Bottom line: CCTV’s new attacks on LeTV and JD.com reflect its growing assertiveness to counter the rise of new media, and could become more frequent in the months and years ahead.
CCTV takes aim at LeTV, JD.com
The rapid rise of new media is posing a serious challenge to China’s traditional media, which is perhaps partly behind a couple of headlines that have state-run broadcasting giant CCTV leveling separate attacks against online video high-flyer LeTV and e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD). The first case has seen CCTV sue LeTV for copyright infringement related to its popular Lunar New Year’s eve TV program. The second has CCTV airing an investigative report accusing JD.com of offering refurbished iPhones over its site that used unauthorized components, causing some to break down. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Spin Off Smart TV Unit As JV With Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) (English article)
Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) In Merger Talks With iQiyi – Market Talk (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Smartphone Sales Rise 36 Pct To 15 Mln Units In Q1 (Chinese article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Reports Q1 2015 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
Bottom line: Apple’s retention of China’s smartphone crown for a second consecutive quarter is partly due to timing, but also owes to CEO Tim Cook’s new PR campaign that will help to win favor from Beijing and the broader Chinese public.
Apple’s Cook opens Weibo account
Media are fixated today on a new report showing China’s smartphone sales fell for the first time in this year’s first quarter, in a development that shouldn’t surprise anyone due to the market’s supersaturation. But equally impressive in the report is the ongoing surge of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which managed to hold onto its title as the nation’s leading smartphone brand for a second quarter after stealing the crown from the high-flying Xiaomi.
Some may say Apple’s surge is due to timing, since it released its latest iPhones in October, fueling a fourth-quarter sales boom that lingered into the first quarter. That may be partly true, though I personally have to applaud CEO Tim Cook for mounting a very focused campaign to woo both Beijing and average Chinese consumers. In the latest move of that campaign, Cook has just opened his official account on Sina Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), China’s equivalent of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), as he moves to communicate more directly with customers in one of his most important markets. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Sina stands a 50-50 chance of getting a takeover bid within the next year, as suitors eye it for its low valuation, well-respected name and controlling stake of Weibo.
Sina anticipating suitor?
Leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) has become one of China’s perennial Internet underperformers, leading to occasional talk that it might become a takeover target for a larger, better-run peer. Now Sina has just announced its renewal of a “poison pill” plan designed to prevent such a hostile takeover. This particular move looks like a formality rather than indicator of a looming takeover bid, since Sina launched the original plan 10 years ago and perhaps it is now is now set to expire. But the fact that Sina is not only renewing the plan, but doing so in a very public way, indicates it may feel it could become a takeover target in the current hot climate for Chinese Internet M&A. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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At $5 Bln Valuation, Alipay To Buy 25 Pct Stake In Micromax (English article)
China’s BYD (HKEx: 1211) Wins Its Biggest Electric-Bus Order In US (English article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Adopts Continuation Of Previous Shareholder Rights Plan (PRNewswire)
Huawei Targets $5 Bln In Sales This Year For Honor Smartphone Brand (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Shares of Sina and its Weibo unit could come under pressure this week and for the next few months, as the regulator pushes for a clean up of its core news sites amid a broader Internet clean-up campaign.
Regulator clamps down on Sina news sites
A year-old Internet clean-up by Beijing is coming full circle to where it first began, with word that regulators have criticized and warned online stalwart Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) for failing to adequately censor its core web portal business. China Internet followers may recall that this prolonged clean-up began almost exactly a year ago when Sina’s video license was suspended after pornographic content was discovered on its literature and photo-sharing sites. (previous post) That case wasn’t too alarming since video is quite peripheral to Sina’s business. By comparison, this latest case looks a bit more worrisome, since it involves the portal news business that accounts for a big portion of Sina’s core advertising revenue. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Fake Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Watches Flood China As Order-Taking Begins (Chinese article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Faces Suspension Over Lack Of Censorship (English article)
Fake Xiaomi Products Show Up In Germany, Copiers Being Copied (Chinese article)
Color TV Sales Up 13 Pct In Q1, Online-Connected TV Sales Double (Chinese article)
Cloud Service Provider UCloud Wins $100 Mln Series C Funding (English article)
Bottom line: Caixin’s new lawsuit against leading portals Sohu, Sina and Hexun could mark the start of a much-needed clean-up that will end the practice of rampant copyright violations among major Chinese news sites.
Caixin sues Sina, Sohu for illegal copying
I’m giving this week’s special award for bravery to cutting-edge financial news publisher Caixin, which is challenging the widespread illegal copying of copyrighted articles that occurs daily on Chinese news sites. Everyone knows that this kind of piracy is rampant in China, but some might be surprised to learn that companies targeted in Caixin’s new lawsuit include some of China’s top news portals, led by Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). I was also just slightly embarrassed to see that one of the companies being sued is financial news and information site Hexun, which is backed by my former employer Reuters (Toronto: TRI). Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Sogou is likely to list in the second half of the year, but will get a lukewarm reception from investors due to its status as a solid second-tier player without hopes of ever becoming a sector leader.
Sogou eyes H2 IPO
Some 3 months into the New Year, we’re still waiting for the first New York IPO by a Chinese Internet company after a blockbuster year in 2014. Now we’re getting word of a listing that could come in the second half, with news that portal stalwart Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is planning an IPO for its decade-old Sougou search engine in that time frame.
The offering looks very so-so, as Sougou has failed to gain much traction despite its status as one of China’s oldest search players. More broadly speaking, we can probably expect to see more of this kind of ho-hum IPO from second-tier Chinese Internet firms for the rest of the year, since the most exciting players listed during last year’s surge in new offerings. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Baidu’s temporary halting of updates for its mobile operating system is likely to become permanent, and looks like a smart move as it focuses on more efficient ways to boost its mobile market share.
Baidu stops supporting Yun OS
In a move that seemed inevitable, Internet search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has put the brakes on its 3-year-old mobile operating system (OS) that was sapping big resources with little or no chance for long-term success. The move comes just a month after Baidu trumpeted the growing contribution of mobile revenue to its overall business, surpassing traditional desktop PC search revenue for the first time in December. There’s no mention in Baidu’s latest quarterly report of how much of its mobile search revenue came from smartphones equipped with its self-developed mobile operating system, Yun OS, but I suspect the answer was “very little”. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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EU Accuses 3 Chinese Firms Of Non-Compliance With Solar Panel Agreement (Chinese article)
P&G (NYSE: PG) Fined 6 Mln Yuan Over Crest’s Teeth-Whitening Ads (English article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Reports Q4 2014 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
Haier Says First HomeKit Air Con With Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) To Debut In April (Chinese article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Watch Not Yet Setting Chinese Pulses Racing (English article)
