Tag Archives: China Mobile

China Mobile latest Business & Financial news from Doug Young, the Expert on Chinese Companies, (former Journalist and Chief editor at Reuters in Asia)

News Digest: March 6, 2012 报摘： 2012年3月6日

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Jaguar Land Rover, Chery Seek Approval for Joint Venture (English article)

◙ Dunkin’ (Nasdaq: DNKN) Aims at China With Pork Donuts, LeBron James (English article)

◙ Interstate Hotels Adds Landmark JC Mandarin Hotel Shanghai to China Portfolio (Businesswire)

◙ Youku (NYSE: YOKU), Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) Sign Deal for Feature Films (PRNewswire)

◙ 50 Pct of China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941) Mobile Literature Revenue from Cloudary (English article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

China Telecom iPhone Debut Looks Strong 中国电信iPhone初次发售，势头强劲

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China Telecom’s (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) newly launched iPhone 4S has been hogging the headlines these last few days, with everyone scrambling to figure out if the debut of the popular smartphones by China’s third largest telco will be a success. The slew of media reports accompanying China Telecom’s iPhone launch on Friday, when it began taking orders for the 4S, seem to point to a modestly successful beginning. The company has offered a number of plans, each of which is priced about 100 yuan less than comparable ones offered by rival China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the only other Chinese carrier with an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) tie-up which began selling the 4S in January. (English article) As to actual demand, media are looking at a number of angles, including online sales, store orders and comments from China Telecom itself to judge demand, as the iPhones themselves won’t become available until this Friday. The company itself is saying first-day sales exceeded its own expectations, though it isn’t giving any figures except to say orders in Beijing exceeded 10,000 units. (Chinese article) Meantime, another article is quoting China Telecom saying first-day online orders were strong, but there was no unusual activity at a China Telecom store also taking orders. On the whole, this looks like a relatively strong launch for China Telecom, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as many iPhone lovers are probably excited to finally have an alternative to Unicom, which had a monopoly on official iPhone sales in China since Apple launched the popular smartphones in 2007. I would expect China Telecom iPhones to see brisk sales when they officially become available on Friday, as consumers test the China Telecom service against Unicom’s. Word of mouth will be critical going forward, as I could easily see many iPhone users migrating to one service or the other in the months and years ahead depending on which telco gets the better reputation for iPhone service. Based on my limited knowledge, I wouldn’t be surprised to see China Telecom emerge as the early leader in the comparisons, in what would obviously be a major setback for an already-struggling Unicom. Meantime, China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s only telco with no iPhone deal, is coming out with its own iPhone statistics, with Chairman Wang Jianzhou saying it has 15 million iPhone users. (Chinese article) Of course everyone knows that all of those users are unofficial, since China Mobile has no agreement with Apple, and all can only use their iPhones on China Mobile’s slower 2G network, since no iPhone is available to run on the homegrown technology in its 3G network. China Mobile at one point was talking to Apple about developing a 3G iPhone for its network, but those talks seem to have died a few months ago, meaning the company won’t have its own iPhone deal until 4G which is still at least 1 to 2 years off.

Bottom line: China Telecom is likely to emerge the victor in a looming iPhone war with Unicom by offering both better prices and service.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Price War Brewing for iPhone in China iPhone价格战料在中国打响

◙ New Developments, Including iPhone Deal, Heat Up 3G, 4G 中国电信iPhone销售和日益升温的3G、4G最新进展

◙ China Mobile: Improvement Ahead Under New Leaders 新领导有望助中国移动复苏

News Digest: March 3-5, 2012 报摘： 2012年3月3-5日

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 3-5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Announces Investigation of Suspect Financial Issues (HKEx announcement)

◙ China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Unveils CDMA iPhone 4S Packages (English article)

◙ Alibaba Group Profit At $339 Mln in 2011, Up Seven-Fold (Chinese article)

◙ Masa Maso to Cut Ad Spend 50% in 2012 (English article)

◙ AB-InBev (Brussels: ABI) on Shortlist for China Brewery Deal: Sources (English article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q4 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

