The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Bank of China (HKEx: 3988) Said to Plan 23 Billion Yuan Sale of Sub-Debt (English article)
Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Completes Video Unit Spin-Off in Strong IPO Signal (Chinese article)
NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) Microblog User Base Exceeds 260 Mln (English article)
China’s Finance Ministry Invests 4 Bln Yuan in National Cable Operator (English article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 762) Adds 3.18 Mln Users in September (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
China Solar Panel Imports Investigated by European Union (English article)
China’s Huawei Negotiating Conditions to Join US Hearing (English article)
Update: A short time after I issued this article, Tencent released its formal plan to issue $600 million worth of bonds. The notes will mature in 2018 and carry an interest rate of 3.375 percent (company announcement)
Internet leader Tencent (HKEx: 700) is taking a dip into the corporate bond market, an interesting move that should not only test investor aippetite for a new kind of financial product from China’s Internet space, but may also hint at the company’s future M&A plans as it explores a potential bid for Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI). Longtime China Internet watchers may recall that it’s been quite a long time since any companies from this space have issued corporate debt. Veteran players Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) all issued bonds shortly after becoming profitable about a decade ago, but none really needed the money and largely retired the fund-raising method after that.
Things are looking cloudy for Shanda Interactive, the formerly listed entertainment company whose core online game unit appears to be going through some turmoil even as its more promising online literature unit faces its own separate headwinds. Shanda was once a superstar in its space, making headlines when it became the country’s first new media entertainment firm to make a New York IPO in 2004. But it has struggled in the last 3 years, as its core online game unit Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) saw its growth shrivel and many of its other initiatives bombed.
After piling through the mountain of corporate earnings that have just come out in the last 24 hours, I’ve decided to focus on online game veteran NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), which appears to be at a critical juncture that could simply mark a pause in its recent rise or be the beginning of a longer-term decline. NetEase has been one of the most resilient companies throughout the current confidence crisis for US-listed China stocks, perhaps due to its status as one of China’s oldest publicly listed Internet firms and also due to solid performance from its core online game business.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Haier Terminates Partnership with 360Buy/Jingdong Mall (English article)
Internet portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is testing one of the worst IPO markets in recent memory with plans for listing one of its online gaming units, serving up a massive dividend and mildly upbeat quarterly results to generate hype for what otherwise looks to me like a very so-so offering. This latest plan comes against a broader backdrop of a dismal IPO market that has seen just 1 major offering for a Chinese firm in the US this year, as international investors shun Chinese stocks after a steady stream of accounting scandals that began more than a year ago. Further limiting its chances for success, this latest offering plan comes in the relatively uninspired online game sector, which is already quite competitive and where overseas investors already have a number of other choices in the form of companies such as NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) and Perfect World (Nasdaq: PRWD), as well as Sohu’s own separately listed gaming unit Changyou (Nasdaq: CYOU).
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.
Second-quarter earnings season and the London Olympics won’t begin until next week, but we’re already seeing signs that an ad slowdown is hitting profits at many Chinese Internet companies as they get set to report their latest results. Specifically, media are reporting China’s top 4 portals have decided to skip expensive rights for live coverage of Olympic events, and instead are opting to provide less pricey video-on-demand (VOD) rights that allow Internet users to watch recordings of their favorite sports after the events. (English article)
July is becoming the season for high-level resignations at Chinese Internet firms, with media reporting the new departures of top officials at Jingdong Mall, one of China’s top e-commerce sites, as well as the web portal unit of online game firm NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES). Those departures, if correct, would follow the similar resignation earlier this week of the chief operating officer at Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO), China’s second largest video sharing site, which is currently merging with industry leader Youku (NYSE: YOKU). (previous post)
Leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) is solidifying its place as China’s top online game company, following the announcement that it has entered into a long-term strategic alliance with US-based Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leading global game developer. (company announcement) This new tie-up is interesting for a number of reasons, marking not only the latest in a recent string of strategic moves for Tencent but also for its implications for Activision’s hugely popular World of Warcraft game, which it currently licenses to rival online game operator NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES).
Things are looking cloudy for Shanda Interactive, the formerly listed entertainment company whose core online game unit appears to be going through some turmoil even as its more promising online literature unit faces its own separate headwinds. Shanda was once a superstar in its space, making headlines when it became the country’s first new media entertainment firm to make a New York IPO in 2004. But it has struggled in the last 3 years, as its core online game unit Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) saw its growth shrivel and many of its other initiatives bombed.
After piling through the mountain of corporate earnings that have just come out in the last 24 hours, I’ve decided to focus on online game veteran NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES), which appears to be at a critical juncture that could simply mark a pause in its recent rise or be the beginning of a longer-term decline. NetEase has been one of the most resilient companies throughout the current confidence crisis for US-listed China stocks, perhaps due to its status as one of China’s oldest publicly listed Internet firms and also due to solid performance from its core online game business.
Second-quarter earnings season and the London Olympics won’t begin until next week, but we’re already seeing signs that an ad slowdown is hitting profits at many Chinese Internet companies as they get set to report their latest results. Specifically, media are reporting China’s top 4 portals have decided to skip expensive rights for live coverage of Olympic events, and instead are opting to provide less pricey video-on-demand (VOD) rights that allow Internet users to watch recordings of their favorite sports after the events. (
July is becoming the season for high-level resignations at Chinese Internet firms, with media reporting the new departures of top officials at Jingdong Mall, one of China’s top e-commerce sites, as well as the web portal unit of online game firm NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES). Those departures, if correct, would follow the similar resignation earlier this week of the chief operating officer at Tudou (Nasdaq: TUDO), China’s second largest video sharing site, which is currently merging with industry leader Youku (NYSE: YOKU). (
Leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) is solidifying its place as China’s top online game company, following the announcement that it has entered into a long-term strategic alliance with US-based Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), a leading global game developer. (
