Online travel site Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has just become the latest Chinese Internet company to announce a mega-bond offering, taking advantage of its market-leading status to raise up to $500 million. While the bond itself is interesting, the more intriguing matter is what Ctrip plans to do with the funds. The company says that acquisitions is one possibility, leading me to speculate the company could purchase a stake in fast-rising rival Qunar, or even purchase the company outright. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Baidu
Weibo: Xiaomi, Kingsoft Join Anti-Qihoo Campaign
After seeing its stock price quadruple over the last year on huge expectations for its online search service, Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) must be feeling some pressure to start delivering returns to investors who have bet on the company’s strong growth potential. That’s the most positive explanation I can find for a sudden slew of complaints against Qihoo from other Internet executives who accuse the company of tinkering with their software. Those accusations have produced an entertaining war of words on the Twitter-like Weibo service between Qihoo Chairman Zhou Hongyi and top executives from smartphone maker Xiaomi, software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) and web portal operator Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). (previous post) Read Full Post…
Tencent, Suning Eye Smart TV In New Tie-Ups
Smart TVs, which let consumers watch programs via Internet-based channels, has suddenly become the latest flavor of the day for China tech firms, with just about every major Internet player piling into the market in the last few months. Top e-commerce firm Alibaba and search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) have both announced major new initiatives in the last 2 months, and now social networking leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is joining the frenzy with its own new tie-up. At the same time, retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) may also be making moves in the space, with word that it’s near a deal to purchase online video company PPTV. Read Full Post…
Rocky Marriage Ahead For Sohu, Tencent
Thank goodness! That’s my first and main reaction to news that after months of tortured courtship, Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) has finally selected Tencent (HKEx: 700) as the winning suitor of its Sogou search engine, beating out rivals Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU). I have to admit the selection of Tencent came as a bit of a surprise, since I had expected Qihoo to win the contest for one of China’s older and less appreciated search engines. Read Full Post…
Microblogs: TCL’s Li Reflects On Pivotal Teacher
I’ve been following the microblogs of some of China’s top tech executives for a while now, and am quickly becoming a fan of Li Dongsheng, the man behind leading TV maker TCL (Shenzhen: 000100). Unlike many other executives, who use their microblogs to hype their latest products, Li has shown a more refreshing tendency to also use his Sina Weibo account for some personal introspection. Read Full Post…
Big Investors Lose Taste For Pactera, Youku
Two Chinese tech leaders are feeling the effects of fickle western institutional investors, with word that one big name has lowered its buyout offer for IT outsourcing firm Pactera (Nasdaq: PACT) , while another has dumped its sizable stake in video sharing site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU). In the former case, it’s private equity giant Blackstone that’s lowered its offer for Pactera, while in the latter its Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek dumping its Youku Tudou stake. Both cases are due to company specific factors; but they also show that big-name investors may carry a certain level of prestige for companies that attract them, but they also bring a certain level of risk. Read Full Post…
Ctrip Flies On Mobile
A new announcement from leading online travel services firm Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) is showing just how important a strong mobile strategy is to the future of Internet companies in China, where legions of consumers now surf the web over their cellphones. Ctrip’s announcement shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone who follows the sector, since most major Internet firms have specifically designated mobile as a key priority area for future growth. Robin Li, founder of leading search company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) early this year officially put himself in charge of the company’s mobile division (previous post); and e-commerce leader Alibaba has also embarked on a major acquisition spree this year with mobile technologies as one of its main focuses. Read Full Post…
IPOs: Qunar Tries Again, Alibaba Ponders, Xiaomi Waits
There’s a small flurry of IPO news today, with word that Baidu-invested (Nasdaq: BIDU) online travel site Qunar has relaunched its plans for a New York public offering. At the same time, anyone who was hoping for a near-term listing for hot smartphone maker Xiaomi might have to wait a while, with word that the firm won’t make a public offering for at least the next 5 years. Lastly, no IPO story would be complete without the latest speculation on the multibillion-dollar planned listing by e-commerce leader Alibaba, as pundits speculate on its next move following a recent clash with Hong Kong stock regulators. Read Full Post…
Alibaba Joins Internet TV Crowd
Internet TV is fast becoming the flavor of the day for China’s leading Internet and gadget companies, with word that e-commerce giant Alibaba has now entered the field through a new tie-up with TV maker Skyworth (HKEx: 751). The news comes just a week after online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) announced its own similar tie-up with TCL Multimedia (HKEx: 1070), another leading TV maker, and following other similar recent product roll-outs by names like smartphone maker Xiaomi, video content provider LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). Read Full Post…
News Digest: September 10, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Xiaomi Turns Profitable, No IPO In Next 5 Years – Executive (Chinese article)
- MIIT Approves 4 TD-LTE Smartphones, Observers See 4G Licenses Near (Chinese article)
- Oriental DreamWorks (NYSE: DWA) Rewrites Its China Production Strategy (English article)
- Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Qunar To Make IPO As Early As Q4 – Sources (Chinese article)
- SCA (Stockholm: SCAA) To Bid For Control Of Chinese Tissue Maker Vinda (HKEx: 3331)
Qihoo Sells Bonds, Still Chasing Sogou?
Anyone who believes in a bright future for security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) will probably say that buyers of $600 million worth of newly issued company convertible bonds got a great deal based on the conversion price. The bonds may indeed be a good bargain if Qihoo can come even close to realizing some of the hopes that many investors are holding for the company following its rapid gains into the lucrative online search space formerly dominated by Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). The closing of this bond sale looks equally interesting to me, as it could indicate that Qihoo may finally sign a deal to buy Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou search engine, significantly boosting its search presence after months of protracted negotiations. Read Full Post…