The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Facebook’s Zuckerberg, Apple’s Cook Meet China’s Internet Minister In US (English article)
Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) Pop-Up Window Service Shut Down For Pornography (Chinese article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Acquires 28 Pct Stake In Shuntai Leasing (PRNewswire)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) To Acquire Affiliated Le Vision Pictures (English article)
Game Operator Linekong To Make HK IPO December 19, Raise Up To $190 Mln (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi is likely to settle a series of patent disputes launched by domestic rivals Huawei and ZTE, but will face more similar actions as its profile rises in its global expansion.
Huawei, ZTE point finger at Xiaomi
New reports about a series of patent violation claims against smartphone sensation Xiaomi are casting a spotlight on the kinds of battles this fast-rising Chinese firm may face in its aggressive global expansion. Just 3 years after launching its first models, Xiaomi has come from nowhere to become the world’s third largest smartphone brand, behind only much older global rivals Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). That rapid rise has caught the attention of older domestic smartphone rivals like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), which are reportedly now threatening to sue Xiaomi for violating their patents. Read Full Post…
Most of China’s high-tech attention was focused on the scenic canal city of Wuzhen near Shanghai this past week, as a who’s-who of top Internet executives gathered for a conference that billed itself as a global gathering. Most of China’s top names were reportedly at the event, including Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Robin Li, Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Jack Ma and NetEase’s (Nasdaq: NTES) Ding Lei. But the guest list was notably lacking in major global names, and at least one executive commented on the sensitive subject of the exclusion of global leaders like Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) from the Chinese Internet.
Meantime, the marketing savvy Lei Jun, who is also CEO and hypemaster supreme for smartphone sensation Xiaomi, also managed to make his own mini splash in the microblogging realm by declaring his own ambition to overtake Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to become the world’s biggest smartphone brand. Such hype from Lei isn’t all that unusual, though I was somewhat surprised to see several executives from other firms chime in with support for this upwardly mobile company. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Google is likely to get Beijing’s permission to open a China version of its app store that could launch next year, paving the way for the roll-out of its smartphones in the market.
Google eyes China app store
A flurry of new reports are saying that global Internet giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is planning to re-enter China by opening an app store there, in what would be a major strategic turnaround for the company. The real story of Google in China is quite complex, and to say it withdrew from the market in 2010 after a high profile spat with Beijing over censorship is quite an oversimplification. The more accurate story is one that’s seen Google diversify from its core desktop-based Internet services to an increasingly mobile portfolio that also includes a growing hardware component. That hardware element of its diversification could well be the focal point for a new China foray if the latest reports about Google’s plan to open a China app store are true. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Apple’s new UnionPay tie-up is aimed at an eventual roll-out of its Apple Pay in China, while Baidu’s reported purchase of 99Pay marks a late but needed bid to boost its electronic payments capabilities.
Baidu eyes 99Bill
A couple of electronic payments stories reflect the rapid changes taking place in China’s banking market, where such payments are quickly making cash and even traditional credit cards obsolete. The higher-profile of the 2 deals has global gadget leader Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in a deal to accept payments for its China app store in partnership with leading electronic payments firm UnionPay. The second deal has leading Internet search Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) reportedly looking to boost its presence in the space with plans to buy existing player 99Bill for 2 billion yuan ($325 million). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Lenovo’s latest results show its smartphone business continues to gain market share at the expense of profits, and it would be better advised to focus on building a strong brand to increase customer loyalty.
Lenovo smartphones post health sales gains
The latest results for leading PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992) don’t look too rosy, even as the company’s smartphone business continued to outperform the global market. There are quite a few pieces to this puzzle, which means the longer-term outlook for Lenovo’s smartphone business is still unclear as the overheated market undergoes a much-needed shakeout. The outcome of this story will be crucial to Lenovo’s future, since the global market for its core PC business is stagnating and even starting to contract as consumers gravitate to a newer generation of more mobile, specialized devices. Read Full Post…
Global gadget leader Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and its chief Chinese imitator Xiaomi have been filling the online airwaves these last few days, though for very different reasons. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was drawing praise and admiration from a wide range of tech executives on their microblogs, following his widely publicized editorial in which he disclosed that he is gay.
Meantime, a number of top officials from the talkative Xiaomi were also talking up a storm, which verged on gloating, as their company once again poached another high-profile Silicon Valley talent. They also had plenty to say as their high-flying company claimed the undisputed spot as the world’s third largest smartphone maker, behind only sector leaders Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Improved working environments are allowing Chinese tech firms to compete with multinationals for top talent, a template that state-run firms and other industries would be wise to follow.
Xiaomi attracts top exec from Spotify
Fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi made headlines last week when it lured away a top western executive from European online music streaming giant Spotify by offering him an attractive new job at its Beijing headquarters. The move marks the latest in a stream of high-profile defections by technology executives from comfortable jobs at major western firms to join up-and-coming Chinese names like Xiaomi and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU).
The movement reflects a maturation for China’s fast-growing high-tech sector, whose rapid rise and improving working conditions are making companies more competitive with big western names traditionally preferred by many highly-skilled workers. But the trend is still limited mostly to China’s private high-tech sector, and is largely absent in state-run firms and other industries. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Hugo Barra’s remarks in defense of criticism that his employer Xiaomi copies Apple’s designs could mark the start of a longer-term war of words that could end in one or more lawsuits by Apple.
Barra defends Xiaomi’s copycat ways
A trans-Pacific war of words that began with critical remarks made by Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) chief designer 2 weeks ago is continuing, with the foreign face of Chinese smartphone sensation Xiaomi giving fresh remarks on the copycat controversy in his company’s defense. The comments from Xiaomi’s international marketing head Hugo Barra are a bit lame in my view, and I really doubt he would have made such remarks last year when he was still a rising star at global Internet giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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YYeTs , Xunlei (Nasdaq: XNET) On Hollywood Piracy Blacklist (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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