Price War Brewing for iPhone in China iPhone价格战料在中国打响

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I’ll end my postings for this first day of March on a lighter note, looking at an entertaining marketing and price war that looks set to break out between China’s second and third biggest telcos, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), as the latter prepares to start selling the iPhone 4S later this month, breaking Unicom’s monopoly on iPhone sales in China since Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) started selling the popular smartphones in 2007. In a highly anticipated announcement, China Telecom, the smallest of China’s 3 major telcos, said last month it would start taking orders for the iPhone 4S on March 2, and start selling the model for use on its network on March 9. (previous post) That development broke Unicom’s 3-year monopoly on iPhone sales in China, just a couple of months after Unicom itself started selling the 4S. Unicom has been rather lazy during the last 3 years during its monopoly period, failing to aggressively market the iPhone even as sales of the smartphones were one of its few bright spots as it suffered with internal management and operational issues. Now that the honeymoon period is finally finished, Chinese media are reporting that Unicom’s Guangdong unit is preparing a “stealth” attack to try to draw more iPhone buyers to its service even as China Telecom gets set to offer its own aggressive packages. (Chinese article) According to the report from a local publication in southern Guangdong province, Unicom’s Guangdong subsidiary is preparing to offer new incentives in the form of extra memory to new iPhone subscribers who are referred by Unicom’s current iPhone customers. I would expect to see similar moves from Unicom subsidiaries in other provinces in the next few weeks, as they attempt to stop China Telecom from stealing both new and existing iPhone customers. China Telecom is likely to fight back with its own aggressive new packages and other incentives, meaning the next few months could be a very good time for anyone considering an iPhone 4S to sign up for service. On a more serious note, this kind of war could undermine both the top and bottom lines for Unicom and China Telecom. It could also seriously hamper efforts by China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), the country’s leading mobile carrier, to bring some momentum to its own laggard 3G network, which suffers from a technological disadvantage as it is based on a homegrown Chinese technology standard with numerous problems. In summary, look for a colorful and also bruising price and marketing war between Unicom and China Telecom in the months ahead, playing to the advantage of 3G cellphone subscribers but bringing a new round of potentially destructive competition to the the telcos.

Bottom line: A new price and marketing war will break out as China Telecom prepares to end Unicom’s monopoly on the iPhone in China, resulting in profit erosion for both.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ New Developments, Including iPhone Deal, Heat Up 3G, 4G 中国电信iPhone销售和日益升温的3G、4G最新进展

◙ China Telecom 3G Drive Set For Boost With iPhone 4S 中国电信3G推出电信版iPhone 4S

◙ China Telcos In New Drives at Home, Abroad 中国三大电信运营商海内外发力

China Mobile Steps Up 4G Drive 中移动4G网络建设提速 年底或推商用试点

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There’s quite a bit of telecoms news coming out this week from the city of Barcelona in Spain, where China’s telcos and equipment makers are all showing off their latest wares at the world’s biggest annual telecoms show. Most of it looks like the usual display of new gizmos and gadgets, but the item that caught my eye was a relatively detailed update on China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) 4G plans, which indicate that both the company and, perhaps more importantly also the government, are moving aggressively forward to build a commercial network based on a homegrown Chinese standard called TD-LTE. Equally significant is who was discussing the plans, as the comments came from a relatively youthful Li Yue, a fast rising star who recently took over as president of China Mobile’s state-run parent, rather than the company’s longtime aging Chairman Wang Jianzhou, who is getting set to retire. Li said China Mobile will move ahead with plans to expand its large-scale trials of TD-LTE to 9 cities later this year, adding Qingdao, Tianjin and most importantly Beijing, to its current trails in 6 major cities that began last year. (English article) He went on to say that the fast-growing trial network could even be ready for commercial service in the cities of Shenzhen and Hangzhou by the end of this year. Li said the handful of telcos building commercial TD-LTE networks outside China, most notably Softbank (Tokyo: 9984) in Japan and Bharti Airtel (Mumbai: BHARTI) in India, are slowing down their plans until China Mobile can bring more momentum to the standard by working with networking equipment and handset makers to develop more products and clean up technological problems. Those remarks imply that not only China Mobile, but also the government, are working hard to speed up deployment of a full-scale commercial TD-LTE network in China, as Beijing is especially keen to see a China-developed standard compete globally alongside other standards developed in the US and Europe. In one other major development in that direction, Li disclosed that Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), one of the world’s biggest chipmakers for both cellphones and telecoms equipment, has agreed to develop chips based on the standard, providing more momentum for its development. On top of all those developments, I also like the fact that Li is now speaking for the company on this issue, as he represents a younger, more aggressive generation of new leadership that China Mobile needs to breathe life back into its stagnating top and bottom lines. All these latest signs say that despite some recent delays, China Mobile’s 4G plans are moving ahead at a fast and steady pace, helped by important government support, with some first-stage commercial service potentially starting to roll out in a few cities as soon as the end of this year.

