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Next year is set to become the year of 4G in China, with the nation expected to spend well over 100 billion yuan ($16.4 billion) on new mobile networks that offer lightning-fast data speeds for mobile subscribers. The spending bonanza marks an excellent chance for China to show its commitment to free trade, after many were disappointed when foreign companies received only a small fraction of the business in a major series of contracts back in August. 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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I’ve largely ignored most recent reports speculating on the imminent awarding of 4G wireless telecoms licenses, which has been rumored for most of this year but never seems to happen. But the latest flurry of news seems to indicate that licenses are finally on the cusp of coming, with one report saying they could even arrive on Thursday, which is today. (Chinese article) I won’t comment too much on the exact timing, though this particular set of reports does seem more credible than previous ones, leading me to predict we could see some news either this week or next. Read Full Post…
Top officials from leading cellphone chip maker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) and web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) were tweeting away on their microblogs last week, in what look like efforts to counter recent negative developments for both. In the former case, one of Qualcomm’s China vice presidents, Shen Jin, was hyping the potential of both 3G and 4G in China, just as his CEO was admitting that Qualcomm has come under pressure in the market due to negative fallout from the recent Edward Snowden spying scandal. Meantime, Sohu founder Charles Zhang was talking about the importance of copyright protection, in what looks like a response to criticism of selfish motives behind Sohu’s role as a lead plaintiff in a recent copyright infringement lawsuit against online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The ongoing crackdown against corrupt officials at major state-owned enterprises continues to pick up momentum, with word that a top official at aluminum giant Chalco (HKEx: 2600) has resigned after being targeted in a probe. News of this latest probe comes at the same time another former high-level executive from leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has just been formally sentenced to life in prison after his own trial for corruption. Other major state-owned enterprises whose top executives have become targets of recent corruption probes include that oil giant PetroChina (HKEx: 857; Shanghai: 601857; NYSE: PTR) and shipping leader Cosco (HKEx: 1919; Shanghai: 601919). Read Full Post…
First it was smartphones, then it was Internet TV, and now wireless routers have become the latest flavor of the day for Chinese web firms as everyone looks to drive traffic to their sites and services in the fast-evolving market. I previously wrote when security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) entered the router space in June, and now a new report says smartphone maker Xiaomi, search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and game specialist Shanda are preparing to enter the sector as well. Meantime in a separate but related telecoms move, leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) is making a feeble move into the international market with a relaunch of its Jego service that it suspended shortly after an original roll-out earlier this year. Read Full Post…
Sometimes it seems like I’m living in slow motion when I write about China telecoms, since major developments in the sector often drag on for months past their expected launch dates. That’s been the case for 3 major new initiatives that could inject important new life into the space, even though rumored launch dates for all 3 have passed numerous times. The latest news bits on all 3 indicate things are still moving ahead, meaning perhaps we will someday soon see the announcement of licenses for 4G mobile service and new virtual network operators (VNOs), as well as the launch of a new national broadband network operator.
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As the current earnings season gets into full swing, let’s turn our attention to the latest results that show encouraging signals from both wireless carrier China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and Internet company Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). Yet despite the upbeat reports, shareholders have reacted quite negatively to the Sohu results by dumping its stock. That sell-off is probably mostly technical, for reasons I’ll explain soon. Meantime, China Telecom’s shares have languished over the last year, even though in my view it’s rapidly emerging as the shrewdest of China’s 3 major state-run telcos. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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My earnings seasons officially kicks off today with reports from leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) and former e-commerce superstar Dangdang (NYSE: DANG), whose third-quarter results are sending a subdued message of stiff competition and slowing growth. Each company is struggling with its own individual issues, but the common theme is that both have missed market expectation by a significant margin. A number of factors are at work that I’ll describe shortly, but fierce competition and China’s slowing economy seem to be 2 of the biggest issues facing both companies. If this shaky start turns into a trend, we could see other companies reporting similarly disappointing results in the weeks ahead. Read Full Post…
