Educational services provider Tarena (Nasdaq: TEDU) has become the first Chinese company to list in New York this year, posting a disappointing debut hinting that US investor enthusiasm towards China stocks may be starting to cool. But truth be told, Tarena hardly looks like the vast majority of Chinese companies rushing to list in New York, most of which are in the Internet space. By comparison, Tarena is a relatively niche provider of education services for software engineers that is growing quickly enough but is still quite small. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: 58.com
Alibaba Changes IPO Course, Heads For NY
All my previous predictions that e-commerce leader Alibaba would ultimately make its mega IPO in Hong Kong were wrong, with word that the company is now firmly fixed on New York for its highly anticipated share sale. In my defense, I should say that a huge surge in positive sentiment over the last 5 months towards China Internet stocks on Wall Street undoubtedly helped to change Alibaba’s mind. The company had previously stated on numerous occasions that Hong Kong was the preferred venue for its blockbuster IPO, which reports are now saying could raise up to $15 billion, making it the world’s biggest Internet offering since Facebook (Nasdaq; FB) raised $16 billion in 2012. Read Full Post…
Market Yawns At Sohu, Soufun As Saturation Looms
The latest earnings season for US-listed Chinese Internet firms has begun with a big yawn, hinting at a looming wave of investor fatigue after a surge in positive sentiment at the end of 2013. I’ve been writing about these companies for quite a while now, and can truthfully say it’s quite common to see their stocks rise or fall by 3 percent or more after they announce their quarterly results. It’s much rarer for shares to remain unchanged after such announcements, though that’s largely what has happened after web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and online real estate services firm Soufun (NYSE: SFUN) kicked off the latest earnings season with release of their fourth-quarter results. Read Full Post…
Jingdong Rushes IPO As Alibaba Valuation Flies
I previously predicted that e-commerce giant Jingdong would try to make a IPO in the first half of this year, and now we’re hearing that the company has come out galloping in the Year of the Horse by filing a plan for a major New York listing. Word of the plan comes after a year-end boom for Chinese Internet IPOs in New York, most of which have soared since theirdebuts. Jingdong undoubtedly wants to try to seize some of that momentum, but equally important is keen to make its offering before the highly anticipated IPO of its much larger rival Alibaba expected later this year. Alibaba itself was also in the headlines over the Lunar New Year holiday, with the latest financials on the company adding further froth to its soaring valuation. Read Full Post…
Tuniu Races To Internet Bull Market
When does an 87 percent rise in your share price in just 3 months make you a laggard? The answer: When your name is online travel agent Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR), and the 87 percent rise makes you the worst performer among a quartet of Chinese Internet companies to make New York IPOs at the end of last year. The sudden surge in investor interest towards these companies will almost certainly lead many Chinese Internet firms to speed up their New York listing plans in the first quarter of this year, starting off with word that Tuniu, another online travel services firm, is accelerating its plans for a listing in the next few months. Read Full Post…
Wandoujia App Store Gets Big Funding, Sale Ahead?
App stores have suddenly become a hot ticket in China’s online space, with word that 4-year-old operator Wandoujia has just landed $120 million in funding from a group led by Japanese tech investor giant Softbank. The deal comes just a half year after online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) acquired another app store, 91Wireless, for more than $1 billion, leading me to wonder if Wandoujia could soon become a target for one of China’s cash-rich and recently very acquisitive top Internet companies. Such a purchase would certainly make sense for names like e-commerce leader Alibaba and social networking giant Tencent (HKEx: 700), which, along with Baidu, are all spending heavily to build up their mobile Internet business. Read Full Post…
Chinese IPOs in US to Start 2014 Fast, Then Sputter
US-listed Chinese stocks neared the end of 2013 with a wild ride last week, as 3 major developments provided a glimpse of the bumpy road that lies ahead in the New Year. That performance points to a strong start for new IPOs at the start of 2014, even though momentum could quickly flag due to the highly volatile and unpredictable nature of these stocks. Read Full Post…
IPOs: Autohome Cuts As Trading Volumes Shrivel
An interesting picture is emerging from the mini-rush of Chinese IPOs now hitting the market, as reflected by word that online car seller Autohome has cut the size of its upcoming New York offering. On the one hand, the 4 companies to launch IPOs in the last month have all seen their shares perform quite well since their trading debuts. But at the same time, the size of the offerings has been rapidly shrinking, and all have seen their trading volumes drop dramatically since their first trading days. That seems to indicate the market is filled with speculators right now, and there’s much less longer-term interest in the companies once their shares start trading. Read Full Post…
News Digest: November 28, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Regulator To Issue 4G Mobile Licenses On November 28 – Source (Chinese article)
- Chinese Bad Loan Manager Cinda Sits On Its Own Debt Mountain (English article)
- Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) Buyout May Not Be in Shareholders’ Interests – Law Firm (PRNewswire)
- 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Reports Q3 Unaudited Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- GAPP Completes Merger With SARFT In Hebei (English article)
IPOs: Huishang Fizzles In HK, Tarena Eyes NY
After a roaring few weeks in late October, the market for offshore Chinese IPOs has lost some momentum in the last 2 weeks as investors return their focus to important issues like company quality and growth prospects. In the latest sign of the market’s fickle nature, Chinese bank Huishang (HKEx: 3698) has sputtered in its trading debut in Hong Kong, boding poorly for other mainland banks lining up to list there. Another piece of IPO news is less ominous, with media reporting that education services firm Tarena is preparing to list as early as next year, most likely in New York. While that news is relatively neutral, reports are also pointing out that one of Tarena’s top executives recently joined the company from NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), the former New York-listed Chinese high flyer whose stock has tanked recently on doubts raised by a short seller. Read Full Post…
500.com Cuts IPO, Vancl Raises Funds
There’s a flurry of news in the fund-raising realm, led by word that online lottery company 500.com has sharply cut the size of its upcoming New York IPO following recent successful trading debuts for 2 other companies. At the same time, struggling online clothing seller Vancl has reportedly raised a new $100 million to keep funding its operations, as it looks for elusive profits. Meantime, Nasdaq-listed chipmaker RDA Microelectronics (Nasdaq: RDA) may be moving in the opposite direction of 500.com, with word that it has received a buyout offer that would see its shares de-listed from the Nasdaq. Read Full Post…