In a sign of just how overheated M&A in China’s tech sector has become, 2 major purchases by e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and online travel leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) are receiving scant attention from investors, even though they are worth nearly $1 billion combined. Instead, the big news grabber is another headline involving Alibaba, with word that the world’s second largest Internet firm has just become one of a handful of private Chinese companies to win new private sector banking licenses being awarded by Beijing. That development will see Alibaba and several partners open an Internet-based bank that will cater to smaller savers and borrowers, an area often neglected by the current field of big state-run lenders. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Expands Number Portability Pilot To 5 Provinces (Chinese article)
China Detains 2 Executives At Embattled Business Newspaper (English article)
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) To Invest In Merged BesTV+Oriental Pearl Media Firm (English article)
Master Kong (HKEx: 322) Prepares To Sue China Business News Over False Story (Chinese article)
PetroChina (HKEx: 859) Exec Exposed For Buying Luxury Goods With Company Fund (Chinese article)
Two major news events were at the center of the microblogging realm this past week, as tech executives from across the spectrum commented on the blockbuster IPO for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and the debut of latest iPhone from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Executives were generally full of praise for the Alibaba IPO, which shattered numerous records when the stock began trading last Friday in New York. But there were also some hints of jealousy, as top executives from fast-fading e-commerce rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) suffered from valuation envy.
Meantime, domestic smartphone makers Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) took advantage of the iPhone’s formal launch last Friday to tout their own products, which are far cheaper and enjoy a reputation for reasonable quality. But unlike the iPhone, Huawei and ZTE still suffer from the “Made in China” stigma, and don’t command anything near the level of respect and buzz that the iPhone gets. Read Full Post…
The headlines are buzzing today about the latest Hurun Report listing the richest people in China, which has a decidedly tech flavor this year that hints at trouble ahead for the overcharged Internet sector. The report has become a gold standard for gauging the latest business trends in China, but is also famous for focusing on industries that have become overheated. That’s not too surprising, since it’s often such overheating that leads to huge surges in company share prices, which are most often the main foundation for calculating individuals’ wealth. This year half of the top 10 richest men in China come from the tech sector. Read Full Post…
I decided to write about leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) today after reading a new report that says the company has posted a hefty 1.77 billion yuan ($290 million) in losses since its New York IPO 4 years ago. A little math will show that translates to average losses of about $20 million in each of the approximately 15 reporting quarters since it went public in December 2010. Much has changed in China’s online video space over that time, including a recent regulatory campaign to stop Youku Tudou and its peers from competing directly with traditional TV stations. Read Full Post…
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) fever has finally peaked, as shares of the e-commerce leader and its 2 major proxies took a needed breather after a turbo-charged IPO that made it China’s most valuable Internet firm. As a final footnote, the company also made the widely expected announcement that its underwriters exercised their rights to buy additional shares in the offering, officially making it the biggest IPO of all time. But the looming question for now is whether the sell-off on the second day of trading is short-term or the start of a much-needed correction. Regular readers will know my forecast is that the stock is set for turbulent trading over its first month or two, before it moves steadily downward over the next year to levels closer to its IPO price. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Auto IPO draws on Alibaba fever with strong debut
I’m a bit reluctant to write more today about the historic New York IPO for e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), whose extremely strong trading debut surprised even me. But I would be somewhat remiss if I didn’t at least mention the final phase of this massive offering, which has made Alibaba the world’s second largest Internet company behind only Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). At the same time, another far more low profile trading debut in Hong Kong for auto rental specialist CAR Inc (HKEx: 699) has also done quite well, extending a nearly yearlong window for overseas listings by Chinese firms. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Jumps 38 Pct In Debut, Becomes 2nd Largest Internet Firm (Chinese article)
China Fines Drugmaker GSK (London: GSK) Record $489 Mln For Bribery (English article)
Car Makers Ordered To Openly Disclose Maintenance Fees Starting Next Year (Chinese article)
Chinese Auto Rental Company CAR Inc (HKEx: 699) Soars 28 Pct In HK Debut (English article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Delays Xbox One China Launch To Before Year-End (Chinese article)
With Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) blockbuster IPO nearly in the history books, I wanted to take this opportunity to explore what’s ahead for the company as it gets set to break numerous records with its New York listing. One good indicator of what lies ahead would be the performance for shares of other Chinese tech firms that have listed over the last 12 months. But such comparisons have limited value, since Alibaba is clearly in a far different class from all these other companies, following a pricing of its shares that makes it more valuable than such global corporate giants as Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). Read Full Post…
A couple of separate reports are shining a spotlight on some of the shenanigans happening at former social networking (SNS) superstar Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), and also on its dimming prospects as it gets overtaken by more nimble, innovative rivals. The first and more entertaining of those reports details how Weibo routinely inflates the number of followers for some of the most popular people on its service through use of phantom “zombie” accounts. The second details a worrisome trend that says the number of mobile users for Weibo dropped sharply in August, hinting at problems ahead in this high-growth area. Read Full Post…
