal business. One of the new moves includes word that the company has shuttered its equally slow-growth web forum business. The other has the company launching a new cloud service, with plans to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the business over the next few years. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Takes Lead in China Digital Ad Market, Baidu Drops to Second (press release)
Postal Savings Bank of China IPO Raises $7.4 Bln After Pricing at Low End (English article)
China Telecom (HKEx: 728) to Close Accounts Without Real Name Registration (Chinese article)
Sony (Tokyo: 6758) Close to Motion Picture Alliance With China’s Wanda (English article)
Filing Shows Smartisan Value Drops By 500 Mln Yuan in Half Year (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Postal Savings Bank’s IPO is likely to price weakly and make a flat trading debut due to waning enthusiasm, while Anbang could make a similarly large IPO next year that will get an equally tepid reception.
Anbang eyes HK IPO
The world’s biggest IPO in 2 years is quickly running out of steam, with word that a Hong Kong listing by Postal Savings Bank of China, the nation’s last national bank to list, is set to price near the bottom of its range. Meantime, what could easily become one of next year’s biggest offering has just popped into the headlines, as insurance giant Anbang is saying in one of its first-ever foreign media interviews that it wants to make its own listing, also in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Pokemon Go could launch in China as soon as the end of this year, but is likely to get a tepid reception due to its late arrival and fading buzz in other countries.
After months of silence in the world’s largest mobile market, Pokemon Go, the wildly popular mobile game that debuted this summer in most of the world, may be finally coming to China soon. That’s the word coming from new media reports, which are citing the CEO of Niantic, the San Francisco-based developer of the popular title that takes mobile gaming to a new level by adding global positioning (GPS) technology. But the bigger question is whether Pokemon Go will get much attention from Chinese gamers, since it seems to be well past its prime after making global headlines over the summer. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Postal Savings Bank of China Set to Price Hong Kong IPO Near Low End (English article)
New Disclosure Shows Tencent (HKEx: 700) Owns 45 Pct of Search Engine Sogou (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Wanda will look for new Hollywood assets after being rejected in the bidding for a stake of Paramount, while the departure of a member of the group buying Baidu Video is a minor setback and a new investor will be easily found.
Paramount abandons stake sale plan
A couple of headlines are showing that China’s love affair with the film and video industries isn’t always so smooth, with the collapse of 2 major deals involving cinema giant Wanda and online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). The far larger of the 2 developments has seen leading Hollywood studio Paramount scrap plans to sell a strategic stake in itself, ending a deal that reportedly had seen Wanda emerge as one of the most likely buyers. The Baidu deal is quite a bit smaller, and has seen one of the buyout partners withdraw in a plan to spin off its relatively minor Baidu Video business. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Yum and McDonald’s are likely to complete spin-offs of their China units by year end, offering a new business template for multinationals that should be encouraged with incentives from Beijing.
Yum names board for China unit
Separate plans by fast food giants KFC and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) to spin off their China businesses into separate companies were in the headlines last week, in a new trend that could see other big multinationals take similar steps to address the market’s huge size and unique qualities. Each company is using a slightly different strategy, with KFC parent Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) choosing a key strategic partner and separate listing for its China unit. By comparison, McDonald’s is simply selling its China stores to a strategic partner in a franchise-style arrangement, while maintaining control of its bigger China operations. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on September 20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Wanda Rejected as Viacom’s (NYSE: VIAb) Paramount Abandons Stake Sale Plan (Chinese article)
Internal Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Probe Nets 17 for Corruption, Worst at Nuomi Unit (Chinese article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 762) Offers Biggest iPhone 7 Subsidies, Up to 49 Pct (Chinese article)
Zeus Entertainment (Shenzhen: 002354) Halts Plan to Invest in Baidu Video (English article)
