Bottom line: Alibaba’s new hiring of a Washington insider to head its international government affairs reflects its attempts to look more global, and also an intense lobbying campaign to ensure its name stays off an annual US piracy list.
Alibaba bulks up in Washington
E-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) has just made a major new addition to its Washington lobbying team, as it gears up for what’s likely to become one of its biggest battles yet on Capitol Hill. That battle will see the company try to convince the Obama administration that it’s a strong partner in the battle against piracy, as it tries to stay off an annual list published by Washington that singles out major internet sites that don’t do enough to stamp out counterfeiting.
Alibaba’s new hire of former GE Capital executive Eric Pelletier to head its international government affairs is also part of its attempts to look more global by adding big-powered non-Chinese to its top management ranks. The move parallels similar hires by equally globally-minded companies including networking equipment giant Huawei and leading PC maker Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which are also trying to convince the world that they’re truly global players and not just Chinese companies. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Google could open a Chinese version of its app store by the end of this year and spend aggressively to quickly gain market share, but would face negative backlash from western critics for its U-turn back into the sensitive market.
Google lobbies China smartphone makers to include Play Store
Global Internet giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is reportedly eying a return to China, with plans to launch a Chinese version of its flagship Google Play app store. The move, if true, would mark a major flip-flop for Google, which withdrew its core search engine from China in 2010 after a high-profile spat over Beijing’s strict censorship policies. But as many similarly principled companies quickly discover, China is a market that is simply too big to ignore.
That quandary led top business networking site LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) to enter China last year, despite expressing its own reservations about censorship, and top social networking (SNS) site Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) is also lobbying strongly for such a move. Google’s latest campaign comes in a the slightly less sensitive area of app store operation, though even that business would involve some self-censorship to eliminate apps that Beijing might consider sensitive for political or other reasons. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 6-8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Three China Solar-Panel Groups Lose EU-Tariff Exemptions (English article)
China Resources Expands Vanguard Convenience Stores, Targets 6,300 by 2020 (Chinese article)
JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) Receives Going Private Proposal at $9.69 Per ADS (GlobeNewswire)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Parent Legend Gets HK Approval for up to $2 Bln IPO: Sources (English article)
WoWo (Nasdaq: WOWO), JMU to Merge, Creating Top Online Foodservice Firm (PRNewswire)
Bottom line: Legend Holdings is likely to get a tepid reception for its new shares that could start trading by month’s end, while Focus Media is also likely to complete its backdoor listing in Shenzhen in that time frame.
Focus Media comes home to list
A new IPO, a backdoor listing and a buyout offer are all in the news today in Hong Kong, China and New York, spotlighting an emerging dynamic that is seeing Chinese companies abandon US listings for offerings closer to home. The choice of Hong Kong instead of China for the upcoming IPO by Legend Holdings, parent of PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), also reflects the difficulties that private Chinese companies continue to face when trying to list at home in Shanghai or Shenzhen.
China’s 2 main domestic stock markets have traditionally favored big state-owned companies, a big factor that prompted Legend to look to Hong Kong where it will meet with local stock exchange officials this week in the run-up to its looming IPO. At the same time, outdoor advertising specialist and formerly New York-listed Focus Media has just taken a major step towards a re-listing in China by injecting itself into a Shenzhen-listed firm. Last on our list is children’s website Taomee (NYSE: TAOM), which has just become the latest New York-listed Chinese firm to receive a privatization offer due to undervaluation. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: LeTV’s impressive first fund-raising for its new smartphone unit reflects big hopes due to its earlier success with Internet TVs, while Lenovo’s replacement of its mobile chief reflects concerns about its smartphone unit.
LeTV mobile unit raises big cash
A trio of new smartphone stories are highlighting rapid changes in the highly competitive landscape, where a steady stream of new entrants is creating constant challenges for existing players. Many of the newest entrants aren’t really worth mentioning, as they come from state-run backgrounds and have little or no chance of success.
