Bottom line: Wall Street Round-Up’s new venture funding from China Media Capital testifies to its rapid rise, using a similar formula to the popular US-based Business Insider financial news aggregator.
SMG backs Wall Street Round-Up
A fast-rising financial news website that looks like China’s answer to the popular US site Business Insider has just netted its latest funding, in the amount of a relatively modest 100 million yuan ($15 million). But what’s attracting the biggest interest in this story is the source of the funding, which is coming from China Media Capital (CMC), the new media investment arm of the aggressive Shanghai Media Group (SMG).
As a member of the media, this story is of particular interest to me because of the controversial nature of the funding recipient, called Huawerjie Jianwen, or roughly Wall Street Round-Up. The company was founded as a financial news blog in New York in 2010 by a group of young entrepreneurs, but its rapid rise didn’t begin until they returned to China in 2013 and re-registered the company here in Shanghai. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Washington and Beijing risk seriously hindering global trade and M&A in high-tech products in the name of national security, and should be more transparent when blocking deals and trade over such concerns.
National security vetoes look increasingly protectionist
The national security debate was in 2 major headlines last week, as word emerged that Washington might consider blocking proposed major acquisitions of US companies by Chinese construction equipment giant Zoomlion (HKEx: 1157; Shenzhen: 000157) and memory chip maker Tsinghua Unisplendour. While neither deal has been vetoed yet, the talk comes less than a year after several Washington politicians expressed reservations that ultimately killed another deal by a Chinese company to purchase leading US memory chip maker Micron (Nasdaq: MU).
With the US entering an election year, the likelihood of more deals being killed for similar reasons could grow due to opposition from politicians seeking to curry favor from voters. The growing noise from Washington comes against a backdrop of similar moves by Beijing, which last year rolled out a new national security law that foreign technology firms said was overly invasive and discriminates against them. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) VP Questioned by Police for Illegal Activity (Chinese article)
New Oriental Proposes China IPO for Xun Cheng, After Tencent Investment (PRNewswire)
Blackstone Shops China Software Firm Pactera to Potential Buyers (English article)
Sinovac (Nasdaq: SVA) Announces Receipt of Proposal to Buy the Company (PRNewswire)
OPPO, Vivo Snap at Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Heels in China Mobile Market (English article)
Bottom line: McDonald’s could see a strong rebound in China over the next few years, as consumers give the chain a second look following an overhaul that includes the roll out of a high-tech burger customization program.
McDonald’s expands China high-tech burger program
Chinese consumers are welcoming a McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) high-tech program for customized hamburgers, with word that the world’s largest burger chain will aggressively expand the concept in China this year. I have yet to visit one of the new stores in the program, but admit I’m intrigued by the concept that allows customers to personalize their burgers at computer kiosks inside stores before having them delivered to their tables.
That kind of curiosity and novelty factor could be key to jump-starting McDonald’s China business, which has stalled over the last few years as customers flock to a wide range of other alternatives more suited to local tastes. Both McDonald’s and crosstown rival KFC (NYSE: YUM), which is in the process of spinning off its China unit into a separate company, have suffered from slowdowns to their China operations in recent years for similar reasons. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 30-February 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Terex Sale Talks with Zoomlion (HKEx: 1157) Continue despite Worry US May Block
McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) to Launch 150 Customized Burger Stores in China in 2016 (English article)
China FDA May Take Back Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Drug-Selling Authorization (Chinese article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Speeds Up Wireless Equipment Charging Business (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Removes Air Purifiers from Flagship Store Amid More Doubts (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Alibaba’s shares are likely to remain under pressure through the rest of this year as it enters a new phase of slower growth and its stock faces short-term pressure from short sellers.
Investors unimpressed by Alibaba results
E-commerce leader Alibaba(NYSE: BABA) was hoping for praise and kudos when it posted quarterly results that beat market expectations, but instead is receiving a cold shoulder from Wall Street bears who are betting against the company. That’s the bottom line, as investors dumped Alibaba shares after the company reported quarterly revenue that was slightly ahead of expectations.
At the same time, other media reports say that Alibaba is on the cusp of a deal to sell its stake in leading Chinese group buying site Meituan-Dianping for around $900 million. This particular sale was reported previously, and thus isn’t huge news to investors. Still, many are probably disappointed that Alibaba is yielding this important piece of the China online-to-offline (O2O) services market to rival Tencent (HKEx: 700), which will now become Meituan-Dianping’s undisputed strategic partner. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lufax Completes Fundraising, Valuing Company at $18.5 Bln (English article)
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Unveils $280 Mln Joint Venture with Chinese Province (English article)
Fosun’s Guo Guangchang in Sports Tie-Up With European “Super Broker” (Chinese article)
Synutra (Nasdaq: SYUT) Announces Receipt of “Going Private” Proposal (PRNewswire)
Huawei Sets 2016 Sales Target of $81.8 Bln (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Starbucks and Uber are likely to scale back their latest aggressive China expansion plans as the nation’s economy slows and consumers rein in their spending on non-essential items and services.
Starbucks accelerates China expansion
China’s economy may be heading for a new era of slower growth, but you would never know that by looking at the latest moves by Uber and Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX), 2 global leaders in their categories of hired car services and retailing. The first instance has Uber completing a major fund-raising for its China unit and forming a new tie-up in travel services. Meantime, Starbucks is steaming ahead with plans to nearly double its China store count by 2019.
As a neutral observer of both companies, I have to say that both Starbucks and Uber are being just slightly naive in ignoring all the signs of a major Chinese economic slowdown that could ultimately lead to woes now confronting countries like Greece and Spain. In that kind of environment, it’s far from clear that consumers will still enthusiastically shell out $5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks when they could buy a cup of tea for far less, or that they will pay similar amounts for a hired car instead of taking the bus or subway. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Wanda Buys Film Studio Legendary for $3.5 Bln (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Halts Commercial Tie-Ups in Disease Area of Tieba Social Service (Chinese article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Fake Ticket Scandal Exposes Gray Areas in Food Chain (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Media Capital Invests in ‘Star Wars’ Special Effects House Base FX (Chinese article)
Apple, Samsung supplier Biel Crystal plans $2 Bln HK IPO in 2016 – IFR (English article)
Uber Drives Into China Tourism Industry With HNA Group Tie-Up (English article)
Women’s Shopping Services Mogujie, Meilishuo Merge to Create $3 Bln Company (Chinese article)
‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ Breaks Records With $53 Mln China Debut (English article)
Bottom line: The delay in Netflix’s plans to enter China this year may be due to lobbying from domestic online video companies, and it could be several more years before it gets permission to form a China venture.
China absent in major Netflix expansion
Shareholders of US entertainment giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) will be disappointed to learn that China wasn’t included on the company’s global road map, as it announced a major expansion for its signature online video service. Many believed that an entry to China could come as early as this year, after media reported last spring that Netflix was in talks to set up a Chinese online video joint venture with Wasu Media (Shenzhen: 000156), which is backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA).
But the road into China was never going to be easy for any foreign online video company, due to Beijing’s heavy censorship of the Internet and also its inherent bias against big foreign companies. All that said, Netflix isn’t exactly writing off China completely either, but is simply saying its road into the market may take longer than it previously hoped. Read Full Post…
