I was somewhat amused today to read an announcement from stodgy domestic smartphone maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) trumpeting the success of a “cool” new online campaign for its high-end brand of nubia smartphones. But after giving the matter some thought, I do have to compliment ZTE for its new approach to create some buzz around its smartphones, which currently enjoy a reputation as dependable but also quite stodgy and low-end products. Most Chinese refer to phones from domestic names like ZTE, Huawei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) as guochan, literally meaning “made in China,” which carriers distinctively negative overtones for inferior quality and lack of imagination. ZTE is clearly trying to cast off that image for its nubia line with this new China-based campaign. Read Full Post…
This week will go down in the history books as the week when China finally entered the high-speed telecoms era with its granting of 4G licenses after years of waiting. But China still has the dubious distinction as one of the world’s few markets where Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) wildly popular iPhone isn’t available to more than half of the country’s 1 billion mobile subscribers. That looks set to finally change soon, with media reporting that China’s dominant carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has finally signed an iPhone deal with Apple. Read Full Post…
Just a couple of days after I wrote that a wave of summertime attacks on foreign companies appeared to be firmly in the past, Chinese media are turning up the pressure on several luxury car makers with new accusations of high prices. This kind of attack is more in line with what we’re used to seeing from Chinese media, which like to periodically criticize big western names for quality problems or high prices. That’s quite different from what we saw over the summer, when Chinese regulators launched a series of probes into western firms for illegal activities like price fixing and bribery. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 5, 2013. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China State TV Accuses Foreign Carmakers Of Price Gouging (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Sign iPhone Agreement (Chinese article)
Update: Since originally writing this, the MIIT has finally formally issued 4G licenses, allowing each of the 3 major telcos to operate a service based on the homegrown TD-LTE standard. China Mobile will formally launch service on December 18.
It’s a new day, so I figured that’s a good enough excuse to write about the latest 4G wireless services rumors, which seem to be coming almost daily at this point. The newest rumors look a bit sexier than other recent chatter, this time unveiling the brand name industry leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) will use for its new service, and also adding the company will finally offer an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone for the network when it formally launches service later this month. Word of the actual launch date, in this case December 18, was probably the least interesting news in this latest report. That’s because every report I’ve read these last few months nearly always contains a launch date that is ultimately incorrect, and there’s no reason to believe that this new report will break that trend. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Release 4G Brand, iPhone On December 18 – Report (Chinese article)
China Southern Airlines (HKEx: 1055) Says 4 Executives Under Anti-Graft Probe (English article)
SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) To Launch Financial Services On December 16 (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) To Release Search-Customized Keyboard (English article)
EU Nations Approve Pact With China On Solar-Panel Imports (English article)
US electric car maker Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) has landed in the headlines with an escalating trademark dispute in China, casting a spotlight on Beijing’s ongoing efforts to bolster the country’s intellectual property (IP) protections. China has made great strides in its IP protection in the last 5 years, resulting in a healthier business environment where both domestic and foreign companies can feel more secure that their trademarks, copyrights and product designs won’t be illegally stolen and copied. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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iPhone Re-enters Top 5 In China Smartphone Market Share In Q3 (Chinese article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Announces Fiscal Year Interim Results (HKEx announcement)
Whoever is following online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) these days certainly doesn’t seem to care much about profits, at least based on the company’s latest results. That’s my conclusion after looking at Baidu’s just-released quarterly report, which showed that Baidu’s profit grew at an anemic 1.3 percent in the third quarter. Perhaps investors were just happy that Baidu posted any growth at all, since global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has just posted its third consecutive profit decline in its latest quarterly report. 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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Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone Sales Face Test in China In Quarterly Results (English article)
Snapchat Could Get Funding From Tencent (HKEx: 700) This Week (English article)
China smartphone market quickly becoming saturated
Let’s end the week with a look at some new data on China’s cellphone market, which is quickly becoming saturated with cheap smartphones cranked out by a crowded field of domestic companies. The rush by Chinese firms into the smartphone market over the last 2 years is typical of the herd mentality one often sees in China, almost always leading to classic boom-bust cycles. The smartphone sector was already showing signs of overheating when media reported during the summer that inventory was building up at many smartphone makers. Now the latest figures are showing that sales are slowing sharply for many of those firms, hinting a bust could come soon for players that rely heavily on the domestic market. Read Full Post…
