For the latest news on U.S.- and Hong Kong-traded Chinese stocks, visit our new Bamboo Works site.
Tag Archives: 58.com
China 58.com latest Business & Financial news from Doug Young, the Expert on Chinese High Tech startups, (former Journalist and Chief editor at Reuters)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
SunPower (NYSE: SPWR), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) To Build Solar Projects In China (English article)
P2P Lending Site Lufax Completes $485 Mln Fund Raising Round (Chinese article)
China’s Former IPO King CICC Looks for A Fresh Start (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Unveils Self-developed DuWear Smartwatch OS (English article)
Bottom line: A merger between 58.com and Ganji looks like a smart pairing that would create a clear leader in online classified ads with a market value worth up to $8 billion.
58.com eyes Ganji
China’s Internet world has been buzzing these last 2 days on a steady stream of reports involving a possible merger between leading online classified advertising site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) and Ganji, one of its biggest rivals. The reports have been somewhat conflicting, some saying a deal is imminent and others saying talks have stalled, but it’s clear that something is happening behind the scenes. The deal certainly looks quite exciting if it’s happening, as it would create a clear market leader anchored in the well-run 58.com, which is often called the Craigslist of China.
This kind of merger often fails to happen in China for reasons of pride, as many of these company founders are fiercely independent entrepreneurs who would rather see their empires slowly crumble than sell to someone else. But more recently we’ve seen some of these entrepreneurs become more realistic and realize they can’t survive as independent companies, and I suspect that’s what’s happening in this case. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Ganji, 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) To Merge – Report (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Bottom line: Chinese Internet stocks are likely to see a soft landing after a correction period in the first half of the year, with leaders and high-growth second tier players likely to experience a rebound in the second half.
China Internet stocks headed for soft landing
A new scorecard is casting a worrisome spotlight on the bumper crop of Chinese Internet firms that listed last year, pointing out that more than half are now trading below their IPO prices. The sagging prices continue a trend that I pointed out in my IPO scorecard at the end of last year. That trend has seen shares of many New York-listed Internet firms come back to their offering levels or lower as investors pocketed profits from strong post-IPO rises. (previous post) But rather than label this a reason for worry, I would argue instead this broader wave represents a rationalization of the market that will ultimately see the best-performing names rewarded and the money losers languish. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: New smaller acquisitions by 58.com and Tuniu look like smart, focused moves to complement their existing business, and should quickly help to improve their top and bottom lines.
Tuniu buys Taiwan-focused travel agents
A couple of smaller acquisitions are in the headlines today, with word that online travel agent Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR) and Internet classified ad site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) have both made strategic purchases that look like thoughtful, well-targeted moves. In this case Tuniu has announced it will buy 2 travel agencies that will boost its exposure to the Taiwan travel market, while 58.com is buying a site that specializes in home interior decoration products.
Both deals were relatively small, worth less than $40 million, which is generally the kind of purchase I like to see as it indicates a more focused approach to M&A. That contrasts sharply with the much bigger recent purchases by China’s largest Internet companies, most notably by Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
GSK (London: GSK) Cuts China Staff, Ends Cash Awards For Sales Model (Chinese article)
LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) Reports Q4 And Full Year 2014 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR) Announces The Acquisitions Of Two Travel Agencies (Globe Newswire)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU), Xueda (NYSE: XUE) Form Internet Education JV (English article)
58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Acquires Minority Stake In Interior Decoration Service Platform (PRNewswire)
Bottom line: 58.com’s purchase of a secondary real estate trading site at a big discount looks like a shrewd move for the longer term, but could cause a short-term drag on profits due to weakness in China’s property market.
58.com buys Anjuke for bargain price
Local media are buzzing about a relatively large Internet deal that will see leading online classified advertising site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) buy Anjuke, one of China’s largest online platforms for services involving secondary real estate. But the source of the buzz isn’t the deal itself, but rather the huge bargain that 58.com is getting compared to what Anjuke said it was worth just a year ago. That massive discount reflects the broader gloom surrounding China’s real estate market as it teeters on the edge of a major correction, and certainly doesn’t bode well for listed peers like E-House (NYSE: EJ) and SouFun (Nasdaq: SFUN). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Buys Real Estate Sales Site Anjuke For $267 Mln (Chinese article)
Britain’s Marks & Spencer (London: MKS) To Close 5 Shanghai Stores (English article)
Home Furnishings and Decoration E-tailer Jia.com Wins $160 Mln Series D Funding (English article)
New China Life Ends Plan For Strategic Stake Sale To Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) (Chinese article)
38 Online Lottery Ticket Sellers Suspend Sales, No Word On Resumption (Chinese article)
Two big news stories were at the center of heated discussion in of the microblogging realm this past week, led by Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) high profile dispute with one of China’s main business regulators over accusations of being soft on piracy. At the same time, Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) roll-out of advertisements on its WeChat mobile messsaging platform also drew lots of comments, as users were suddenly greeted with unsolicited messages in the popular Moments feature that functions much like Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) newsfeeds.
Of course no weekly microblogging round-up would be complete without a mention of the media savvy Xiaomi, which was once again creating buzz after an embarrassing gaffe by global marketing chief Hugo Barra. That gaffe saw Barra use a politically incorrect version of a map of India in one of his presentations, showing India as the correct owner of parts of a disputed area of its long border with China. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: New IPOs by Chinese tech firms will slow sharply next year, with profitable, sector-leading companies the most likely to make successful offerings.
Linekong finishes flat in banner year for IPOs
On this final day of 2014, I thought I’d take a look at the scorecard for high-tech IPOs this year, including how they’ve performed since their debuts and what we might expect for next year. It seems fitting to start the discussion with the final high-tech IPO of the year, which came with a flat trading debut on Tuesday for mobile gaming company Linekong (HKEx: 8267). That may sound bad, but it’s actually quite good for gaming stocks that have become investor pariahs over the last 2 years. Read Full Post…
