Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has emerged as a rare voice of reason in the war of words between China and the west over cyber security, with word that the global tech giant has decided to host some of its users’ personal data on Chinese-based computers. Apple’s move was almost surely a business decision first and foremost, providing its Chinese users with speedier services. But the move also sends a signal that other western companies should consider following, reflecting Apple’s belief that using Chinese infrastructure doesn’t pose a risk to compromising a company’s private data. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: China Telecom
Xiaomi Shoots For Middle In Late 4G Arrival
After an embarrassing recent gaffe that saw him ridiculed by fellow smartphone executives, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun was back in the spotlight this week with the launch of his company’s fourth-generation phone aimed at mid-end users. The company managed to get the usual widespread media coverage for the launch of its Mi 4, which it hopes will give it a sales boost necessary to meet an aggressive growth target for this year. But that said, I do sense that media and consumers are starting to tire of the company’s relentless hype and marketing. That could ultimately hurt its growth prospects, especially as China’s mid-range smartphone market becomes flooded with similar products from other domestic manufacturers. Read Full Post…
News Digest: July 22, 2014
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Yum (NYSE: YUM), McDonald’s Apologize As New China Food Scandal Hits (English article)
- Mobile Internet Users Pass Desktop Users For First Time – CNNIC (Chinese article)
- Huawei’s H1 revenue Up 19 Percent Year-On-Year At $22 Bln (English article)
- Citic Securities (HKEx: 6030) Announces Preliminary H1 Results (HKEx announcement)
- China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Starts Selling 4G Phones, Service In 16 Cities (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
China Telcos Lower Costs, Set Stage For Rally?
A rally for shares of China’s 3 major telcos early this week is raising the interesting question of whether an extended uptick is coming for these 3 companies, which are facing several developments that could help to lower costs and boost revenues, raising their profits. Media are citing the newest of those developments, the formation of an infrastructure joint venture between the trio, as the main driver for the Monday rally in shares of China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA). But the bigger story is a number of major factors at play, all of which could help these 3 stodgy state-run firms boost their profits. Read Full Post…
4G To Boost Unicom, China Telecom By Year End
After several false alarms, China’s slow-moving telecoms regulator has finally made its highly anticipated award of 4G licenses to the nation’s 2 smaller telcos, providing a much needed boost as they lose share to dominant telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL). Now China Telcom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHA) will have to quickly build networks based on 4G FDD-LTE technology, the standard used in most of the rest of the world that will now finally make its debut in China. Read Full Post…
News Digest: June 28-30, 2014
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 28-30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Telecom, Unicom Get 4G FDD-LTE Trial Licences In 16 Cities (English article)
- Tencent (HKEx: 700) Invests $736 Mln For 19.9 Pct Of 58.com (NYSE WUBA) (company announcement)
- Trina (NSYE: TSL) CEO Elected First President of New China Photovoltaic Industry Assn (PRNewswire)
- New Energy Car Sales Rise 10-Fold, Turning Point Seen For BYD (HKEx: 1211) (Chinese article)
- LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) Raises Q2 Financial Guidance (PRNewswire)
China Telecom, Unicom Plead For 4G Licenses
China’s 2 smaller telcos, China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), are reportedly urging the telecoms regulator to quickly give them new 4G licenses as they find themselves in the uncomfortable position of rapidly losing share to dominant carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL). The development looks a bit worrisome from a broader market perspective, as it appears to show that 3 years of steady gains by the 2 smaller companies in the 3G era could quickly be reversed if the regulator doesn’t act soon, stifling competition and hurting consumers as China Mobile re-emerges as the nation’s overwhelmingly dominant player. Read Full Post…
SMS Teeters On Extinction In 4G Era
New data is showing an acceleration in the decline of text messaging (SMS) in the new age of over-the-top (OTT) services like WeChat, underscoring the urgency for China’s 3 telcos to find new replacements for this important revenue generator. The decline of SMS isn’t new, and has been discussed by all 3 of China’s state-run telcos at one time or another over the last 2 years. The issue was also at the center of a high-profile dispute between China Mobile (HKEx: 941) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) in late 2012, involving the rapid rise of WeChat. But the latest figures do point to an acceleration of the decline, which will lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for the big telcos. Read Full Post…
New Licenses, Price Wars Coming For VNOs
Last month’s launch of China’s first new mobile services in a decade is showing early signs of shaking up the market, with competition likely to intensify as more licenses are awarded to a new generation of privately owned virtual network operators (VNOs). According to the latest headlines, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is getting ready to issue its third round of VNO licenses, which allow private companies to sell telecoms services under their own brands by leasing network capacity from the nation’s 3 existing state-run telcos. Read Full Post…
China Mobile 4G Drive: More Profit Erosion
Just days after Beijing reportedly issued an unusual order for China’s 3 telcos to rein in their promotional spending, leading carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941: NYSE: CHL) is detailing plans that look like it is preparing to do just the opposite. The company’s top executives were being quite talkative at a major telecoms show happening this week in Shanghai, and their aggressive push into 4G services was clearly at the top of their list of talking points.
The new message sends a signal that China Mobile will aggressively promote 4G for the remainder of the year, meaning we’re unlikely to see any cut in its promotional spending. To the contrary, the spending binge is likely to put further pressure on China Mobile’s fading profits, which have declined in each of the last 3 quarters.
China Telcos Set To Tamp Down Competition
Anyone who thought that Chinese telcos behaved like commercial companies is getting a lesson in the country’s unique blend of capitalism, with news that all 3 state-run carriers have been ordered to slash their promotional spending. In any other market, such a move would carry huge anti-competitive overtones and the regulator would quickly step in and stop such coordinated action. But this isn’t any other market, and the order to slash spending is coming from the government organization that is effectively the major shareholder of China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) and China Telecom. (HKEx: 728; NYS:E CHA) Read Full Post…