Just days after I said that NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) looked like a company to watch after its issue of $172.5 million worth of bonds, infamous short seller Muddy Waters has launched an assault on the software security maker, sparking a sell-off that has wiped out half of its market value. Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is also coming under assault from different quarters, in this case taking heat from company watchers and regulators after promising returns that many believe are unrealistic on its newly launched investment product. Read Full Post…
Update: After originally posting this item, a Renren spokesman has gotten in touch to deny there are any talks for asset sales to Baidu beyond the original Nuomi sale.
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) is the subject of a new flurry of news bits, including growing ties with social networking leader Renren (NYSE: RENN) and a new financial services initiative, spotlighting the sudden urgency it feels to grow beyond its core search business. The Renren news bits are the most interesting to me, because they highlight the importance of social media to the growth strategies of most major Chinese Internet companies and could also presage an eventual acquisition. The financial services initiative also reflects the sudden rush by Chinese web giants into this area, though Baidu looks a bit late in its arrival to the space. Read Full Post…
Update: After publishing this originally, a Qunar spokeswoman pointed out that Goldman Sachs was among the investment banks underwriting its IPO. So that changes the tenor of the last part of the post, which says that no premium investment banks were involved in the offering.
A long awaited year-end fund-flurry of fund raising by Chinese tech firms is gaining momentum, with online travel sites Qunar and Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) leading the charge as investor interest finally returns to the market. Qunar has just made the first public filing for its long-delayed IPO, while Ctrip continues to dazzle the markets by raising the size of its recent mega bond offer for the second time, underscoring strong demand from investors. Read Full Post…
Youku Tudou sues Xiaomi for copyright infringement
Earlier this week I wrote how smart TV could be poised for a sudden explosion in China due to a combination of factors that made the market especially well suited for development of this product. (previous post) Now we’re seeing one of the major obstacles that smart TVs could face, namely copyright lawsuits by various players against one another as each seeks to gain the upper hand in an increasingly competitive market. We could soon be seeing an avalanche of such litigation, with word that leading online video website Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) has just sued Xioami for copyright infringement, following the latter’s recent rollout of a new smart TV product. Read Full Post…
Online apparel retailer Vancl continues to struggle, with media reporting the former e-commerce rising star has fallen into arrears in payments to many of its suppliers, including more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) owed to sporting apparel maker Li Ning (HKEx: 2331). The latest reports are citing company chief Chen Nian saying that Vancl experienced its darkest period late last year, and is now on the mend. But if reports of the arrears are true, Vancl’s failure to pay its suppliers could mark the beginning of the end for the company, which has made a number of major adjustments over the past 2 years in a bid to find sustainable long-term profits. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Gives Up Plan For Hong Kong Listing – CEO (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Wins Fund License, Prepares To Roll Out Product (Chinese article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Quits Race For Pakistan Telco Warid (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Targets 2 Bln Yuan In 2013 Mobile Gaming Revenue (English article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Prices Offering of $700 Mln Convertible Senior Notes (PRNewswire)
I want to use one of my final posts for September to take a look at the IPO outlook for Q4, specifically what we might expect to see for new Chinese offerings in New York in the final 3 months of 2013. When the history books are written, this year will probably go down as one of the weakest in recent memory for New York IPOs by major Chinese firms. But that said, I do still expect to see a small flurry of activity in the fourth quarter, based on recent reports of new listing plans and signs that a 2-year-old purge of dubious Chinese firms from US stock markets may be finally wrapping up. Read Full Post…
Smart TVs, which let consumers watch programs via Internet-based channels, has suddenly become the latest flavor of the day for China tech firms, with just about every major Internet player piling into the market in the last few months. Top e-commerce firm Alibaba and search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have both announced major new initiatives in the last 2 months, and now social networking leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is joining the frenzy with its own new tie-up. At the same time, retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) may also be making moves in the space, with word that it’s near a deal to purchase online video company PPTV. Read Full Post…
Thank goodness! That’s my first and main reaction to news that after months of tortured courtship, Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) has finally selected Tencent (HKEx: 700) as the winning suitor of its Sogou search engine, beating out rivals Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU). I have to admit the selection of Tencent came as a bit of a surprise, since I had expected Qihoo to win the contest for one of China’s older and less appreciated search engines. Read Full Post…
I’ve been following the microblogs of some of China’s top tech executives for a while now, and am quickly becoming a fan of Li Dongsheng, the man behind leading TV maker TCL (Shenzhen: 000100). Unlike many other executives, who use their microblogs to hype their latest products, Li has shown a more refreshing tendency to also use his Sina Weibo account for some personal introspection. Read Full Post…
Blackstone, Temasek give thumbs down to Pactera, Youku
Two Chinese tech leaders are feeling the effects of fickle western institutional investors, with word that one big name has lowered its buyout offer for IT outsourcing firm Pactera (Nasdaq: PACT) , while another has dumped its sizable stake in video sharing site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU). In the former case, it’s private equity giant Blackstone that’s lowered its offer for Pactera, while in the latter its Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek dumping its Youku Tudou stake. Both cases are due to company specific factors; but they also show that big-name investors may carry a certain level of prestige for companies that attract them, but they also bring a certain level of risk. Read Full Post…
