The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Liu Qiangdong: Jingdong Mall Won’t Make IPO Before 2015 (Chinese article)
- China’s Insurance Regulator To Reject $9.4 Bln HSBC (HKEx: 5) Deal: Reports (English article)
- Xiaomi Sells 7 Mln Smartphones in 2012 (English article)
- ZTE (HKEx: 763), Telstra Launch Easy UI Customization for Global Operators (Businesswire)
- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Cook Visits China Unicom (HKEx: 762) This Morning (Chinese article)
It may be cold and wintry in Beijing as the Year of the Snake approaches, but that isn’t stopping some of the world’s top high-tech CEOs from passing through the Chinese capital in pursuit of their own varied agendas. First Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chairman Eric Schmidt made a high-profile stop in Beijing en route to a visit to North Korea, and now we’re learning that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has also come calling on the nation’s capital this week. But whereas Schmidt’s visit seemed a bit whimsical to me, Cook’s trip looks much more practical, including an all-important stop at the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). (
Just a couple of weeks after telecoms heavyweight China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) complained that Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) was stealing its text messaging business, we’re getting word that the 2 companies may have started talks for a revenue sharing agreement to resolve the dispute. China Mobile’s discontent involves Tencent’s popular mobile instant messaging service WeChat, better known by its Chinese name Weixin, which has soared to prominence in the last 2 years and recently passed the 300 million registered user mark. (
The Chinese media have been buzzing these last few days with word that the telecoms regulator will soon roll out a highly anticipated plan to allow virtual network operators (VNOs) into China in 2013, finally breaking the monopoly on telecoms services held by the nation’s 3 major telcos. Such a move could suddenly open the door for homegrown companies like Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) to offer specialized services over their own privately branded virtual networks, but would also open the door for bigger global names like France Telecom (Paris: FTE) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to enter the long-closed market.
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.
Just a day after I ridiculed a new mobile phone alliance between Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762) (
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.
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.
No one is writing very much about China Unicom’s (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) newly announced plan to buy fixed-line networking assets from its parent, perhaps because people have lost all interest in this laggard telco that has been mired in management disorder for much of the last 2 years. Despite my own negative feelings about the company’s recent performance, I’m going to go ahead and actually praise Unicom for the move, as it finally looks like the company is doing something that has a small hint of being driven by a broader corporate strategy — something we haven’t seen for quite a while.
