After an unsuccessful earlier listing for one of its units, online real estate giant E-House (NYSE: EJ) is preparing to try again with plans for a New York IPO for its Leju division. The company has been quite cagey in this latest listing plan, giving little details about Leju’s background and why the unit deserves its own separate listing. Perhaps that’s because a little checking reveals that this “new” offering is really just a recycled listing for a previous company jointly-owned by E-House and leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). Read Full Post…
Anti-monopoly regulator may need to brandish veto stamp
After years of fragmentation, China’s Internet has undergone a sudden and radical overhaul over the past year, with 3 major firms emerging as major consolidators. The frenzy of new tie-ups and acquisitions has been a welcome development, helping to cool overheated competition in a wide array of sectors where most companies were losing money.
But with the emergence of Alibaba, Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) as the 3 major consolidators, China’s anti-monopoly regulator should start to give closer scrutiny to future deals to avoid too much reduction in the competition necessary to ensure future innovation and consumer choice. Such scrutiny could and should ultimately lead to the veto of some future deals, especially larger ones, by regulators who need to become more assertive in the space. Read Full Post…
The recent window of positive sentiment towards Chinese tech firms continues to fuel a wave of offshore IPO plans, with video sharing site Xunlei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) parent Legend Holdings the latest subjects of new listing rumors. All these reports come as a top New York Stock Exchange executive predicts 15-20 Chinese firms will list in New York this year. (English article) That forecast by David Ethridge, a senior vice president at NYSE Euronext, certainly looks quite bullish, especially compared with only 6 companies that listed in New York last year and just 2 in 2012. But it’s also worth noting the figure is a bit more conservative than another forecast earlier this month from an unnamed investment banking source for as many as 30 New York listings this year. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Announces Q4 And Fiscal Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) Parent Legend Holdings Launches Process For HK IPO (Chinese article)
Xunlei Wins $25 Mln Xiaomi Funding, Prepares for US IPO (English article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo Posts First-Ever Profit As It Moves Toward IPO (Chinese article)
Shanghai To Forbid Use Of Taxi Apps During Rush Hour From March (Chinese article)
We’re getting a better picture of the latest online advertising trends with the recent release of earnings from 3 leading web portals, revealing a looming slowdown for names like Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and Phoenix New Media (NYSE: FENG). Sina and Sohu could offset the slowdown through growth in their newer businesses, which includes Sina’s Weibo microblogging service and Sohu’s search and video services. But everyone could also face more challenges from newcomers like Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU), which is under intense pressure to start monetizing its highly-hyped and fast growing So.com search service. Read Full Post…
Shanda’s Chen throws in the towel with company sale plan
I’ve followed online entertainment entrepreneur Chen Tianqiao for quite some time now, and can completely understand the latest news that he may be ready to throw in the towel by selling his flagship company, Shanda Interactive Entertainment. I remember first running into Chen in Hong Kong back in 2004 at an investor event, shortly before Shanda become China’s first publicly listed online gaming company later that year. Shanda was briefly on top of the world as China’s top Internet gaming firm for a few years after that; but it has run into a non-stop series of headaches since then, causing its value to stagnate as it got passed by more nimble rivals like Tencent (HKEx: 700) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES). Read Full Post…
Leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) is rushing ahead with plans to separately list its Weibo microblogging unit, with word that it’s taken the first major step towards a New York IPO by formally hiring investment banks for the deal. I’ve previously said Sina was likely to accelerate its listing plan, amid growing signs that Weibo’s growth was slowing and users were abandoning the service in favor of Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) more mobile-friendly WeChat. The latest quarterly earnings report just out from Sina adds further reason for pessimism about the upcoming IPO, showing Weibo remains highly dependent on advertising for most of its revenue. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Plans $500 Mln US IPO For Weibo (English article)
Shanda Interactive To Sell 5 Units To Alibaba For $3.2-$3.5 Bln – Sources (Chinese article)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Launches Two New Firefox OS Phones in the ZTE Open Series (Businesswire)
Autohome (NYSE: ATHM) Announces Q4 and Full Year 2013 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba to Increase Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Microblog Stake To 30-50 Pct – Source (English article)
Samsung (Seoul: 005930) Leads Smartphone Sellers In China In Q4 – IDC (Chinese article)
WeChat in new commercial moves with Unicom, Wangfujing Dept Store
Much has been written about the meteoric rise of Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) WeChat mobile instant messaging service, with many drawing parallels to the equally rapid ascent of Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging service starting in 2010. But while Sina has struggled to wring money out of Weibo, Tencent is having much more success with WeChat, as evidenced by news of its latest commercial tie-ups with retailer Wangfujing Department Store and mobile carrier China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU). I have a lot of respect for Sina, which has emerged as a leading information provider in China since it first went public in 2000. But the company has shown itself less adept at earning money, unlike Tencent, which has proven much more skillful at milking cash from its innovative core social networking service (SNS) products. Read Full Post…
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) was one of the best performers of China’s rebounding solar sector last year, and now it’s testing investor appetite for its comeback story with a plan to raise about $200 million by issuing stock and bonds. Investors gave the plan a lukewarm response, sparking a sell off that saw Canadian Solar’s shares drop 7.5 percent after the announcement. Of course it’s also worth noting that Canadian Solar stock rose more than 10-fold last year, as it became the first major player to return to profitability after a prolonged sector downturn. Read Full Post…
