The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 6. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) to Buy Brazilian Electronics Company CCE (HKEx announcement)
State Planner: Consumer Fraud Involved in Online Price Wars (Chinese article)
Their relatively low costs and access to the fast-growing China market often make major Chinese tech firms look like attractive business partners to their foreign peers. But big hopes for new partnerships often end in disappointment, resulting in the kinds of divorce we are now witnessing in the new slow-motion break-ups between PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701); and between global contract chip-making leader TSMC (Taipei: 2330; NYSE: TSM) and Chinese counterpart SMIC (HKEx: 981; NYSE: SMI). In both cases, the foreign companies have just started selling down previous strategic stakes in their Chinese partners, in what’s likely to end in an outright divorce for each pairing.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701) to Sell Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Stake in $235 Mln Deal (English article)
Sharp New Exchanges in China Short Seller Showdown (English article)
SEC Charges China Sky One (Nasdaq OTC: CSKI) With Securities Fraud (English article)
Wanda Group Completes Acquisition of AMC Entertainment Holdings (Businesswire)
News Report Exposes Xiaomi Re-Selling Used Phones as New (Chinese article)
Chinese media are buzzing this morning with reports that retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), a name synonymous with electronics, is preparing a major push into general merchandising, laying the groundwork to create a retailing giant that could someday challenge the likes of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Carrefour (Paris: CARR). According to the reports, Suning will start its newest retail drive by converting four flagship stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing into the new general merchandising format, which will be rebranded as Suning Expo. (English article; Chinese article)
A year after announcing their landmark joint venture, Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and NEC (Tokyo: 6701), the leading PC makers in China and Japan, are releasing some numbers to try to convince the world that their marriage was correct and the venture will dominate the difficult Japanese market. I’ll admit that I’m not quite a skeptical as I was when the 2 sides first announced their joint venture, as they seem to be taking a relatively cautious approach to the business. Still, I would only give this venture a relatively modest chance for success, perhaps around 40 percent, versus a previous prediction for around a 35 percent.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 30. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
India to Restrict Chinese Telecom Equipment Imports (English article)
China’s Fraud-Hit Suntech (NYSE: STP) Strikes More Trouble in Italy (English article)
Agricultural Bank of China (HKEx: 1288) Announces H1 Results (HKEx announcement)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Chairman Says Next Target Is Alibaba’s TMall (Chinese article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Aims to Hold 30 Pct Japan’s PC Market Share (English article)
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) big courtroom victory in its smartphone patent dispute with Samsung (Seoul: 005930) could soon send a chill through China’s up-and-coming tech sector, with the US giant likely to soon file a series of similar lawsuits against companies like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). This probable new twist in Apple’s ongoing quest for global smartphone dominance would not only hit the Chinese firms financially, but would also shine a spotlight on the uncomfortable fact that most still depend strongly on foreign technology for many of their higher-end products.
The colorful love-hate relationship between Beijing and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) never seems to stop evolving, flaring up this time with extensive coverage in state-run media over big China layoffs at Google’s recently acquired Motorola cellphone unit. In all fairness, Motorola’s decision to lay off 1,400 China employees is certainly big news by itself, with the China reductions accounting for more than a third of a recently announced round of 4,000 global job cuts by Motorola. But that said, I have little doubt that domestic media are being quietly encouraged to report extensively on the cuts by Beijing leaders who still feel stung by Google’s 2010 high-profile decision to withdraw from the China online search market.
There are a couple of interesting news bits today on PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), including a smart-looking new tie-up with data storage giant EMC (NYSE: EMC), and rumors that the company is weighing a potentially disastrous bid for struggling cellphone giant Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V). All this comes as analysts and Lenovo itself are predicting it could overtake struggling Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) for the title as the world’s biggest PC maker by the end of this year, becoming the first major Chinese high-tech brand to take such a global title.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Gaopeng, FTuan Combine to Form New Online Auction Company Groupnet (Chinese article)
Hanlong Says China Approves $1.3 Bln Bid for Australia’s Sundance (Sydney: SDL) (English article)
Alibaba’s TMall 3C, Appliance Transactions Up 200% YoY in H1 2012 (English article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992), EMC (NYSE: EMC) in Strategic Tie-Up, to Form JV (Chinese article)
Dianping Says Mobile Users At More Than 40 Mln, Figure Surpasses PC Users (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
Their relatively low costs and access to the fast-growing China market often make major Chinese tech firms look like attractive business partners to their foreign peers. But big hopes for new partnerships often end in disappointment, resulting in the kinds of divorce we are now witnessing in the new slow-motion break-ups between PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Japan’s NEC (Tokyo: 6701); and between global contract chip-making leader TSMC (Taipei: 2330; NYSE: TSM) and Chinese counterpart SMIC (HKEx: 981; NYSE: SMI). In both cases, the foreign companies have just started selling down previous strategic stakes in their Chinese partners, in what’s likely to end in an outright divorce for each pairing.
A year after announcing their landmark joint venture, Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and NEC (Tokyo: 6701), the leading PC makers in China and Japan, are releasing some numbers to try to convince the world that their marriage was correct and the venture will dominate the difficult Japanese market. I’ll admit that I’m not quite a skeptical as I was when the 2 sides first announced their joint venture, as they seem to be taking a relatively cautious approach to the business. Still, I would only give this venture a relatively modest chance for success, perhaps around 40 percent, versus a previous prediction for around a 35 percent.
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) big courtroom victory in its smartphone patent dispute with Samsung (Seoul: 005930) could soon send a chill through China’s up-and-coming tech sector, with the US giant likely to soon file a series of similar lawsuits against companies like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). This probable new twist in Apple’s ongoing quest for global smartphone dominance would not only hit the Chinese firms financially, but would also shine a spotlight on the uncomfortable fact that most still depend strongly on foreign technology for many of their higher-end products.
The colorful love-hate relationship between Beijing and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) never seems to stop evolving, flaring up this time with extensive coverage in state-run media over big China layoffs at Google’s recently acquired Motorola cellphone unit. In all fairness, Motorola’s decision to lay off 1,400 China employees is certainly big news by itself, with the China reductions accounting for more than a third of a recently announced round of 4,000 global job cuts by Motorola. But that said, I have little doubt that domestic media are being quietly encouraged to report extensively on the cuts by Beijing leaders who still feel stung by Google’s 2010 high-profile decision to withdraw from the China online search market.
