Shanghai is working hard to reclaim its place as Asia’s entertainment capital, and has made big progress in that direction through recent major tie-ups with 2 of Hollywood’s leading stars, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and DreamWorks (NYSE: DWA). But that drive to the stars took on a new dimension over the past week when local media exposed a major local scam that feeds on people’s hopes of becoming celebrities.
Before coming to Asia a decade ago, I worked and lived in Los Angeles for most of the 1990s and got a first-hand look at the inner workings of the world’s entertainment capital. That included a thriving field of fake talent agents and other scam shops that sell the Hollywood dream of fame and wealth to ordinary people who secretly harbor dreams of stardom. Read Full Post…
Retail village to debut alongside Shanghai Disneyland
An amusing rivalry between 2 US entertainment giants is rapidly shaping up in Shanghai, with developers of the new Disneyland (NYSE: DIS) resort announcing a major new retail development just days after DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) broke ground on its own massive entertainment complex in the city. The close timing of these 2 announcements may be partly coincidental, but the rivalry certainly isn’t. Hollywood followers will know that DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg was formerly the head of Disney’s famous animation division, and only left the company after a famous fall-out with former Disney chief Michael Eisner. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) China Investment Bank CEO Quits Over Hiring Scandal (Chinese article)
Disney (NYSE: DIS) Unveils Retail Strategy For Shanghai Park, Forms JV (Chinese article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Hit By Security Loophole (English article)
China Fines NU Skin (NYSE: NUS), Eyes Tighter Direct-Sales Control (English article)
ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) Announces Q4 And Full Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
A growing love affair between Hollywood and Shanghai has taken a major step forward, with the formal ground-breaking for a $2.4 billion entertainment complex being co-developed by US giant DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) and the city’s leading broadcaster. As a longtime industry watcher, I’m most encouraged that this project is actually moving forward, even if the latest price tag is a bit lower than the figure given when the deal was first announced nearly 2 years ago. Over the years I’ve seen too many cases where big new Sino-foreign projects have been announced with big fanfare, only to later die quiet deaths due to failure to get necessary approvals and financing. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 8-10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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I don’t usually pay much attention to sponsored articles in the Chinese media, but one such announcement today trumpeting a new contract win by PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) and Taiwan’s Tingyi (HKEx: 322) caught my attention due to the implications for the Chinese beverage market, most notably for industry leader Coca Cola (NYSE: KO). The article, known in the west as “advertorial”, appeared in the English-language China Daily and touted a major new deal for Pepsi and Tingyi to supply drinks for Shanghai’s new Disneyland, which will open in 2015. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s biggest Internet names are making interesting new moves into the tough US market, with word that Alibaba has launched an American e-commerce website and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) founder Robin Li is helming a major new Hollywood animation studio. Both moves look cautious but relatively well conceived, even though each carries a degree of risk due to intense competition in the US e-commerce and animation sectors. Still, I have to admire both companies for at least trying, even if their chances of success could be around 50-50. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Nu Skin (NYSE: NUS) Probe Drags Down Herbalife,USANA Too (English article)
Xiaomi to Invest in Video Sharing Site Xunlei – Source (English article)
China Microblog Users Fall By 28 Mln, Or 9 Pct, In 2013 (Chinese article)
Shanghai Disneyland (NYSE: DIS) Starts Recruiting For 2015 Park Opening (Chinese article)
Jingdong Plans IPO In Second Half Of 2014 To Raise $2 Bln – Source (Chinese article)
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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China Issues 4G Network Licences For TD-LTE To 3 Major Telcos (English article)
Disney In China Digital Entertainment Venture With BesTV (Shanghai: 600637) (English article)
DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) is dropping the “animation” part of its name in its year-old China joint venture, with word of a major new expansion that underscores the Chinese film market’s growing clout. Word of the expansion comes as Wang Jianlin, China’s newly named richest man, also makes a big bet on Hollywood, with his multiple investments in movie theaters and related technology via has Wanda Group empire. DreamWorks and Wang are both chasing a Chinese film market that is growing at breakneck pack, and is now the world’s second largest after only the US. DreamWorks is also setting its sights on China’s rapidly transforming TV market, where the Internet and other new delivery channels look set to shake up the traditionally slow-moving sector. Read Full Post…
After a painful retrenchment over the last 2 years, China’s private education sector is showing early signs of a brighter future in the latest upbeat results of TAL Education (NYSE: XRS). The company not only posted growth that was solidly higher than its previous guidance, but also forecast an acceleration of that growth in the current quarter as it begins to reap the rewards of an overhaul that has produced a leaner, more focused company. The positive results prompted 2 major research houses to raise their price targets for the company, hinting that a new period of growth could be coming for long-neglected China education stocks. Read Full Post…
