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…
I wrote about taxi apps a few times last year when they first became a hot topic, but haven’t written much since then despite frequent appearances in the headlines about their aggressive business practices. At the end of the day the news didn’t seem too interesting, and companies like Didi and Kuaidi seemed destined to remain relatively small in a sector with limited growth potential. But a new war pitting US giant Uber against the Chinese start-ups seems worth writing about, as it has bigger potential to shake up the market and also to draw attention from Chinese regulators. Read Full Post…
Just a month after word emerged that Japanese mobile messaging giant Line had found a China partner, new reports are saying the company is preparing to formally enter the market in the next few months. The company will certainly have a steep hill to climb in China, where it will have to challenge industry juggernaut WeChat, owned by Tencent (HKEx: 700). But that said, I do think that Line could quickly gain a major audience in China if it positions itself as an alternative for globally-minded business professionals. It should move as quickly as possible, as I fully expect global leader WhatsApp to make a similar major push into China within the next year. Read Full Post…
After years of lurking around the periphery of China and visits by its top executives to the country, social networking (SNS) giant Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) is preparing to dip its toe into the massive market with plans to open a sales office in Beijing. That move raises the bigger question of whether the world’s biggest SNS company is planning to open a China-based service anytime soon, which has always been part of its long-term strategy. The answer is that Facebook will almost certainly use the new Beijing office to work towards a formal China site, though such an effort could take at least a year to yield results. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s fastest-growing tech firms are stepping up their overseas expansion, with word that smartphone sensation Xiaomi is planning a major acceleration of its drive into emerging markets, as security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) eyes the US. The Xiaomi move looks like a smart one by avoiding developed markets for now, though the rapid speed of the expansion could strain the company’s resources. Meantime, the Qihoo move looks mostly like hype, in a bid to prop up its rapidly deflating share price. I also seriously question Qihoo’s decision to target such a competitive market like the US for its first move outside China. Read Full Post…
Word that Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) CEO Dick Costolo is making a trip to China just 4 months after his company’s IPO will almost certainly set to world tweeting about whether the social networking giant could be considering a play for the world’s largest Internet market. Such a move seems just a tad unlikely in the very near future, since Costolo has previously said that China isn’t a place where Twitter can operate due to the country’s tough self-censorship laws. But much has happened in the last 4 months that could be causing him to re-think his position, including the recent entry to China by corporate networking giant LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) and the upcoming $500 million New York IPO for Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, often called the Twitter of China. Read Full Post…
I haven’t written about Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) in a while, mostly because the company hasn’t made any concrete moves into China lately despite previous assertions that it would like to enter the market. But the company’s newly announced plan to purchase the popular WhatsApp mobile messaging service for up to $19 billion looks like a good opportunity to revisit the topic, and what this deal might mean for Facebook in China. Facebook’s own site has been blocked in China since 2009, making it inaccessible to the vast majority of more than 600 million Chinese web surfers. But WhatsApp is widely available, even though it competes with the wildly popular rival WeChat service from local Internet giant Tencent. (HKEx: 700)
UPDATE: Since originally writing this post, Tencent has announced it will purchase 20 percent of Dianping for an undisclosed amount. (company announcement)
Talk involving major new investments in online clothier Vancl and restaurant ratings site Dianping was buzzing through the blogosphere this past week, reflecting the many new partnerships that are quickly forming amid intense competition plaguing the overheated Internet space.
Vancl has been racing to find profits before it runs out of cash, and recently received a lifeline in the form of $100 million in new funding from a group led by Lei Jun, the marketing-savvy co-founder of trendy smartphone maker Xiaomi. Lei Jun and Vancl CEO Chen Nian engaged in a round of online banter this week on their microblogs that could hint at some of the new directions and tactics that Vancl will take as it searches for the elusive business model that can move it into the black. Read Full Post…
China was closed for much of last week, but that didn’t some of its top tech executives from emitting a steady stream of tweets on their microblogs regaling followers with tales of their travels over the Lunar New Year holiday. The US emerged as the travel destination of choice for many who favored a destination that has been quite generous towards their sector over the last few months.
Regular tech readers will know I’m talking about the huge success of 5 major Chinese Internet IPOs in New York, many of which have nearly doubled in value since their trading debuts in the last 2 months of 2013. Executives at JD.com, China’s second largest e-commerce company, are hoping to ride that wave of positive sentiment with another New York IPO this year. That pending deal saw one JD.com executive complain of having to take part in a late-night teleconference during the Lunar New Year holiday that I suspect was connected to that upcoming listing. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Announces iPhone Plans, 16G Model For 5488 Yuan (Chinese article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) To Pay HK$1.5 Bln For China South City (HKEx: 1668) Stake (Chinese article)
AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Announces Completion of Merger (PRNewswire)
Huawei Estimates Operating Profit Rose Over 40 Pct Last Year (English article)
Former Nuomi Head Named As LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) China President (Chinese article)
Linked In, the social networking site for yuppies, is warning that it could potentially follow in the footsteps of its hipper younger Facebook brother and be blocked out of China by Beijing’s Great Firewall. (English article) The question to me is: Should anyone, including those considering buying into Linked In’s upcoming IPO, really care? The answer is a resounding “no”. Whereas Facebook’s lockout has allowed a bumper crop of social networking knock-offs to blossom in China, the same can’t be said for Linked In, which is still available but virtually unknown in this country. I’m sure there are plenty of guesses as to why, but the fact that the median age of a Chinese Internet user is somewhere in the teens is probably one of the main reasons. So those considering buying into Linked In should relax: this company’s future isn’t tied at all to China, nor is it likely to be anytime soon.
Bottom line: A China lock-out for Linked in would pose little or no threat to the company’s bottom line or near-term growth prospects
Linked In, the social networking site for yuppies, is warning that it could potentially follow in the footsteps of its hipper younger Facebook brother and be blocked out of China by Beijing’s Great Firewall. (
