Bottom line: AP’s willingness to consider new tie-ups with Xinhua is the result of economic pressures being felt by western media, but is unlikely to produce any major alliances due to the potential for negative publicity.
AP open to deeper partnership with Xinhua
Rapid changes in the traditional media realm are creating some strange bedfellows, and the situation looks even stranger in China due to the strong elements of censorship and state control. That odd combination of circumstances is creating a perfect storm that has led some western media companies to do the previously unthinkable and consider partnerships with some of China’s most centrally controlled media. Recent rumors have said that global financial news leader Bloomberg may be considering such a tie-up, and now the latest reports are saying US media giant Associated Press (AP) is also open to such partnerships. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China To Punish Tencent, Youku Tudou, Other Video Sites For Pornography (English article)
Bottom line: Beijing’s delay of new rules for foreign tech firms selling to Chinese banks could mark a turning point in a looming trade war centered on cybersecurity, and Washington should move to take reciprocal action.
Beijing slows down on new cybersecurity rules
After months of heating tensions, we’re seeing a sudden pause in the growing friction between China and the west that looked set to erupt into a new trade war centered on the sensitive issue of cybersecurity. That’s my assessment on reading that China is delaying implementation of draconian new requirements that would have forced all foreign tech firms to hand over sensitive and highly confidential product information when selling to Chinese banks.
I’m certainly not being naive in believing that China’s delay in this instance is the result of its realization that there’s no security risk posed by products supplied by foreign tech giants like IBM (NYSE: IBM), Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL). Instead, this delay is almost certainly the result of repeated protests from the companies themselves and also from Washington and Europe, which all argue the new requirements are overly and unnecessarily intrusive. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China To Delay Bank Tech Restrictions, US Treasury Official Says (English article)
Merged Didi, Kuadi Taxi App Value Could Reach $8.75 Bln After New Stake Sale (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Washington’s raising of Beijing’s foreign technology restrictions to the WTO and London’s acceptance of Huawei equipment could add to pressure on all parties to soften their restrictive actions over use of foreign technology.
US takes nat’l security dispute to WTO
A pair of stories in the headlines today show a growing divergence in how China’s major trading partners are treating their cyber security clashes with Beijing. The larger of the 2 stories has Washington formally posing questions at the WTO over Beijing’s recent restrictions that limit the sale of foreign technology to Chinese banks. The other has seen Britian issue a report saying products from leading Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei pose no threat to the nation’s security, or at least that the threat is controllable. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US Questions China At WTO On Banking Technology Restrictions (English article)
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Completes China Overhaul, No Short-Term Sales Targets (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Caixin’s new lawsuit against leading portals Sohu, Sina and Hexun could mark the start of a much-needed clean-up that will end the practice of rampant copyright violations among major Chinese news sites.
Caixin sues Sina, Sohu for illegal copying
I’m giving this week’s special award for bravery to cutting-edge financial news publisher Caixin, which is challenging the widespread illegal copying of copyrighted articles that occurs daily on Chinese news sites. Everyone knows that this kind of piracy is rampant in China, but some might be surprised to learn that companies targeted in Caixin’s new lawsuit include some of China’s top news portals, led by Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). I was also just slightly embarrassed to see that one of the companies being sued is financial news and information site Hexun, which is backed by my former employer Reuters (Toronto: TRI). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 21-23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Bacardi Challenges Baijiu With Tea-Based “Tang” Liquor Developed For China (Chinese article)
Yidao Welcomes Cooperation With Uber, Sees No Need For Merger (Chinese article)
Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sougou Eyes US IPO In 2nd Half 2015, Sees Value At $3 Bln (Chinese article)
Reuters (Toronto: TR) Websites Blocked In China (English article)
Bottom line: The exclusion of foreign tech giants from criticism in a prominent annual consumer rights show is unrelated to the broader bias they are facing from Beijing, and they will continue to come under fire for the next 1-2 years.
Foreign techs not targeted on annual consumer rights show
Top China officials at global tech giants like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) are probably breathing a sigh of relief today, after their companies weren’t targeted for attacks in an annual consumer rights show that has become a famous for creating public relations nightmares for its victims. Instead, this year’s edition of the investigative Consumer Rights Day program on China Central Television (CCTV), broadcast on March 15 each year, singled out China’s 3 major telcos for criticism in the tech sector.
Multinationals weren’t completely spared from attack, with a number of car makers including Vokswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG), Nissan (Tokyo: 7201) and Daimler (Frankfurt: DAIGn) coming under fire for things like abusive after-sales practices. (English article) But for now at least, China’s central media seem to be backing away from new attacks on foreign tech companies, following recent criticism that Beijing has unfairly targeted such firms for everything from monopolistic practices to posing national security risks over the last year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Legend’s Hong Kong IPO this year will attract moderate interest and raise more than $2 billion, while Mango TV could seek up to $800 million in new private funding later this year en route to a potential Hong Kong IPO as soon as 2017.
Mango TV gets funding from China Mobile
Two big fund-raising stories are in the headlines today, casting a spotlight on what could become 2 major IPOs in the pipeline over the next 2 years. The more advanced deal has media reporting that Legend Holdings, parent of PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), is aiming to raise a hefty $3 billion when it goes public later this year in Hong Kong. The second deal has Mango TV, the online video unit of the commercially savvy broadcaster Hunan TV, raising a cool 1 billion yuan ($161 million) in its first private funding round. Such a sum is quite large for a first round of outside fund raising, and the acceptance of private investors hints that Hunan intends to build Mango into an attractive IPO candidate with strong prospects in the online video space. Read Full Post…