Bottom line: New comments from a top China Mobile executive indicate its 4G plans are accelerating with government support, with limited commercial service possible as soon as year end.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Telcos In New Drives at Home, Abroad 中国三大电信运营商海内外发力

◙ China Mobile: Improvement Ahead Under New Leaders 新领导有望助中国移动复苏

◙ China Mobile Tries 4G Back Door in Shenzhen 中国移动试图绕过监管机构于深圳秘密规划4G网络

Unicom Trials 4G, ZTE Dusts Off Old Numbers 中国联通试验4G技术 中兴通讯旧账重提

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A couple of items from the telecoms space have caught my attention this overcast Monday in Shanghai, one containing the first news I’ve seen on 4G plans of China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), China’s second biggest telco, and the other a silly announcement from telecoms equipment giant ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) that seems designed to divert attention from its rapidly shrinking profits. Let’s look first at Unicom, which finally appears to be thinking about the future as it puts a year of management turmoil behind. A report in the English-language Shanghai Daily cites a Unicom official at a press conference with Shanghai’s mayor saying the company will spend $1.3 billion to upgrade its systems in the city over the next few years. (English article) The list of projects contains many familiar items, such as improving broadband speeds and adding wi-fi hotspots. But the one that caught my attention was that some of the money will go to trialing 4G technology, and that Shanghai has been chosen as one of the first batch of cities where trials will take place. In my view this announcement looks quite significant, because up until now only China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), the nation’s largest telco, has moved aggressively to develop 4G, with advanced large-scale trials already taking place in a half dozen major cities. For technological reasons, Unicom and smaller rival China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) should require far less time to develop their 4G networks, meaning that if Unicom really starts trialing technology this year it could easily commercialize its 4G network around the same time as China Mobile, perhaps as early as late 2013. If the company can get organized and focus on building its business, which it may finally be doing, it could easily find itself in a strong position when the regulator awards 4G licenses. Moving on quickly to ZTE, the company issued a press release that I can only call silly late last week boasting that it achieved the world’s fastest revenue growth of 33 percent in the first three quarters of last year, according to a new report by market research firm Frost and Sullivan. (company announcement) While obviously it’s nice to be cited as a leader in such a report, the truth is that the first 3 quarters of last year are now nearly half a year in the past, meaning that much may have changed since then. But more importantly, it says nothing about ZTE’s profit, which is shrinking as quickly as revenue is growing as the company pursues a risky strategy of rapidly building up its cellphone manufacturing business by selling low-cost models for little or no profit to quickly build market share. (previous post). I’m not saying that ZTE shouldn’t be proud of its rapid revenue growth, which is coming mostly from its cellphone expansion. But if it’s smart, it will keep a careful eye on its bottom line or risk watching its profit continue to erode and possibly even disappear, wiping out any positive effects of fast-growing revenue.

Bottom line: Unicom’s launch of 4G trials means it could quickly catch up to China Mobile, while ZTE needs to pay equal focus to both its top and bottom lines as it builds up its cellphone business.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ New Developments, Including iPhone Deal, Heat Up 3G, 4G 中国电信iPhone销售和日益升温的3G、4G最新进展

◙ ZTE Faces More Profit Erosion With Latest Low-Cost Moves 中兴通讯以低价机抢占市场恐损及获利

◙ Baidu, ZTE Earnings: More of the Same 百度和中兴财报：看上去没变化

New Developments, Including iPhone Deal, Heat Up 3G, 4G 中国电信iPhone销售和日益升温的3G、4G最新进展

