Bottom line: Apple is likely to log strong orders for its new iPhone 6S models, aided by its own strong reputation and aggressive promotions by China’s telcos for their new 4G service.
New iPhones on order in China
What a different 3 years makes. In that brief period China has transformed from ugly stepchild to a new Cinderella for gadget giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), whose newly announced iPhone 6S models will make one of their first global stops in the world’s largest smartphone market. That’s the word trickling out from China-based sources, which were leaking the information as Apple unveiled its latest iPhone models at a globally-watched event in California.
While most eyes were fixated on that launch for the new series of iPhones, China watchers were more focused on when the models will come to a market that is now Apple’s largest outside the US, and even briefly passed the US early this year. Apple’s China fans weren’t disappointed, with reports that the nation’s big 3 telcos would begin taking orders for the new iPhones just a day after the US launch event. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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3 China Telcos to Start Taking iPhone 6s Orders from Sept 10 (Chinese article)
Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Koubei to Spend 5 Bln Yuan on Offline Merchants in 2015 (English article)
Minsheng Investment to Spend 30 Bln Yuan on Indonesia Industrial Park (Chinese article)
Coolpad (HKEx: 2369) Shares Drop 17 Pct at Trading Resume, Amid Qihoo Dispute (Chinese article)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Invests in Battery Charging Company (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 3-7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Chmn Said to Plan $2 Bln Loan Against Stock (English article)
Snackmaker Liwayway Said to Prepare $200 Mln Hong Kong IPO (English article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Watch China Sales Pass 1.07 Mln – Report (Chinese article)
iQiyi, Shanghai New Culture (Shenzhen: 300336) in 1 Bln Yuan Production Tie-Up (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Accused of False Promotion Claims for Redmi Note 2 (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Strong sales growth for Huawei’s Honor brand in the first half of the year reflects the company’s broader accelerating momentum, and could pose a growing challenge for domestic rival Xiaomi.
Huawei’s Honor brand grows in India, eyes US
More new data is showing the growing momentum for smartphone aspirant Huawei, with word that the company’s Honor brand surpassed its sales target in the first half of the year as it prepares to enter the US. The latest numbers continue to portray a surging Huawei, and show how the company is using its traditional strengths in product development and a newer expertise in consumer marketing to overtake big domestic rivals like Xiaomi and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and also a host of smaller ones like Meizu and Coolpad (HKEx: 2369).
These latest numbers don’t look extremely impressive at first glance, as they show that Honor just slightly surpassed its sales target for the first half of the year. But in the current climate where many companies are missing their targets due to intense competition in China, the ability to not only meet but even slightly exceed a sales target does seem like a noteworthy accomplishment. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Apple will continue to post strong iPhone growth in China but could lose some momentum if the stock market sell-off continues, while Xiaomi’s new push into Africa won’t offset its own rapidly slowing momentum.
iPhone China sales continue strong
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Chinese imitator Xiaomi are both in the headlines, as the former continues to consolidate its China position at the expense of the fading latter. In this case, Apple’s continuing China surge is reflected in new remarks from CEO Tim Cook, who says his company’s business has remained strong in China during the summer months despite concerns of a slowdown linked to the nation’s tanking stock markets.
While Apple has been feasting on China, Xiaomi is feeling growing pressure at home and is looking to other global markets for growth as it struggles to meet the lofty expectations it set for itself. According to the latest headlines, the latest stop on Xiaomi’s global roadmap is Africa, where the company is eyeing another BRICS country in South Africa. Such a move would put Xiaomi in 4 of the 5 BRICS, following its earlier moves into India and Brazil. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s State-Owned Telecoms Firms Shuffle Top Executives (English article)
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) China Business Strong in July and Aug: CEO (English article)
Bottom line: A steady series of leaked photos of a smartphone co-produced by Google and Huawei is designed to give face to Beijing, and could pave the way for a China entry for Google’s Nexus phones and app store by year end.
China wins face in Google-Huawei tie-up
Barely a day has gone by recently without a leaked photo appearing on the Internet of a new smartphone being developed in a landmark tie-up between Chinese up-and-comer Huaweiand Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Nexus brand. A cynic like me would speculate that the growing volume of noise looks rather deliberate, and that both sides are intentionally trying to drum up buzz for a new Nexus model that will become the brand’s first to be made by a Chinese manufacturer.
