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Tag Archives: Qunar
Qunar company news. Find out the latest breaking news for Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (QUNR).
Overview of an expert, doug Young.
Qunar, one of China’s largest online travel booking platforms, plans to expand its mobile business with a new $500 million investment
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Ant Financial Finance Arm Said to Seek at Least $1.5 Bln (English article)
New World (HKEx: 17) to Prepare Buyout Offer for $7 Billion China Unit – Source (English article)
Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Names New CEO, CFO, COO (GlobeNewswire)
Smartphone Maker Meizu Cuts 5 Pct of Headcount to Boost Competitiveness (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Co-Founder Li Wanqiang Returns to Head Xiaomi Pictures Division (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Rumors that Shanghai Media Group is in talks for a strategic stake of Baidu’s iQiyi could quite possibly be true, with an investment of about $3 billion likely in exchange for half of the company.
iQiyi talking tie-up with SMG?
The New Year is starting with a salient rumor from the online video space, with reports that the new media investment arm of Shanghai Media Group (SMG) may be eyeing a major stake purchase of Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi. The reports aren’t being widely circulated in the Chinese media yet, which suggests they may not be accurate. The head of SMG’s China Media Capital (CMC), which would reportedly make the investment, has also previously said he’s not interested in online video assets right now.
But such a tie-up would be quite consistent with Baidu’s recent strategy of selling major stakes in its non-core businesses to strategic partners. From SMG’s perspective, such a deal would also make sense, as it plays catch-up with both private companies and also state-owned rival Hunan Broadcasting in the fast-evolving online video space. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 1-4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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New Rumors of iQiyi Acquisition Plan by China Media Capital (CMC) (Chinese article)
Suning Invests 1.9 Bln Yuan in ZTE’s (HKEx: 763) Nubia Smartphone Unit (Chinese article)
China Southern, Hainan Air Suspend Sales Over Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) (Chinese article)
Movie Ticket Sales Jump 48 Pct in China, But Hollywood Has Reason to Worry (English article)
O2O Crowdsourced Delivery App Dada Lands $300 Mln Series D Funding – Source (English article)
Bottom line: New acquisitions by China Lodging and Tongcheng reflect consolidation in China’s travel industry, which is likely to accelerate in 2016 as the nation’s economy slows.
China Lodging goes upmarket with new buy
Two smaller acquisitions from the travel realm are in the headlines as we close out 2015, with China Lodging (Nasdaq: HTHT) and Tongcheng both buying domestic companies. The first deal will see China Lodging, operator of the HanTing budget hotel chain, purchase a smaller operator called Hotel Home. The other comes in the related travel services space, and has Tongcheng buying a smaller rival called Shanghai MCTS.
Neither of these deals looks extremely exciting as both are quite small, but both do reflect a recent wave of consolidation that is sweeping China’s fragmented travel industry. Industry veteran Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) is emerging as the clear leader and top consolidator in the travel services space. The hotel space is a bit less clear, with China Lodging, Homeinns (Nasdaq: HMIN) and Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006; Shanghai: 600574) all jockeying for position in that space. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Ganji Founder to Yang Haoyong Leaves as 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) Co-CEO, Joins Guazi.com (PRNewswire)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Leads $200 Mln Investment in Mobile Short Video App ‘Miaopai‘ (English article)
UnionPay, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Said to Reach Apple Pay Agreement for China (English article)
Bottom line: Tuniu’s new tie-up with HNA looks like a smart move that could position it as a leading provider of resort vacation packages, and could also signal the rise of a meaningful rival to industry leader Ctrip.
Tuniu travels to Hainan with HNA
Leading online travel site Ctrip(Nasdaq: CTRP) has emerged as the loser in a recent bidding war for a stake in smaller rival Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR), which has just announced a new alliance that will see it receive a $500 million investment from one of China’s top traditional travel companies. This latest in a recent flurry of deals from the travel space will see HNA Tourism get about a quarter of Tuniu’s shares for its investment, making it Tuniu’s largest shareholder.
HNA Tourism is a unit of HNA Group, one of China’s more dynamic state-run investors that is also parent of Hainan Airlines (Shanghai: 600221), one of the country’s best-run airlines. Based in the tourism-friendly island of Hainan, HNA certainly looks like a logical and well-connected partner for Tuniu, even though media were reporting last week that the more entrepreneurial Ctrip was in talks for a similar deal. (previous post) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: A new alliance between some of China’s largest hotel operators is the latest reaction to Ctrip’s growing clout in the travel services sector, and could lead the anti-trust regulator to take remedial action next year.
