The unspoken war between online search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and challenger Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is taking on a new wrinkle with word that Baidu may be trying to get its advertisers to stop using Qihoo’s popular web browser. I personally find this war of words quite entertaining, though I do also think that Qihoo could better spend its time focusing on doing business rather than accusing others of trying to thwart it through this kind of underhanded tactic. Qihoo, after all, is the master of the underhanded business tactic, which has resulted in numerous lawsuits and complaints being leveled against the company over the years.
Tag Archives: Microsoft
Apple Invests in China — Finally 苹果终于在华投资
For a company of its size, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has been surprisingly conservative about its investments in China, opening just a few of its trademark stores in a country that is already one of its top global markets but otherwise making few major investments. But that could soon change with talk that the world’s biggest tech company is aiming to open a research and development center in China, which has become an unspoken prerequisite for any company that hopes to successfully do big business in the country. Apple clearly needs to think about such high-profile, big investments in China if it ever wants to streamline some of the bureaucracy that has kept some of its most popular products out of the market for months after their global launches.
Lenovo and Microsoft: A New Love Affair? 微软可能结盟联想？
Just a day after I ridiculed a new mobile phone alliance between Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762) (previous post), we’re seeing signs of another new China tie-up between the world’s largest software maker and PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) that looks much more intriguing. Whereas the Unicom alliance looked set to fail for a number of reasons, this new potential love affair between Microsoft and Lenovo could stand a better chance of success because it contains strong incentives for both sides. What’s more, each company is the global leader in its main product area, but both are still minor players in the mobile computing category that is likely to become the wave of the future for computer makers.
News Digest: December 12 报摘： 2012年12月12日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- SEC Charges Consultant With Fraud In Chinese Reverse Mergers (English article)
- Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), AutoNavi (Nasdaq: AMAP) Launch Location-based SNS Platform (PRNewswire)
- Regulator OKs Agricultural Bank (HKEx: 1288) Issue of Up To 50 Bln Yuan in Notes (HKEx announcement)
- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Meets with Lenovo (HKEx: 992) CEO in China (English article)
- ZTE (HKEx: 763) to Invest $30 Mln More In The US Market (Businesswire)
Microsoft, Unicom Alliance Set For Failure 微软、中国联通成立产业联盟注定失败
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) continued its long-standing China strategy of launching poorly conceived campaigns last week with its announcement of a new tie-up with carrier China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) to promote its struggling Windows mobile operating system (OS) in the world’s largest mobile market. While the software giant clearly needs to take aggressive steps to challenge Apple and Google in this critical market, this kind of new tie-up looks doomed to failure due to its poor choice of partners and lack of exclusivity.
Xiaomi Ties With Kingsoft in Cloud 小米斥资百万美元购买金山云股权
High profile smartphone maker Xioami is making headlines with word that it has purchased a stake in a unit of software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888), in what could be the first in a new wave of tie-ups for this fast-rising company that aspires to be like global tech giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). I have to admit that I’m not exactly sure what Xiaomi hopes to do with this new tie-up, which has it purchasing around 10 percent of Kingsoft Cloud Group, which is Kingsoft’s cloud computing unit. (Chinese article) The purchase price is quite modest, with Xioami paying just $1.82 million for its 10 percent stake. There’s not much other information in the report, though it does point out that Xioami’s charismatic co-founder Lei Jun is a major stakeholder in Kingsoft.
News Digest: November 8 报摘： 2012年11月8日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- US Trade Panel Approves 5-Year Duties on China Solar Products (English article)
- Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou to Go Public As Soon as Next Year – Source (Chinese article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Launches Independent Fixed-Line Broadband Services (English article)
- 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN) Announces Unaudited 2012 Q3 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to Exclude China From MSN Messenger Phase-Out Next Year (Chinese article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
iPad Mini: Another China Snub; iPad Mini首发再次不含中国大陆
I’m probably beginning to sound a bit redundant by writing about Apple’s (Nasdaq: APPL) latest China snub, but it does seem worth noting that yet another major new product from the world’s biggest tech company won’t be coming to Chinese consumers anytime soon. Meantime, Chinese media are noting that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is seeking to exploit this latest Apple snub by selecting China as one of the launch markets for its new tablet PC. Unfortunately for Microsoft, I don’t think Chinese consumers will really care very much.
China Turns Up Short Seller Counter Attack 中国回击做空投资者
Chinese Internet executives are providing steady entertainment in their recent counter-offensive against short sellers who have attacked their stocks repeatedly for more than a year, with industry elder statesman Lee Kai-Fu now preparing to sue one short-seller over defamation. When the history books are written, Lee, a former high-level executive at both Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), could well emerge as the white knight that ultimately rescued battered Chinese tech companies.
Qihoo Alliance Offensive Targets Baidu 奇虎掀起联姻潮 欲与百度试比高
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is stepping up its challenge to Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) dominance in online search, with word that the security software specialist has formed a new alliance with leading online travel firm Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP). (English article; Chinese article) This new alliance appears to be part of a clever tactic by Qihoo to form new tie-ups with Internet companies that specifically want to see more competition in the Chinese search market and thus are willing to work closely with Qihoo as it embarks on a new online search initiative. Accordingly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more such announcements in the months ahead as Qihoo tries to build up its So.com search engine as a viable alternative to Baidu’s own service that now controls around three-quarters of the market.
China Telecom: French Tie-Up Coming? 中国电信与法国电信结盟初露曙光
Beijing has been sending a steady stream of signals this year indicating it will soon open up its telecoms services market to foreign operators, and it’s looking more and more look like the first big tie-up that will come from this new openness could well be between China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and France Telecom (Paris: FTE). I should be clear here that I don’t have any insider news about such a tie-up, but a growing number of low-key signals indicate a close relationship is fast developing between France’s leading telco and the smallest of China’s 3 major wireless carriers that could soon result in a major announcement.
