Two highly successful IPOs late last week by Chinese tech firms may officially mark the arrival of spring for such offerings after a long winter. But now that spring has finally come on so strong, the new question becomes: Is an overheated summer on the way? My answer to that question is “quite possibly”, following the very strong debut last Friday for Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) the fast-rising online travel site that hopes to someday take on industry leader Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP). Qunar’s meteoric debut follows the strong opening a day earlier for online classified advertising site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA), which rose 41 percent on its first trading day. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Qunar
News Digest: November 2-4
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 2-4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Doubles In Debut As Chinese Stocks Make US Comeback (English article)
- Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Enter US Handset Market (English article)
- China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Buys 76 Pct Of BicBanko For $720 Mln (HKEx announcement)
- PPTV Won’t Enter Smart TV After Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Investment – CEO (Chinese article)
- Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) In 100MW Supply Deal With 3 Gorges New Energy (PRNewswire)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
China Tech Stocks Back In Vogue With 58.com, Qunar IPOs
How quickly things can change! China tech stocks are suddenly back in vogue on Wall Street after more than 2 years of frigid sentiment, as evidenced by an unexpected surge in demand for 2 new offerings from classified ads site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) and online travel agent Qunar. My initial reaction to the strong demand is relief, since it previously looked like shares of Chinese tech firms might remain in an endless winter after a series of accounting scandals in 2011 that rocked investor confidence. But now I’m just a bit concerned that this sudden explosion in interest may lead to unrealistic expectations for these companies, causing turbulence for their shares.
Qunar Boosts IPO Price Range, NQ Hit Again
Anyone who was worried that the recent short-seller attack on security software provider NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) might hurt broader sentiment towards Chinese firms on Wall Street can relax, following word that 1 of 2 upcoming IPOs is drawing strong investor interest. That’s my quick assessment, based on a report that online travel agent Qunar has sharply boosted the price range for its upcoming IPO that will probably launch in the next few days. That could mean another IPO from online classified jobs site 58.com should also price well later on Thursday before its New York trading debut. Meantime, NQ continues to struggle as it comes under yet another attack and a string of rumors about clients who are cutting business ties with the company. Read Full Post…
IPO Spigot Turns Up With 500.com, Sungy Filings
The long-awaited spring for New York IPOs by Chinese tech firms is quickly gaining momentum, with online lottery site 500.com and app developer Sungy Mobile making their first public filings for new listings. At the same time, online classified advertising site 58.com has provided new data on its first-ever profits as it prepares to list next week. While this sudden flood of offerings looks good for Chinese tech firms that have been waiting up to 2 years to list, the mini-rush also carries the risk of diluting investor attention and dampening demand for some of the smaller players. Read Full Post…
News Digest: October 23, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- 58.com To Make Listing Debut On Oct 31, Qunar On Nov 1 (58.com article; Qunar article)
- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) To Acquire Renren (NYSE: RENN) Assets – Source (English article)
- ZTE (HKEx: 763) Reports Q3 Results (HKEx announcement)
- 8 Private Companies Sign Agreements For VNO Licenses (Chinese article)
- Watsons IPO Could Arm Li Ka-shing To Extend China Lead (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Qunar, Ctrip In Fund-Raising Frenzy
Update: After publishing this originally, a Qunar spokeswoman pointed out that Goldman Sachs was among the investment banks underwriting its IPO. So that changes the tenor of the last part of the post, which says that no premium investment banks were involved in the offering.
A long awaited year-end fund-flurry of fund raising by Chinese tech firms is gaining momentum, with online travel sites Qunar and Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) leading the charge as investor interest finally returns to the market. Qunar has just made the first public filing for its long-delayed IPO, while Ctrip continues to dazzle the markets by raising the size of its recent mega bond offer for the second time, underscoring strong demand from investors. Read Full Post…
News Digest: October 19-21, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 19-21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- News Corp (Nasdaq: NWSA) Sells Remaining Stake In Phoenix (HKEx: 2008) (HKEx: announcement)
- Qunar Sets IPO Price Range, To Raise Up To $147 Mln (Chinese article)
- Hutchison (HKEx: 13) Drops Plan To Sell ParknShop Supermarkets Business (English article)
- China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Win Fixed-Line Network License (Chinese article)
- Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) Video Earns 200 Mln Yuan in ‘Voice of China’ Ad Revenue (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q3 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Ctrip Mega-Bond: Qunar Investment Coming?
Online travel site Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) has just become the latest Chinese Internet company to announce a mega-bond offering, taking advantage of its market-leading status to raise up to $500 million. While the bond itself is interesting, the more intriguing matter is what Ctrip plans to do with the funds. The company says that acquisitions is one possibility, leading me to speculate the company could purchase a stake in fast-rising rival Qunar, or even purchase the company outright. Read Full Post…
Q4 NY IPO Burst Nears, As Market Clean-Up Wraps
I want to use one of my final posts for September to take a look at the IPO outlook for Q4, specifically what we might expect to see for new Chinese offerings in New York in the final 3 months of 2013. When the history books are written, this year will probably go down as one of the weakest in recent memory for New York IPOs by major Chinese firms. But that said, I do still expect to see a small flurry of activity in the fourth quarter, based on recent reports of new listing plans and signs that a 2-year-old purge of dubious Chinese firms from US stock markets may be finally wrapping up. Read Full Post…
Ctrip Flies On Mobile
A new announcement from leading online travel services firm Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) is showing just how important a strong mobile strategy is to the future of Internet companies in China, where legions of consumers now surf the web over their cellphones. Ctrip’s announcement shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone who follows the sector, since most major Internet firms have specifically designated mobile as a key priority area for future growth. Robin Li, founder of leading search company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) early this year officially put himself in charge of the company’s mobile division (previous post); and e-commerce leader Alibaba has also embarked on a major acquisition spree this year with mobile technologies as one of its main focuses. Read Full Post…
