Tag Archives: Apple

Latest News about Apple in China, financial news and Business analysis overview of the Chinese high Tech market expert based in China : Doug Young

SMARTPHONES: Xiaomi Overheats In India, Eyes Brazil

Bottom line: Xiaomi’s latest headaches in India due to a technical glitch are just one of many growing pains it will experience more frequently due to its rapid expansion, as it targets developing markets under its push to become a global brand.

Xiaomi prepares to launch in Brazil

Xiaomi is fast becoming the unofficial smartphone of the BRICS, with word that it’s getting ready to start producing its signature phones in India as it also gets set to launch in Brazil next month. The company is also likely to enter Russia later this year, leaving South Africa as the only BRICS country missing from its global footprint by the end of 2015.

At the same time, Xiaomi’s ride into India has been quick but also bumpy, starting with a patent dispute last year and now including a problem that has seen its latest model in the market, the Mi 4i, experience overheating problems. Those kinds of problems will only be magnified in more developed western markets, which is why Xiaomi says it won’t be selling its smartphones in North America or Europe anytime soon. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: LeTV Sells Out, Lenovo Posts Loss, ZTE Eyes US

Bottom line: LeTV’s strong smartphone launch shows that stiff competition in China won’t ease soon, which could push Lenovo’s mobile operations further into the red and prompt ZTE to further lighten its efforts in the market.

LeTV smartphones make strong debut

A series of smartphone items are in the headlines as we close out the week, spotlighting the tough situation in a China market that is at once the world’s largest but also extremely competitive. That competition just got a bit louder, with the first headline that says new arrival LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) debuted quite strongly with when its first smartphone models went on sale this week. Meantime, industry stalwarts Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) continue to reflect the stresses of selling in China, with the former posting a big loss for its mobile business last year while the latter continues to lighten its reliance on the market by looking for growth in the US. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: Apple Extends Green Footprint In China

Bottom line: Apple’s latest environmental initiative in China looks like a savvy and inexpensive way to raise local awareness of environmental protection, in a move that will please Beijing and help it improve its government relations.

Apple tries forest management

Just 3 weeks after capturing local headlines with its plans to invest in solar farms in China, global gadget leader Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is rolling out more environmentally friendly initiatives in an attempt to woo both consumers and government officials in one of its most important markets. This latest initiative probably won’t get much attention in western media, as it looks mostly like a publicity ploy even though it does lay out big goals. But foreigners were never Apple’s real target with this announcement, which instead is part of its recent campaign to win over Beijing as well as a broader base of Chinese consumers. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: Apple’s Cook Visits Vice Premier, China Telecom

Bottom line: Apple CEO Tim Cook’s latest meetings in Beijing are important steps in his bid to cultivate better government relations, but he may need to make more substantive moves to earn serious goodwill.

Apple’s Cook meets with Chinese vice premier

We’ll continue this week’s tradition of closely following Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook on his latest trip to China, with word that he’s met with one of the nation’s vice premiers and also with officials from China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), one of its 3 big state-run telcos. I’ll begin with just a slight note of cynicism by saying that both of these meetings seem just slightly second-tier, for reasons I’ll explain shortly, and therefore one could argue that Cook has yet to make it into the “big leagues” of Chinese politics.

But that said, these and other visits on this trip still mark a huge step forward for both Cook and Apple, which just 2 years ago were criticized by the powerful People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, for its unparalleled arrogance. Cook has been working hard to change that image, and this particular weeklong trip seems to be almost as much about public relations as it is about doing business. Read Full Post…

News Digest: May 14, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Chinese Vice Premier Meets Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO (English article)
  • Tencent (HKEx: 700) Announces Q1 Results (HKEx announcement)
  • Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Responds To Recent Short Seller Allegations (PRNewswire)
  • LVMH’s Sephora Picks JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) For China Online Store, Says Fakes A Concern (English article)
  • LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) Sports Raises 800 Mln Yuan, Investors Include Wang Sicong (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

CELLPHONES: Cook Eyes China Apple Pay, Xiaomi Goes Further Offline

Bottom line: Apple is likely to reach a deal to bring Apple Pay to China in the next 12 months, while Xiaomi’s addition of traditional offline sales channels acknowledges it needs to diversify its approach to maintain its breakneck growth.