That’s certainly the profile for construction equipment maker Sany Heavy (Shanghai: 600031), which has no place in this smartphone race but has just unveiled its inaugural model anyhow. Meantime, the industry’s hottest new entrant is online video high-flyer LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104), whose newly formed mobile unit Leshi Mobile has just raised a cool $400 million in its first funding round. Finally there’s the struggling Lenovo (HKEx: 992), whose failure to make a strong name for itself in the space despite numerous advantages may have prompted the departure of its mobile division chief. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China’s securities regulator should reopen its plan for an international board amid the current stock market rally, which would make big international brands like Imax available to average local investors.
Imax China files for HK IPO
A premier global movie brand slipped away from China’s stock exchanges last week, when the Chinese unit of big-screen superstar Imax (NYSE: IMAX) disclosed it plans to make an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. The case brought back memories of a nearly forgotten plan by China for an international board for such listings in Shanghai, aimed at making big foreign names accessible to Chinese investors.
That plan was conceived more than 5 years ago, but later got put on hold as China focused on launching the Nasdaq-style ChiNext board in Shenzhen. It then got indefinitely shelved when China’s stock markets languished in the 4 years after that. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: The presence of the CEOs of Microsoft and Intel at a Lenovo tech fest in Beijing represent the struggles that all 3 former PC giants are facing, and how each is looking to China in a bid to reverse its slide.
Lenovo, Microsoft, Intel CEOs share stage in Beijing
It’s not often that anyone uses the term Wintel anymore, which refers to the duopoly of Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows operating system (OS) and central microprocessing chips from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) that dominated the computing world for decades. But Wintel was center stage this week in Beijing, in a rare case where the CEOs of both Microsoft and Intel shared the stage with the CEO of Lenovo (HKEx: 992), the world’s largest PC maker, which was holding a bash to launch a wide range of new products.
Lenovo has been steadily hyping this event that finally took place on Thursday, where it unveiled a wide range of new products like a dual-screen smart watch and laser projector smartphone, all of which looked interesting but not too exceptional. I wasn’t planning on writing about the event at all for that reason, until I spotted the photo featuring Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing taking a selfie of himself with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at the Lenovo Tech World event in Beijing. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: LeTV’s strong smartphone launch shows that stiff competition in China won’t ease soon, which could push Lenovo’s mobile operations further into the red and prompt ZTE to further lighten its efforts in the market.
LeTV smartphones make strong debut
A series of smartphone items are in the headlines as we close out the week, spotlighting the tough situation in a China market that is at once the world’s largest but also extremely competitive. That competition just got a bit louder, with the first headline that says new arrival LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) debuted quite strongly with when its first smartphone models went on sale this week. Meantime, industry stalwarts Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) continue to reflect the stresses of selling in China, with the former posting a big loss for its mobile business last year while the latter continues to lighten its reliance on the market by looking for growth in the US. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tsinghua Unigroup To Buy 51 Pct of HP’s (NYSE: HPQ) H3C For $2.5 Bln or More (Chinese article)
Bank Of China (HKEx: 3988) Weighs Overhaul For BOCHK (HKEx: 2388) Unit (HKEx announcement)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Reports Results For Quarter Ended March 31 (HKEx announcement)
Bottom line: The accelerating pace of deals by Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma could be cause for concern, potentially overwhelming the company and Ma and creating headaches as they work to integrate so many new tie-ups.
Alibaba in new deal frenzy
It’s no secret that e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) has been on a buying binge over the last 2 years, snapping up billions of dollars worth of smaller companies and forging new alliances as it tries to get into just about any Internet and media business it can find. But even a veteran industry watcher like myself is getting dizzy this week by the accelerating series of deals, which has seen the company and its charismatic founder Jack Ma in at least 4 headlines involving major new tie-ups in a wide variety of spaces.
One of those is coming in the logistics space, with Alibaba announcing its purchase of a stake in a major Chinese parcel delivery service. Another comes in entertainment, where the company is reportedly in talks for a smart TV joint venture with PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). Yet another deal is in finance, with Jack Ma reportedly buying a stake in the Hong Kong-listed Reorient Group (HKEx: 376). And all of those deals are coming a day after media reported that Ma has become a new investor in the sports entertainment unit of online video services high-flyer LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Spin Off Smart TV Unit As JV With Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) (English article)
Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) In Merger Talks With iQiyi – Market Talk (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Smartphone Sales Rise 36 Pct To 15 Mln Units In Q1 (Chinese article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Reports Q1 2015 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
