Chinese media are finally discovering something that I’ve know all along, namely that Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) coffee here is ridiculously overpriced. Some might say a new investigative report from national broadcaster CCTV could be cause for alarm for Starbucks, as previous similar reports have spelled headaches for other big foreign names like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), KFC (NYSE: YUM) and McDonalds (NYSE: MCD). But in this case, I’m actually quite encouraged to see the story is actually sparking some healthy and relatively well-informed debate about free markets and the premiums that “luxury” brands should be able to charge for their products. Read Full Post…
Let’s end this back-to-work week with a few telecoms news bits, starting with word that leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has wisely decided to abandon a bid for a Pakistani telco. Media are also reporting that China Mobile is edging closer still to a long-awaited deal to offer iPhones on its network, with word of a new key hiring move by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Lastly there are reports that China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), the smallest of China’s 3 carriers, has selected suppliers for the first phase of construction for its 4G networks, giving most of the business to Chinese firms. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lenovo (HKEx: 992) In Talks To Acquire HTC (Taipei: 2498) – Report (English article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Announces Proposed Offer Of $500 Mln Convertible Notes (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Top Appliance Maker Gree (Shenzhen: 000651) Eyes Banking Business (English article)
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Enters Forbearance Arrangement with Noteholders (PRNewswire)
Alibaba’s TMall Issues Requirements For International Merchants (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US To Get Coveted Alibaba IPO After Hong Kong Talks Founder (English article)
5S Accounts For 91 Pct Of New iPhone Sales In China, 5C For 9 Pct – Report (Chinese article)
Most of China may have taken a holiday during last week’s 3-day Mid Autumn Festival, but it was all work for networking equipment giant Huawei as it used the time to host a global IT forum in Holland. Xu Wenwei, head of Huawei’s enterprise division, used his microblog to hype the event, which looks like the company’s latest effort to convince the world that it’s a global company and not just another maker of cheap “made in China” goods. Meantime, the chatty Lei Jun took time out from his Mid Autumn holiday to drop the latest hint that Xiaomi, the fast-rising smartphone maker he co-founded, is developing its own mobile operating system (OS) that could someday compete with rival products from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Read Full Post…
Everyone is watching closely to see how Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) 2 new iPhones will perform in their upcoming first weekend on sale, and I have to say the early numbers coming from China look rather unimpressive. I should give a major caveat by saying the figures I’m about to cite are very partial, and the extrapolations I’ll make are mostly based on my own guess work. But based on the cool reception that the 2 new iPhones have received in China so far, I would say the 2 new models would be lucky to sell as well as their predecessor, the iPhone 5, which itself wasn’t too impressive due to its late launch in China. Read Full Post…
The buzz is quickly dying over the newest iPhone, with Chinese media and gadget fanatics decidedly underwhelmed by China’s first-ever inclusion in a global launch for a major new Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) product. In many ways this kind of disillusionment was almost inevitable, since there was so much hype when media first began reporting last week that China would be included in the global launch for the iPhone 5S. But at a deeper level, it looks to me like the Chinese are disappointed that they weren’t given more special treatment to acknowledge their status as the world’s largest smartphone market, and are also annoyed at having to pay a big premium for the 2 newest iPhones. Read Full Post…
There’s an interesting report out saying that up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi is developing its own mobile operating system (OS), becoming the latest Chinese player to try to muscle in on a market now dominated by 3 US companies — Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). I’ll admit there have been so many similar initiatives by both Chinese hardware and Internet companies these days that it’s hard to know which of the campaigns are genuinely new systems and which are just variants of Google’s popular and free Android OS. Read Full Post…
Local media are buzzing with word that China’s telecoms regulator has just approved 4 smartphones for use on the nation’s upcoming 4G networks, implying the long-awaited issue of 4G licenses could be imminent. But equally interesting is a separate report that says the number of newly approved phones is actually 5, and that the fifth phone was a version of Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) new iPhone 5S that can operate on networks using a homegrown Chinese technology called TD. That report says Apple requested its iPhone approval be kept secret; but if true, it means we could soon see announcement of a long-awaited tie-up between the US tech giant and leading Chinese mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Unveils iPhone 5S and 5C, To Come To China Sept 20 (Chinese article)
Skyworth (HKEx: 751) Joins With Alibaba In New Brand Kukai TVs (HKEx: 751) (Chinese article)
