Bottom line: NetEase’s withdrawal from microblogging represents a broader decline for the overall sector, and is likely to put downward pressure on Weibo shares over the medium to longer term.
NetEase microblog withdrawal looks bad for Weibo
Media reports that web stalwart NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) will finally shutter its microblogging service don’t come as a big surprise, since it’s been years since anyone has posed a challenge to the dominance of sector leader Weibo (Nasdaq: WB). But what does come as a slight surprise was the reaction to the news in Weibo’s share price. One would normally expect Weibo shares to rally on news of a competitor’s demise, but instead Weibo’s shares actually fell nearly 4 percent in the latest trading session. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Announces September Quarter 2014 Results (Businesswire)
Nissan (Tokyo: 7201) Cuts Global Sales Outlook On China Slowdown (English article)
China’s PICC P&C (HKEx: 2328) Plans To Raise $1.2 Bln In Rights Offer (English article)
Qatar Investment Authority, Citic Group Set Up $10 Bln Investment Fund (Chinese article)
Former Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Exec Chen Tong Joins Xiaomi Content Team (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Sohu’s latest results hint at lingering weakness in online games and Internet advertising, while online video also continues to suffer amid a regulatory crackdown.
Sohu looks weak in games, advertising
The latest results from diversified web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) are quite a mixed bag, with its lackluster search business finally showing some promising signs of accelerating growth, even as its core advertising and online gaming businesses sputter. Then there’s its money-losing online video business, which is facing a growing number of hurdles due to a regulatory crackdown, just as the unit looks set to make a minor acquisition that probably won’t add very much to its future prospects. Read Full Post…
The names of top executives from some of the world’s leading tech firms have filled the headlines these last 2 days, as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg and IBM (NYSE: IBM) CEO Virginia Rometty visit China to promote their companies. But today I wanted to focus on a far less known Chinese Internet pioneer, Chen Tong, who is making headlines in his native China as he steps down at Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), the country’s leading web portal and one of its earliest Internet companies.
Perhaps one reason I’m attracted to Chen’s story is because he comes from a background similar to my own, starting out as a journalist when he joined a company in 1997 that would later lead to his employer of nearly 2 decades. Anyone who knows the Chinese Internet realizes that 2 decades is really the entire history of the medium in China, and Chen’s early arrival and wide popularity among industry veterans is drawing widespread praise and some sadness as he steps down. Read Full Post…
New sales data for August is showing that China’s cellphone market is rapidly cooling due to saturation, putting even more pressure on domestic brands that have engaged in a battle for share that has resulted in plummeting prices. At the same time, a separate report is showing that mobile advertising is zooming, in a development that’s almost certain to mean big headaches for companies like Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) that depend heavily on advertisers that traditionally targeted desktop PC users. The pair of trends both cast a spotlight on how quickly things can change in the tech and media landscapes, putting huge pressure on established companies to innovate and spend heavily to translate their leadership into emerging areas. Read Full Post…
Two major news events were at the center of the microblogging realm this past week, as tech executives from across the spectrum commented on the blockbuster IPO for Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and the debut of latest iPhone from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Executives were generally full of praise for the Alibaba IPO, which shattered numerous records when the stock began trading last Friday in New York. But there were also some hints of jealousy, as top executives from fast-fading e-commerce rival Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) suffered from valuation envy.
Meantime, domestic smartphone makers Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) took advantage of the iPhone’s formal launch last Friday to tout their own products, which are far cheaper and enjoy a reputation for reasonable quality. But unlike the iPhone, Huawei and ZTE still suffer from the “Made in China” stigma, and don’t command anything near the level of respect and buzz that the iPhone gets. Read Full Post…
A couple of separate reports are shining a spotlight on some of the shenanigans happening at former social networking (SNS) superstar Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), and also on its dimming prospects as it gets overtaken by more nimble, innovative rivals. The first and more entertaining of those reports details how Weibo routinely inflates the number of followers for some of the most popular people on its service through use of phantom “zombie” accounts. The second details a worrisome trend that says the number of mobile users for Weibo dropped sharply in August, hinting at problems ahead in this high-growth area. Read Full Post…
The year 2014 could well go down as the “Year of the Crackdown”, as evidenced by 2 more such crackdowns in the headlines as we head in autumn. The first and larger of the pair comes in the online video space, where media are reporting the broadcasting regulator is finalizing rules that would severely limit the amount of foreign content on online video sites. Meantime, a more mild crackdown is also coming in the e-commerce space, where separate reports are saying another regulator is rolling out rules that will punish companies that overstate their transaction volumes. Read Full Post…
Corporate culture is seldom on public display for most of China’s top tech firms, even though such culture often determines the success or failure of a company and is well known to industry insiders. The internal cultures at PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 922) and smartphone sensation Xiaomi were the subject of chatter in the blogosphere this past week, as executives from inside and outside the companies discussed the less visible side of these well-known names. In Lenovo’s case, the talk came from a company executive herself, on the release of her new book. The latter saw a couple of outside executives comment on less attractive elements behind the inside culture at China’s hottest smartphone maker.
Meantime, the viral “Ice Bucket Challenge” was also all over the tech sphere, with nearly every major executive mentioning the topic on his personal microblog. Many also took the plunge that raises money for a rare neurological disease, but has also been derided as little more than a publicity stunt. Read Full Post…
Beijing’s crackdown on excessive spending by officials has claimed one of its first victims in the media sector, with word that leading independent broadcaster Phoenix Satellite TV’s (HKEx: 2008) profits tumbled in the first half of the year due to flagging revenue from luxury goods advertisers. The news isn’t all that surprising, since Beijing’s crackdown has been going on for more than a year now. Now we’ll have wait and see how long the slowdown lasts, whether it intensifies, and who else is most vulnerable. Read Full Post…
I wrote earlier this week about a looming crackdown on private Internet-based video providers, and now that campaign appears to be building momentum with word of turbulence in the booming set-top box sector. The latest reports say industry veteran LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) has withdrawn its set-top box product from the market, while e-commerce giant Alibaba is reportedly delaying the roll-out of its own similar product. The reports certainly don’t bode well for the fledgling sector of set-top boxes, which allow people to watch Internet-based video content on their TVs the same way they watch programs using traditional TV channels. Read Full Post…
