The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Said to Exclude Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) From Procurement List (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Said to Have Held Talks on Buying Axiata Stake (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Removes 100 Rumor-Spreading Public Accounts From WeChat (Chinese article)
The following is Part 5 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
Tencent targets smart partnerships
Venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road always ask young entrepreneurs with little business knowledge what they would do if Facebook did the same thing, and similar concerns exist for China start-ups in dealing with the “Tencent factor”. With the strategic goal of providing users with “one-stop online lifestyle services”, nearly everything has become a must-have for Tencent, making it a public enemy for the entire community of Internet-based service providers in China. Read Full Post…
The slower summer months haven’t cooled down appetite for new M&A among Chinese Internet firms, with word that e-commerce leader Alibaba is chasing a massive investment that could see it purchase a stake in US social networking high-flyer Snapchat. At the same time, software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has just announced new plans to raise up to $1 billion through a convertible bond offer, in what also could be the prelude to a major new acquisition. Read Full Post…
Two more US-traded Chinese firms are on the cusp of de-listing, with online game operator Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) and chipmaker RDA Microelectronics (NYSE: RDA) just announcing they have wrapped up buy-out deals that will pave the way for their imminent privatization. These 2 de-listing stories were announced months ago and are completely expected. But the bigger underlying story is the lack of major new privatization announcements in the last half year. In a similar development, major new IPOs by Chinese firms in New York have slowed considerably since a boom of offerings in April and May, indicating the broader deal-making market may be entering a new, more stable phase. Read Full Post…
I wrote earlier this week about a looming crackdown on private Internet-based video providers, and now that campaign appears to be building momentum with word of turbulence in the booming set-top box sector. The latest reports say industry veteran LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) has withdrawn its set-top box product from the market, while e-commerce giant Alibaba is reportedly delaying the roll-out of its own similar product. The reports certainly don’t bode well for the fledgling sector of set-top boxes, which allow people to watch Internet-based video content on their TVs the same way they watch programs using traditional TV channels. Read Full Post…
This week’s Street View takes us to Shanghai’s rapidly aging Maglev train, which was once the city’s pride and joy when it first opened in 2004 offering the world’s fastest speeds in a commercial rail service. The Maglev celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, even as debate grows about a technology that has been overtaken by slower but less costly high speed rail trains in the last few years. 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…
A series of microblog posts this past week is highlighting the breakneck pace of wheeling and dealing happening behind the scenes on China’s Internet as it undergoes an unprecedented wave of consolidation. What started as a trickle of buying early last year has become so routine that barely anyone notices now when new deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars are signed. Equally interesting are the untold stories of companies quietly being dismantled in the wake of larger deals, and hints of deals to come in the microblog posts of executives at firms leading the consolidation. Read Full Post…
Newly released data are showing an inevitable slowdown at Yu’ebao, Alibaba’s inaugural financial product that has shaken up China’s stodgy banking industry since its launch a year ago. The data released by Alibaba’s Tianhong Asset Management, which officially runs Yu’ebao, also shows the product’s return rate has dropped considerably from earlier levels, which will further undermine its attractiveness. Separately, media are reporting that Alibaba has tentatively chosen the date of August 8 for its highly anticipated New York listing, which had been previously rumored due to its significance as a lucky day on the Chinese calendar. Read Full Post…
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve written a post exclusively about leading e-commerce company Alibaba, so I thought I’d end the week with a round-up of a few company news bits including its selection of the New York Stock Exchange for its highly-anticipated IPO. In related news, the company’s major shareholder Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) is reportedly in talks to reduce its planned sale of Alibaba shares in the offering. Last but not least, Alibaba has formally added its name to one of its latest acquisitions, a stake in one of China’s leading soccer clubs. Read Full Post…
The World Cup kick-off seems like an appropriate theme for this week’s wrap of the microblogging realm, where a series of verbal sparring matches has broken out among a number of tech officials. One of the most entertaining saw a ZTE (HKE: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) smartphone executive launch a sarcastic assault at Xiaomi’s Lei Jun, who was spouting his usual nonstop promotional hype. While ZTE went on the offensive, executives from e-commerce firms Jumei (Nasdaq: JMEI) and Vancl were on the defensive, deflecting accusations and insinuations against their companies and executives. Meantime, a top JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) executive provided some lighter entertainment with his own reminiscences of watching actual World Cup games in his younger years. Read Full Post…