Hotel operators band together against Ctrip
An increasingly powerful Ctrip(Nasdaq: CTRP) is in the headlines as the new week begins, with word that some of China’s top hotel operators are banding together to protest what they see as unreasonable demands by the online travel services giant. News of this action is once again spotlighting Ctrip’s recent purchase of big stakes in nearly all of its major rivals, in a bid to reduce the rampant competition that has plagued the industry over the last 2 years.
I wrote about this issue just last week, when media reported that Ctrip was in talks to take a stake in travel package site operator Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR), one of the few major players that doesn’t have an equity alliance with Ctrip. (previous post) I observed that such a tie-up would help Ctrip by neutering one of its last major domestic rivals. That could ultimately draw the attention of China’s anti-trust regulator, which until now hasn’t taken any action to break-up near monopolies in many of the country’s Internet spaces. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Ctrip’s recent series of equity tie-ups, including a new rumored deal with Tuniu, could prompt the anti-monopoly regulator to take action to preserve competition in China’s online travel market.
Ctrip eyes new travel tie-up with Tuniu
A strong earnings report from online travel titan Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and word of a potential new business alliance with a major rival has ignited the company’s shares, which soared 14 percent after it released its latest financials. Ctrip has become a master at the strategic tie-up, buying stakes in most of its rivals over the last 2 years without actually acquiring any of them.
That strategy seems designed to make sure its rivals act more friendly and aren’t competitors, which will help support its profits by reducing the constant price wars that have plagued the industry for much of the last 2 years. The only problem is that such actions have distinctively anti-competitive overtones, and could well draw the attention of China’s anti-monopoly regulator. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Weak share reaction to Ming Yang’s new buyout offer and a low valuation for Giant Interactive’s China backdoor listing reflect weakening investor sentiment towards poorly performing Chinese Internet companies.
Chilly reaction for Ming Yang buyout plan
After a brief period of relative quiet, movement is picking up again in the tide of Chinese companies privatizing from New York to re-list back in China. This time former new-energy high flyer Ming Yang (NYSE: MY) announced it has received a management-led buyout offer, becoming the latest firm to receive such an offer. Meantime in China, one of the earlier firms to privatize, gaming company Giant Interactive, has taken the latest step for a backdoor listing in Shenzhen using a shell company called New Century Cruises. (Shenzhen: 002258).
But in an interesting twist to the homeward migration story, a chilly reception from investors seems to reflecting shriveling interest in these poorly performing Chinese companies. In the Giant story, the proposed new valuation for the company looks quite low — far less than what Giant was worth when it de-listed from New York in 2013. That’s quite a switch from what Giant’s talkative chief was saying just 4 months ago, when he boasted his company might be able to get valued as much as 5 times the $3 billion it was worth when it was still listed in New York. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Baidu’s new upscale online shopping mall looks more focused and well designed than its earlier e-commerce initiatives, but could have a difficult time finding an audience due to stiff competition.
Baidu tries e-commerce again with upscale mall
Online search leader Baidu(Nasdaq: BIDU) is hoping the third time is the charm for its drive into e-commerce, with the formal launch of its new online mall with a distinctly foreign flavor targeting high-end shoppers. I’ve followed Baidu for a long time now, and the company certainly has a poor track record in e-commerce and more broadly for homegrown initiatives like this latest one called Baidu Mall.
But that said, the company has found more success recently by buying assets outside its core online search area, and then giving them access to its own vast cash and other resources to help them quickly gain market share. Perhaps it’s hoping to use that strategy as well for the newly launched Baidu Mall, even though the platform itself seems to be Baidu’s own creation rather than an acquisition. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: An aggressive new share buy-back and tie-up between its Qunar unit and former rival Ctrip could indicate a new pragmatism from Baidu chief Robin Li, signaling a potential new era of more realistic spending on its emerging businesses.
Baidu jumps on mixed report
Investors hoping for new signs of restrained spending in the latest results from Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) were disappointed, as China’s leading search engine continued a recent spending frenzy that has sharply eroded profits. But that didn’t stop those same investors from bidding up Baidu’s shares after release of its third-quarter results, leading me to believe they’re hoping the spending frenzy may soon start to subside. We saw some signs that may be happening earlier this week, following a landmark tie-up between Baidu’s Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) online travel site and former archrival Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP).
Despite its frenetic expansion outside its core search business over the last year, Baidu remains largely a one-trick pony, deriving most of its revenue from its core online search business. It has found some success in some newer areas, such as online video, travel services and group buying. But the reality is that those businesses are still quite small in terms of revenue contribution, and all are losing big money as Baidu allows them to spend heavily in pursuit of market share. Read Full Post…
