Internet titan Tencent (HKEx: 700) is wasting little time in its search for synergies with its growing stable of strategic partners, with word of a new tie-up between its popular WeChat instant messaging service and its search partner Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU). The new partnership will see WeChat provide exclusive access to its huge volumes of user-generated content for indexing by Sohu’s Sogou search engine. The alliance comes just 9 months after Tencent and Sohu announced an equity tie-up that saw the 2 companies combine their search businesses to form China’s third largest player. Read Full Post…
China’s online video sites, still reeling from a recent government crackdown on 4 of their most popular TV series, are gearing up for a second round of pain, with word that some of the nation’s top TV stations are launching a new assault on the group of media newcomers. The latest battle in this budding war between traditional and new media has big-name TV stalwarts like CCTV and Hunan Satellite Television reportedly preparing to stop allowing some of their most popular shows to be viewed over sites operated by major online operators like Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) iQiyi. Read Full Post…
You know that things are bad when leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) doesn’t issue a press release trumpeting its recent receipt of simultaneous broadcast rights for the highly hyped return of the US television series “24”. That’s my conclusion after having to read about this relatively big win for Youku in the news headlines rather than a company press release. In fact, Youku Tudou may deliberately want to downplay this latest triumph to avoid attracting Beijing censors who have recently started banning some popular US television series from online video sites. Read Full Post…
Just a day after getting some extremely worrisome news that could see many of its most popular offerings censored, leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) has announced a more positive development in the form of a $1.22 billion investment led by e-commerce leader Alibaba. The move is part of Alibaba’s recent buying binge, which has already included a handful of investments of this size, as it tries to get into every area of the Internet imaginable. The tie-up does have some positive elements that could help Youku Tudou, and comes as a slight surprise since media were reporting just a month ago that the company was preparing to sell a similar stake to Alibaba rival Tencent (HKEx: 700). Read Full Post…
The week ahead could be a rough one for Chinese online video stocks, with word that the government agency in charge of screening content has ordered the removal of 4 popular US television series from services including Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and Tencent Video (HKEx: 700). Word has circulated for the last few weeks that this kind of a move might be coming, but this looks like the official launch of a new rule that will make these fast-growing video sites subject to the same strict censorship rules that apply to all foreign movies, TV shows, music and other published material entering China. That could mean headaches for the video site operators, which in all fairness do increasingly look like TV station operators. Read Full Post…
China Internet titans should consider stepping down
Web portal Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU) was in the headlines last week as founder and longtime chief executive Charles Zhang discussed a major restructuring for one of China’s oldest Internet companies to ensure its long-term survival. (Chinese article) His disclosure put Sohu alongside most of China’s other major Internet companies in announcing such plans, as each seeks to chart a new course in a rapidly changing environment. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 12-14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Jumei.com Files For New York IPO To Raise Up to $400 Mln (Chinese article)
Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Announces up to $500 Mln Share Repurchase Program (PRNewswire)
AutoNavi (Nasdaq: AMAP) Agrees to Be Acquired by Alibaba (English article)
Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) CEO Zhang Prepares For Change, Eyes Common Netizens (Chinese article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Updates Q1 2014 Guidance (PRNewswire)
Fast rising search operators Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and Sogou may be challenging sector heavyweight Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in terms of market share, but they’re having far more difficulty finding an audience among advertisers that are the sector’s main revenue source. That’s my main conclusion after seeing the latest data for all 3 companies, which show Qihoo and Sogou making steady gains in terms of search traffic but failing to translate those gains into meaningful revenue. Read Full Post…
Xunlei and 55tuan have emerged as 2 of the biggest orphans in the rapidly consolidating online video and group buying spaces, respectively, putting pressure on both to find partners to boost their chances for long-term survival. The pair were in separate headlines this week in their search for new tie-ups, with Xunlei selling a major stake of itself to software maker Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) and 55tuan reportedly in talks to sell some or all of itself to security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). Read Full Post…
The ongoing cleanup of neglected Chinese firms from US stock exchanges continues, with word that online game developer Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) has finalized its plan to go private. A report on the bid says that several other Chinese online game firms are also planning privatizations, as former industry leader Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) is also in the midst of its own such bid. It’s not hard to see why these companies are going private, as their shares have gone nowhere for years due to anemic growth. But what’s interesting here is the prospect that some of the private equity firms funding this wave of buy-outs could finally force a few of these companies to merge and create a more vibrant major new player with real growth potential. Read Full Post…
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…