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There’s a sudden mini-flood of news coming out of the telco space, with new signs that laggards China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) and China Unicom (HKEx: 768; NYSE: CHU) are becoming a bit more aggressive in the important 3G and 4G spaces. But as if to counter those signs, China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA), the smallest of the country’s 3 telcos which also emerged as its most aggressive player last year, has just announced a long-awaited deal with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) that will see it start offering popular iPhones on the company’s 3G network early next month. Let’s start with the latest monthly 3G subscriber numbers, which show that Unicom is finally getting serious about that important part of its business, after losing share last year despite its strong technological advantages. The latest figures show Unicom had just over 32 million subscribers at the end of January, boosting its share of the market to 32 percent from 31 percent just a couple of months earlier. (company announcement) That gain is important, as it reverses a trend that saw Unicom’s share either stagnating or actually dropping lasts year as it suffered from management turmoil and shortages of handsets for its 3G network. It seems to have solved the handset problem for now, meaning we could see more market share gains in 2012, though lingering management issues could continue to hamper the company. Meantime, local media are reporting the telecoms regulator has official declared the commencement of second stage trials for TD-LTE, the 4G standard being developed by China Mobile. (English article) This announcement looks important since it affirms the regulator, after some initial hesitation early last year, is now fully supporting China Mobile’s plans to roll out a commercial 4G network as soon as next year, even though China Mobile itself has recently run into delays in its own trials for the technology. (previous post) Perhaps sensing that its 2 rivals were stealing some of its momentum, China Telecom has just come out with its own announcement, which has been rumored for months, that it will start to take orders for the popular iPhone 4S for use on its network starting on March 2, and start offering service for the handsets a week later. (company announcement) While highly anticipated, this deal is still big news for both China Telecom and the China market overall, as it formally ends a monopoly on iPhone sales in China held by Unicom since the launch of the popular Apple smartphones several years ago. China Telecom looks set to aggressively market the iPhone for its 3G network, which will hit profits in the short-term but could help it regain some of the momentum in the space it has recently lost to both Unicom and, to a lesser extent, to China Mobile.

Bottom line: China Unicom’s aggressive 3G push is yielding results with new share gains, but China Telecom could soon fight back with its newly announced iPhone deal.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Mobile Bets on Call Centers, Sees 4G Delay 中移动4G网络建设延期 押注新建呼叫中心

◙ Unicom, China Telecom in iPhone 4S 中国电信有望领先推出iPhone 4S Race

◙ TD-LTE Hits First Delay, More to Come? TD-LTE技术首次延期 未来还会更多？

China Mobile Bets on Call Centers, Sees 4G Delay 中移动4G网络建设延期 押注新建呼叫中心

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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) is placing an interesting new bet on call centers, leveraging its strong telecoms infrastructure as it searches for growth. The bet looks especially strong in light of new reports that its 4G network is running into its latest series of delays, which doesn’t surprise me at all and will likely push back a commercial launch of this new network to 2013 at the earliest, or more likely 2014. Let’s look at the call center plan first, as this looks the most exciting in my view and is the latest sign that the company’s new top management is finally taking concrete steps to restart its stalled growth. Media are reporting that China Mobile will spend a hefty 4 billion yuan, or around $630 million, to build a massive call center with 20,000 seats in eastern Jiangsu province. (English article) The new center would complement other recent plans for a similar-sized center in interior Henan province. The reports are a bit vague about whether China Mobile will use these call centers for its own customers or whether it will sell capacity to other companies looking to outsource their call center services. I suspect that the massive size means it will be a combination of the two, which looks like a smart call, allowing China Mobile to leverage its huge scale and telecoms infrastructure to provide competitively priced call center services to both domestic and international clients. If that’s the case, I could easily see call centers becoming an important new revenue source in the next 2-3 years, helping to jump-start the company’s stalled growth. Meantime, domestic media are reporting new delays are hitting China Mobile’s 4G network, based on a homegrown technology called TD-LTE  that is now in the testing phase. (Chinese article) The reports are rather vague, saying that China Mobile has yet to finalize results for a fifth round of contracts to build the trial network five months after announcing some preliminary results. That delay would be the latest setback for the network, following reports last October that 2 smaller vendors were running way behind schedule in providing equipment for trial networks being set up in 6 Chinese cities. (previous post) These kinds of delays aren’t really look that surprising for a new and untested technology like TD-LTE, but they also mean that China Mobile won’t realize any new business from this overhyped initiative anytime soon. Instead, the company should focus on initiatives like the new call centers and building up its neglected 3G network, which it also showing signs of doing. If it sticks with these more promising new initiatives, I could easily expect to see some concrete contributions to the company’s top and bottom lines by the end of this year.