Cook eyes Apple Pay for China

The old saying “An apple a day” seems to be appropriate this week in China, where Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is being quite talkative on his latest China trip with a steady stream of small but noteworthy news. He began the week by announcing a new environmental China initiative for Apple, then followed by launching his own microblog on the locally popular Sina Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), often called the Twitter of China. (previous post)

Now he’s candidly talking about hopes for bringing his company’s Apple Pay electronic payments service to China, perhaps through tie-ups with local e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) or UnionPay, China’s largest electronic transactions network operator. Read Full Post…

News Digest: May 13, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Xiaomi Begins First Official Offline Sales As It Chases High-End (Chinese article)
  • 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Lays Off More Than 3,000 From Newly Acquired ChinaHR (Chinese article)
  • Meraas, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) In Middle East Big Data And Cloud Computing JV (Businesswire)
  • Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Cook Says Aims To Bring Apple Pay To China (Chinese article)
  • Uber Says Has Reached Consensus With Chengdu Government, Following Probe (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

CELLPHONES: Apple Holds China Smartphone Crown, CEO Opens Microblog

Bottom line: Apple’s retention of China’s smartphone crown for a second consecutive quarter is partly due to timing, but also owes to CEO Tim Cook’s new PR campaign that will help to win favor from Beijing and the broader Chinese public.

Apple’s Cook opens Weibo account

Media are fixated today on a new report showing China’s smartphone sales fell for the first time in this year’s first quarter, in a development that shouldn’t surprise anyone due to the market’s supersaturation. But equally impressive in the report is the ongoing surge of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which managed to hold onto its title as the nation’s leading smartphone brand for a second quarter after stealing the crown from the high-flying Xiaomi.

Some may say Apple’s surge is due to timing, since it released its latest iPhones in October, fueling a fourth-quarter sales boom that lingered into the first quarter. That may be partly true, though I personally have to applaud CEO Tim Cook for mounting a very focused campaign to woo both Beijing and average Chinese consumers. In the latest move of that campaign, Cook has just opened his official account on Sina Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), China’s equivalent of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), as he moves to communicate more directly with customers in one of his most important markets. Read Full Post…

News Digest: May 12, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Smartphone Shipments Fall 4 Pct In Q1: IDC Report (English article)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Probes 3 Directors For Possible Internal Corruption (Chinese article)
  • Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook Opens Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) Account (Chinese article)
  • Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Invests $56 Mln In Child Products Site Zulily (Nasdaq: ZU) (Chinese article)
  • VNOs Received 20 Mln New Phone Numbers (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

CELLPHONES: LeTV, China’s Next Xiaomi?

Bottom line: LeTV’s new smartphones should generate major buzz when they go on sale this weekend and could easily sell 1 million units in their first 3-4 months, challenging domestic “cool” incumbent Xiaomi.

LeTV takes pre-orders for new smartphones

Smartphone sensation Xiaomi has emerged as one of China’s hottest tech names in the last few years with its cool and trendy image, focusing its sights largely on global leaders Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and especially Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as it looks for a place on the global stage. But this globally-minded company could soon have to watch its back as well, with the recent meteoric rise of LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) as the newest hipster in town.

LeTV went largely unnoticed for the first part of its life, when it was mostly an Internet-based provider of video content similar to YouTube. But it has zipped into the spotlight over the last year, first as it posed a serious challenge to China’s traditional broadcasters and now as it rolls out its own new line of smartphones. Read Full Post…

CELLPHONES: Gree Joins China Crowd, ZTE Calls On Japan

Bottom line: Gree’s launch of a smartphone line is far too late and could signal the start of a major shake-out for the sector, while ZTE’s move into Japan will be tough but could reap big rewards if it can gain traction.

Gree starts shipping smartphones

You know China’s smartphone market is due for a major correction when a stodgy home appliance maker like Gree (Shenzhen: 000651), better known for its air conditioners, enters the market. But that’s exactly what’s happened, in a move that has the word “dud” written all over it. Meantime, the more established smartphone maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) is making a risky but wiser move by targeting the lucrative but often ignored Japanese market, as it looks for growth alternatives outside a Chinese market that is the world’s largest for smartphones but also incredibly competitive. Read Full Post…