Does the world really need another cool and trendy smartphone maker from China? At least one entrepreneur seems to think the answer is yes, with the launch of a new brand called OnePlus at an event last week in Beijing. Normally I wouldn’t give too much attention to this kind of launch, since everyone in China is rushing these days to try and copy the trend Xiaomi, which itself is trying to copy the success of global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). But the fact that such a new company like OnePlus could attract so much attention for its event, including a blogosphere plug from global chip giant Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), is making me hedge my bets that perhaps this could be a company to watch. Read Full Post…
After more than a half year of silence, Lenovo’s (HKEx: 992) dream to buy the low-end server business of IBM (NYSE: IBM) is suddenly back in the headlines, in a development that I predicted quite a while ago based on the fact that both sides really want to do this deal. The first time around saw the talks founder and ultimately stall due to disagreement on price. But such a deal makes so much sense for both sides that it’s almost inevitable that it will happen, which leads me to believe that we could see announcement of a preliminary agreement sometime in the first or second quarter. Meantime, Lenovo is also seeing a positive development on the Japan front, where its 3-year-old PC joint venture with local partner NEC (Tokyo: 6701) is doing better than expected. Read Full Post…
It’s not too often that I agree with articles published in the People’s Daily, but for once I have to say that a new attack by the newspaper on personal health products maker Nu Skin (NYSE: NUS) looks at least partly deserved. That said, I did find the language used to attack Nu Skin somewhat comical and exaggerated, even if it the basic ideas are probably true. I was also somewhat surprised at how big a market China has become for Nu Skin, reflecting how easily such companies can win over Chinese consumers and businesspeople who often assume that any product with a western name must be good and trustworthy. Read Full Post…
The microblogging space was buzzing with a bit of the past, the present and the future last week, with executives from some of China’s top gadget and Internet companies all hyping their various agendas in cyberspace. In a blast from the past, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak was all over the place in microblog postings from a number of tech companies executives he visited on a trip to China.
In the present, meanwhile, TCL (HKEx: 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) Chairman Li Dongsheng was at the CES trade show in Las Vegas and also attended a board meeting of Imax (NYSE: IMAX), using both opportunities to hype a new home theater tie-up with the US-based large screen movie format specialist. In the future, Long Wei, the low-key founder of leading online restaurant critic site Dianping, was hyping his company’s recent global expansion, perhaps hinting at more to come. Read Full Post…
Anyone who thinks the trendy Xiaomi is just trying to copy the playbook of global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) may have to reassess that comparison, following the latest reports that the fast-rising Chinese smartphone maker is preparing to enter the ultra low-end segment of the market. Word that Xiaomi will launch a smartphone costing just 300 yuan, or $50, looks a bit suspicious to me, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smartphone costing so little. Such a move would also contrast sharply with Apple, which has made a very conscious decision to stay in the premium end of the market. Read Full Post…
Chinese media are buzzing with anticipation as dominant mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) prepares to finally offer the latest iPhones for its network next week, after becoming the last of the country’s 3 telcos to sign a deal with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). The move will almost certainly provide a nice boost for China Mobile’s newly launched 4G service, and I expect we could see up to 2-3 million iPhones sold over the next 2 weeks in the run-up to the gift-giving Lunar New Year late this month. But the real beneficiary of the deal will be Apple itself, which could see its iPhone sales boom as China’s 2 other telcos offer their own attractive new iPhone promotions. Read Full Post…
It’s the time of year when we get to see where gadget makers are placing their future bets, as they strut their newest wares at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest show of its kind. This year all of China’s “big 3” smartphone aspirants are at the show in Las Vegas, with Huawei, ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) each focusing on different areas for future development. Interestingly, I couldn’t find any official mention of attendance at the event by fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi, even as it gets ready to embark on a global expansion in 2014. Read Full Post…
Executives from China’s top consumer electronics makers are laying out their road maps for 2014 at the world’s top trade show happening this week in Las Vegas, with leading PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992) detailing a conservative but smart looking plan to build up its smartphone business in the Americas. The plan was detailed by Lenovo’s Americas head, and will see the company target developing markets in Latin America first before gradually moving to the highly competitive US. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Revlon (NYSE: REV) To Exit Operations In China, Cut 1,100 Jobs (English article)
China Approves $353 Mln Of Share Sales As IPOs Resume (English article)
Xiaomi Sets Target Of 40 Mln Smartphone Sales For 2014 (Chinese article)
New VNO Licensees To Be Restricted To Specific Areas (Chinese article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Deal To Restore Apps To Apple Store (Chinese article)
The headlines are swamped today with news about leading wireless telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), after Chairman Xi Guohua spoke an event in Guangzhou where he gave details on a wide range of issues as the carrier formally launched its new 4G service. I don’t usually discuss the bottom line until the end of my posts, but with so much news and new data in the headlines it does seem better this time to start here with that assessment. In this case it’s safe to say that China Mobile will embark on a massive spending spree to promote 4G in 2014, meaning we’re likely to see declining profits for much or all of the year. Read Full Post…
After 2 weeks of silence following the long-awaited issue of 4G mobile licenses, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is finally making some hints about its strategy in the new era of high-speed telecommunications. I’m usually quite negative about the company due to its disorganization and lack of focus, but for once I have to compliment it for a strategy that looks reasonably well conceived. Meantime in other 4G news, the final countdown to China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) iPhone launch may finally be nearing an end, with speculation that announcement of the long-overdue tie-up could come as soon as Wednesday. Read Full Post…