Bottom line: China Mobile’s new call center initiative looks like a smart move to leverage its scale and infrastructure, as its overhyped 4G plans show new signs of delays.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Mobile: Improvement Ahead Under New Leaders 新领导有望助中国移动复苏

◙ TD-LTE Hits First Delay, More to Come? TD-LTE技术首次延期 未来还会更多？

◙ China Mobile 3G: Where Are the Subscribers? 中国移动3G：订户在哪里？

News Digest: February 16, 2012 报摘： 2012年2月16日

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he following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ China Mobile (HKEx: 941) to Build Second National Call Center (English article)

◙ Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Asks Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Suning to Drop iPad (English article)

◙ SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) Announces Q4 and Fiscal Year 2011 Results (Businesswire)

◙ NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES)  Reports Q4 and Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Results (PRNewswire)

◙ Former Acer (Taipei: 2353) China VP Named 360Buy’s CMO (Chinese article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

News Digest: February 10, 2012 报摘： 2012年2月10日

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The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ China Power Giants Flex Muscles Abroad (English article)

◙ The Dairy Queen System Opens 500th Location in China (Businesswire)

◙ 360Buy to Launch Hotel Reservation Service (English article)

◙ Credit Suisse Predicts China Mobile (HKEx: 941) to Get 4G License By Year End (Chinese article)

◙ Alibaba.com (HKEx: 1688) Shares Suspended Pending Clarification (Chinese article)

◙ Latest calendar for Q1 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

Spreadtrum, Samsung in Latest China 3G Model 展讯与三星再度联手开发中国标准3G智能手机

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After surviving a short seller attack last year, cellphone chip maker Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) has taken the latest step in its drive to become a specialist in smartphone chips for use with China’s homegrown 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, by co-developing a second model with global giant Samsung (Seoul: 005930). (company announcement) Samsung’s roll-out of the Galaxy Note GT-I9228, using a Spreadtrum TD-SCDMA chip, is the Korean company’s second such model since last September, and signals the companies are forming a strong partnership for phones based on the 3G standard being used by China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL). Now, of course, the big question will be whether China Mobile will start to promote TD-SCDMA service more aggressively, following a disappointing 2011 that saw it lose steady share in the 3G market to rivals China Unicom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHU) and especially China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA). Spreadtrum shares have gone on a roller coaster ride over the last year, partly due to the inherent risk of investing so much in a technology with no track record and one that could ultimately see only lukewarm sales. Its share plunged in July after a short seller attack questioning an inventory buildup as the company broadened its product line as part of its TD-SCDMA bet. It ultimately survived that attack and its shares more than doubled from their lows at that time. But since November its shares have again lost about half of their value, due at least in part to disappointment about China Mobile’s lackluster promotion of 3G. Of course, part of the problem for China Mobile has been a lack of exciting smartphone models to run on its 3G network, so the introduction of 2 Samsung TD-SCDMA models should help address that problem. China Mobile has also sent out its own recent signals indicating it will make a stronger push in 3G this year under new management, though we have yet to see much real results of that. (previous post) If you’re a Spreadtrum investor, you’re most likely going to be closely watching China Mobile’s 3G subscriber numbers closely this year, as the chip maker’s stock price is likely to move in step with how quickly the network develops.

Bottom line: Spreadtrum’s latest tie-up with Samsung affirms its commitment to TD-SCDMA 3G standard, putting it at the mercy of China Mobile’s promotion of the untested technology.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ China Mobile 3G: Where Are the Subscribers? 中国移动3G：订户在哪里？

◙ Spreadtrum, Mediatek in Cheap Smartphone Plays

◙ Spreadtrum Takes Smart Gamble on China 3G