I love a good case of irony, which is why I was amused to read that software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is suing leading search firm Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) for unfair competition. The irony lies in the fact that Qihoo is notorious for using underhanded tactics against its rivals and is now accusing Baidu of similar behavior. Perhaps Qihoo should instead be congratulating Baidu for winning over its rival to the Dark Side. Meantime in separate legal news, up-and-coming smartphone maker Xiaomi is being sued for the second time in a week in relation to its smart TV products, hinting that this new product area could face an uphill battle from a flood of litigation. Read Full Post…
After seeing its stock price quadruple over the last year on huge expectations for its online search service, Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) must be feeling some pressure to start delivering returns to investors who have bet on the company’s strong growth potential. That’s the most positive explanation I can find for a sudden slew of complaints against Qihoo from other Internet executives who accuse the company of tinkering with their software. Those accusations have produced an entertaining war of words on the Twitter-like Weibo service between Qihoo Chairman Zhou Hongyi and top executives from smartphone maker Xiaomi, software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) and web portal operator Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). (previous post) Read Full Post…
Any semblance of harmony between Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou online search engine and spurned suitor Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has quickly disappeared with a new series of lawsuits between the 2 sides for unfair competition and defamation. I’m not too surprised by this latest development, since Sohu and Qihoo are headed by 2 of China’s most opinionated and difficult Internet entrepreneurs, Charles Zhang and Zhou Hongyi. But I am somewhat surprised by how quickly relations have soured between these 2 companies, following Zhang’s decision last week to sell a strategic stake in Sogou to leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700). That decision, which came after months of talks, was a sharp rebuke to Qihoo, which had also been aggressively courting Zhang and Sogou. Read Full Post…
Thank goodness! That’s my first and main reaction to news that after months of tortured courtship, Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) has finally selected Tencent (HKEx: 700) as the winning suitor of its Sogou search engine, beating out rivals Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU). I have to admit the selection of Tencent came as a bit of a surprise, since I had expected Qihoo to win the contest for one of China’s older and less appreciated search engines. Read Full Post…
Anyone who believes in a bright future for security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) will probably say that buyers of $600 million worth of newly issued company convertible bonds got a great deal based on the conversion price. The bonds may indeed be a good bargain if Qihoo can come even close to realizing some of the hopes that many investors are holding for the company following its rapid gains into the lucrative online search space formerly dominated by Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU). The closing of this bond sale looks equally interesting to me, as it could indicate that Qihoo may finally sign a deal to buy Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou search engine, significantly boosting its search presence after months of protracted negotiations. Read Full Post…
China notched a major milestone in its fight against economic crime last week when it levied a record fine against a rogue securities brokerage and significantly raised the maximum penalty for trademark infringement. Both cases showed that Beijing is determined to significantly raise the penalties that companies and their employees face for economic crimes like trademark theft and insider trading. Read Full Post…
Software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) is pouncing on a recent rally in its shares to announce a massive new bond offering, becoming the latest in a select group of top Chinese tech firms to raise big new funds as investor enthusiasm returns to the sector. Following its announcement of upbeat earnings earlier this week, Qihoo has followed with word of the plan to offer senior 5-year notes worth $600 million. To put things in perspective, that amount is equal to more than 6 percent of the company’s market value, which is already quite inflated after Qihoo’s shares have nearly quadrupled over the last year. Read Full Post…
LightInTheBox flirts with IPO price after weak earnings
The latest developments for New York listed e-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) and Singapore-listed China Mingzhong Food (Singapore: MINZ) are showing just how fragile a nascent turnaround for battered overseas-listed Chinese stocks could be. Shares of the recently listed LightInTheBox have plunged over the last week following a weak earnings report, bringing them close to their IPO level after an initial surge in their June trading debut. Meantime, Mingzhong shares have plunged even more rapidly, losing half their value after a short seller attack questioning some of the company’s financials. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile (HKEx: 941) On Cusp Of Deal To Sell iPhone By Year End (Chinese article)
Alibaba In Talks With HKEx On Ownership Structure Ahead Of IPO-Sources (English article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Reorganize Handset Business (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Q2 Results (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360, Sogou Search Traffic Share Up 1 Percentage Pt In July (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 17-19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Goldman, Morgan Stanley In Talks To Buy Stake In China’s Huarong: FT (English article)
China Seen Probing IBM, Oracle, EMC After Snowden Leaks (English article)
Two months after reports first emerged that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) was looking to sell its Sogou search engine, it appears a sale may finally be imminent to security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). If indeed the latest reports are true, the big winner from such a sale would be Qihoo, which would combine its own so.com search service with Sogou to create a major new player with a quarter of China’s search market. China tech watchers like myself will also be happy to see this story finally disappear from the headlines, following a non-stop string of mixed signals since early May from Sohu’s fickle and frustrated founder and Chairman Charles Zhang. Read Full Post…