Huawei
Huawei’s motivations for leaking the information are obvious: this particular tie-up will bring it the validation it craves for its young smartphone business, giving its products the stamp of approval from one of the world’s leading technology names. But Google’s motivations are a bit more subtle. Certainly it’s natural to hype up this kind of new product before the launch. But in this case Google is almost certainly aware of the “face” that China will receive from such a move. That could help to soothe its tense relations with Beijing as it eyes a return to a market it can’t afford to ignore. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China’s smartphone market will contract through the middle of next year in terms of unit sales, but will grow by sales value as consumers upgrade to higher-end models for their second and third purchases.
Smartphone sales drop in Q2
The newest quarterly data for China’s smartphone market reveal a divergence taking place, with the actual number of phones sold down sharply even as total sales value posted healthy growth. That divergence reflects the fact that after buying their first smartphones over the last 2 years, often at very low prices, many Chineseconsumers are becoming more selective for their newer purchases.
When they buy their second and third phones, many are no longer only looking at price, and instead are considering other factors like a phone’s attractiveness, reliability and functionality. That bodes well for names like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Huawei, which excel at higher-end models that are both attractive and well designed. But it looks more ominous for names like Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and the many smaller homegrown brands that are churning out cheap, more generic models. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lenovo’s attempt to make Motorola the flagship for its smartphone business looks set to fizzle, in a major setback for the company’s drive into mobile devices.
Moto sales on downward slide
I’ve predicted gloom and doom before for PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), China’s first truly global high-tech brand, and each time the company has proven me wrong. But Lenovo’s latest quarterly financial report really does look like cause for concern once more, showing results that can only be described as terrible. Anchoring the misery was a huge sales plunge for its recently acquired Motorola brand, which was meant to become a cornerstone for Lenovo’s emerging smartphone business.
In some ways this particular cycle looks like deja vu, since Lenovo followed a similar pattern when it burst onto the global stage a decade ago with its landmark purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) PC business. That acquisition also later created major headaches for Lenovo, and resulted in a massive restructuring that ultimately laid the groundwork for the company to become the world’s leading PC brand. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lack of buzz around Xiaomi’s launch of production in India and Lenovo’s new line of ZUK smartphones reflect fatigue that is rapidly consuming domestic Chinese brands due to rampant competition in their home market.
More fatigue signs in China smartphone market
Signs of fatigue continue to grow in China’s overheated smartphone market, where rampant competition and unending price wars these last 2 years have led to saturation and a rapid slowdown. That fatigue is visible in 2 of the latest headlines, one of which has former superstar Xiaomi failing to garner much buzz as it launches production in India to jump-start its stalling growth. The other has the struggling Lenovo (HKEx; 992) launching its own new brand of smartphones, as it also faces lackluster performance for its current lineup sold under its own name and the Motorola brand it acquired last year.
China’s smartphone market is the world’s largest, but also the most competitive due to the presence of many homegrown domestic players. That reality has forced many mid-sized and smaller names to seek tie-ups with wealthier partners, and forced everyone to look abroad for growth as profits shriveled at home. Adding to the woes, China’s smartphone market has been contracting this year, with sales falling 4.3 percent in the first quarter after several years of explosive growth. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Second-quarter smartphone data confirms recent trends that have shown a surge for Huawei and Apple, while Lenovo and Samsung struggle and Xiaomi also faces rapidly slowing growth.
Huawei consolidates spot as world’s No 3 smartphone maker
The latest smartphone sales figures are out, showing a recent surge for Huawei and strong but slowing growth for Xiaomi, as Chinese brands continued to take 3 of the top 5 global spots. Meantime, the same chart shows the lackluster Lenovo (HKEx: 992) continued to stumble as it failed to find an audience for its products, and global leader Samsung (Seoul: 005930) also continues to struggle.
The latest second-quarter figures from IDC come as another smaller data tracking firm IHS Technology released its own numbers showing Xiaomi continued to rule the China roost and even boosted its share of the market. Meantime, Samsung continued to slip in the world’s biggest smartphone market, falling a notch to barely stay in the top 5 brands. Read Full Post…
