Publicity savvy smartphone maker Xiaomi was making awkward noises in the blogosphere this past week, as it found itself stinging from critical remarks made by a top executive at Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), the company’s role model. At the same time, the company got an unexpected show of support from another source, as controversial Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) CEO Zhou Hongyi defended the smartphone maker over a different brouhaha involving involving an embarrassing data security investigation in Taiwan.
In separate news, TV giant TCL (Shenzhen: 000100) Chairman Li Dongsheng was talking up a potential electronic payments alliance, with word that his company is discussing a tie-up with UnionPay, operator of China’s leading electronic transactions network. Just last week I commended Li for taking some new risks a decade after 2 disastrous partnerships with European companies. But this latest chatter is starting to get a bit worrisome, as Li seems to be thinking in quite a few directions that are increasingly scattered and lack any common theme. Read Full Post…
Two high-profile executive moves are highlighting the recent attraction of China’s tech story to both domestic Chinese and foreigners, lured by breakneck growth that produced the world’s biggest-ever IPO last month with the $24 billion IPO of e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA). The first move has seen former Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) executive Jai Mani leave his position in a California-based start-up to take an India-based job at fast-rising Chinese smartphone sensation Xiaomi. The other has seen well-known Chinese financier Levin Zhu jump ship from the top post at CICC, China’s oldest investment bank, reportedly to start his own company involved with Internet-based finance. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Anbang Insurance Deal For Waldorf Astoria Raises US Security Fears (English article)
EU, China Have Resolved Telecoms Dispute: EU Trade Chief (English article)
Xiaomi Signs Former Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Exec As India Products Manager (English article)
Costco (Nasdaq: COST) Makes China Debut On Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Tmall Platform (Businesswire)
China’s Gingko Tree Said In Talks To Buy Siemens (Frankfurt: SIEGn) Offices (English article)
I’ll admit that I’m somewhat skeptical of e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) due to its excessive hype and increasing lack of focus, even though the company regularly seems to defy gravity with a sky-high valuation that has made it China’s biggest Internet company. But despite my doubts, I’m actually somewhat upbeat on a new report that says the company aims to export its premier annual sales event as part of a much-needed global expansion to justify its high valuation. At the same time, another report saying the company will spend more than $1 billion on a rural expansion also looks like a smart move, coming a year after a similar expansion by its closest rival JD.com (Nasdaq: JD). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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After 13 Year Wait, Beijing Approves Universal Studios Theme Park (Chinese article)
A new cloud computing tie-up between US networking equipment giant Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and leading Chinese TV maker TCL (HKEx: 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) caught my attention more due to its broader implications for both companies rather than the modest size of the actual investment. The deal comes as Cisco is facing difficulties in China, the direct result of an ongoing spat between Washington and Beijing over cyber security. At the same time, it also represents the latest in a string of recent signals that TCL is eying some new global alliances, a decade after 2 high-profile tie-ups with other western partners ended in disaster. Read Full Post…
New overseas investments by 2 of China’s top 3 Internet firms hint at where future priorities will lie for e-commerce leader Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Internet search giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which have made new purchases in the US and Brazil, respectively. More broadly speaking, the relatively modest size of these latest investments reflects the very real fact that major M&A targets have mostly disappeared by now, putting pressure on the cash-rich trio of Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (HKEx: 700) to look overseas for places to invest. Based on the nature of these new investments and other similar recent ones, it’s becoming clear that overseas companies are most interested in the Chinese companies’ cash and would probably prefer to avoid being seen as a “made in China” company. Read Full Post…
The microblogging realm has been relatively quiet this past week as Chinese tech executives enjoy the long October 1 holiday. Still, a few couldn’t completely stay away from their online accounts, led by TCL’s (Shenzhen: 000100) thoughtful Chairman Li Dongsheng who hinted at a possible tie-up with struggling former Taiwanese smartphone giant HTC (Taipei: 2498).
Meantime, LinkedIn’s (NYSE: LNKD) China chief Derek Shen commented on the current overheated investment environment in China’s Internet, reinforcing a view I’ve been stating for a while now. Finally there was Lenovo (HKEx: 992) CEO Yang Yuanqing, who let his deputies do the talking on his behalf as he donated a portion of his annual bonus to rank-and-file company employees in a goodwill gesture for the third straight year. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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iPhone Orders To 3 China Telcos Top 1 Mln In First 6 Hours (Chinese article)
China, EU Close To Deal On Telecoms Trade Dispute- Sources (English article)
KFC (NYSE: YUM) China Same-Store Sales Fall 14 Pct In August (Chinese article)
Alibaba-Distributed (NYSE: BABA) Game Mistake Exposes Private Videos (English article)
Evergrande (HKEx: 3333) Invests In E Bon (HKEx: 599) In Solar Drive (Chinese article)
US-listed Chinese companies have made a flurry of strategic moves on Wall Street over the long October 1 holiday, with former high-flyers Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) taking steps to prop up their sagging share prices. The correction now taking place is long overdue, following huge run-ups in New York-traded Chinese stocks over the last year and a half. Still, the sell-off doesn’t bode too well for car rental firm eHiCar Services, which has just become the first major Chinese firm to file for a Wall Street IPO following the blockbuster listing for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) last month. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 1-6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Available In China On Friday, October 17 (Businesswire)
Alibaba (NYSE BABA) Makes Investment in Shiji Information Technology (Businesswire)
New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Announces Completion Of SEC Investigation (PRNewswire)
