It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.
Tag Archives: China Mobile
Qualcomm Charges China Mobile TD 高通TD芯片面世将照亮中移动业务前景
This may look like something only a techie can appreciate, but the recent start of production by leading global chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) for cellphone chips using a homegrown Chinese technology looks set to provide a major boost to dominant Chinese telco China Mobile (HKEx; 941; NYSE: CHL). This latest development comes as big and important news for TD, the homegrown technology being used by China Mobile in its 3G and 4G networks.
News Digest: December 18 报摘： 2012年12月18日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 18. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Alibaba, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Resume Investment Talks – Source (English article)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 First Weekend Sales in China Top 2 Mln (Businesswire)
- Gateway In Merger Negotiations with HK-Listed Affiliate of China Development Bank (Businesswire)
- Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat User Base to Reach 300 Mln in Early 2013 (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Launch Dual-Use Business Service For LTE in HK (Chinese article)
Apple Tarnished on Late iPhone Arrival iPhone 5姗姗来迟 苹果在华形象蒙尘
Note: Since first writing this posting, Apple has announced that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the 3 days after the product’s launch. (company announcement) The announcement appears aimed at quieting negative reports of a weak product launch, though some Chinese media are saying many of the sales may have gone to vendors who plan to re-sell the phones. The original article is below.
Chinese media are blaming it on the weather, but no matter how you look at it the launch for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 in China was pretty much a flop. I tend to blame the disappointing launch last Friday on a number of other factors, most notably ineptitude from China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) that probably cost them millions of yuan in lost sales. At the end of the day, perhaps half the people who buy this kind of trendy product do so as much based on hype than any other factor, since there are many other phones in the market with very similar functionality to the iPhone. But its hard to sustain hype for 3 months, which is how long it took Unicom and China Telecom to get permission to formally launch the iPhone after the product’s high profile global launch.
Good News Hides Woes at Spreadtrum, LDK 展讯通信和江西赛维释放利好掩盖问题
Cellphone chipmaker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) and solar panel maker LDK (NYSE: LDK) are both using good news as a smokescreen to draw attention away from bigger bad news, with the former announcing a new dividend and the latter a minor victory in a business dispute. In both cases, each company is grappling with much bigger problems that have caused their share prices to sag as investors lose interest in their tarnished growth stories. In LDK’s case the situation is much worse, with the company essentially being supported by the government as it teeters on the brink of insolvency.
China Mobile on Services Steroids 中国移动重拳出击
After praising China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) just last week for finally returning its focus to the present under a new top management team installed earlier this year, I feel compelled to update my previous view by expressing a slight concern at a sudden flurry of new initiatives from the company. In the last 24 hours alone, I’ve read reports of at least 3 new moves by China’s largest mobile carrier all aimed at tapping the growing market for high-speed telecoms services.
News Digest: December 11 报摘： 2012年12月11日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Xinhua Opens Twitter Account, Already Has 5,000 Followers (Chinese article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) to Dive into E-Commerce – Source (English article)
- Zhejiang Geely, Volvo in 3 Technological Cooperation Agreements (HKEx announcements)
- Suntech (NYSE: STP), Siemens Team on 100MW of Solar Projects in South Africa (PRNewswire)
- E-House (NYSE: EJ) to Issue New Shares to Management, Repurchase Shares (PRNewswire)
News Digest: December 7 报摘： 2012年12月7日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- GM (NYSE: GM) China November Sales Increase 9.7% on Buick, Chevrolet (English article)
- Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Tests Out Finance With Small Loan Unit (Chinese article)
- Yum (NYSE: YUM) Tweaks China Growth Plans, Targets More Pizza Huts (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Says Apple Must Discuss IPhone Benefit Sharing (English article)
- Jiuxian Fails to Reach 2012 Sales Target (English article)
China Mobile Returns to the Present 中国移动聚焦当下
After months of maintaining a relatively low profile, China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) recently named new President Li Yue is finally making a splash in the headlines with some interesting strategic announcements that look like one of his first breaks with former longtime Chairman Wang Jianzhou. The 2 biggest new moves will see China Mobile develop its own brand of cellphones, and also establish an Internet company. I personally don’t find either of those 2 moves extremely exciting, though both could certainly have implications for many of China’s smartphone makers and Internet companies.
News Digest: December 6 报摘： 2012年12月6日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- GM (NYSE: GM) Hints At Joining With China’s SAIC (Shanghai: 600104) In SE Asia (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) to Release Self-Branded Handsets (English article)
- Yahoo’s (Nasdaq: YHOO) Jacqueline Reses Joins Alibaba Group Board (Businesswire)
- Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) Back On Expansion Path In Americas, China (English article)
- Thai Group Buys $9.4 Bln Ping An (HKEx: 2318) Stake From HSBC (HKEx: 5) (English article)
News Digest: December 5 报摘： 2012年12月5日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- US Charges ‘Big Four’ Accountants Over China (English article)
- ZTE (HKEx: 763) Forms Strategic Tie-Up With China Development Bank (HKEx announcement)
- Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V), China Mobile (HKEx: 941) In Lumina 920 Deal -Source (English article)
- Tencent (HKEx: 700) Microblog Adds Intelligent Keyword Search Feature (English article)
- Jingdong Mall, Winekee Partner with French Wine Estates (English article)
