Two big news stories were at the center of heated discussion in of the microblogging realm this past week, led by Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) high profile dispute with one of China’s main business regulators over accusations of being soft on piracy. At the same time, Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) roll-out of advertisements on its WeChat mobile messsaging platform also drew lots of comments, as users were suddenly greeted with unsolicited messages in the popular Moments feature that functions much like Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) newsfeeds.
Of course no weekly microblogging round-up would be complete without a mention of the media savvy Xiaomi, which was once again creating buzz after an embarrassing gaffe by global marketing chief Hugo Barra. That gaffe saw Barra use a politically incorrect version of a map of India in one of his presentations, showing India as the correct owner of parts of a disputed area of its long border with China. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699) Says 4 Investors To Put $3.9 Bln Into 20 New Malls (English article)
Wanda Cinema Line Issues Stock At Low Price, Well Below Other Valuations (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Forms Logistics, Financing Unit (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Best Buy’s sale of its Five Star chain represents a long-overdue withdrawal from traditional retailing in China, and it would be wise to consider an e-commerce option if it tries to return later.
Best Buy sells Five Star chain
Some might see retailing giant Best Buy’s (NYSE: BBY) newly announced sale of its Five Star electronics chain as a retreat from China, but I would personally congratulate the company for a shrewd move that was long overdue. That’s because traditional retailing is rapidly dying in China, as shoppers opt for the convenience, better selection and lower prices of e-commerce. What’s more, the traditional electronics retailing sector is already overcrowded and highly competitive, dominated by big national chains led by Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) and Gome (HKEx: 493) Read Full Post…
Bottom line: After a slow start, China’s VNO program is picking up momentum, with new operators poised to sign up a collective 50 million in total subscribers as soon as the middle of next year.
VNOs gain momentum
After a decidedly slow start in their first half year of life, China’s young crop of virtual network operators (VNOs) are starting to show some new signs of momentum, including a boost with the new awards of licenses to leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) and fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi. The VNO program is part of Beijing’s efforts to breathe new life into the telecoms services sector by opening it up to new private operators that can compete with the big 3 state-run telcos. But the program has been plagued with glitches since the first new services launched in the spring, with the result that progress has been slower than expected. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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30 Pct Of Traditional Retail Stores To Close In Future – Suning VP (Chinese article)
Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) Zuckerberg Says To Start Hiring In China Next Year (Chinese article)
I decided to write about leading online video site Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) today after reading a new report that says the company has posted a hefty 1.77 billion yuan ($290 million) in losses since its New York IPO 4 years ago. A little math will show that translates to average losses of about $20 million in each of the approximately 15 reporting quarters since it went public in December 2010. Much has changed in China’s online video space over that time, including a recent regulatory campaign to stop Youku Tudou and its peers from competing directly with traditional TV stations. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China’s Fosun (HKEx: 656) Fights Back With Counterbid For Club Med (Paris: CU) (English article)
Sinopec (HKEx: 386) Sells $17.5 Bln Retail Unit Stake to Investors (English article)
S&P Dow JonesIndices Says Alibaba Could Be Added To Global Benchmarks (English article)
Total Active Users On Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) App Down by 10.95 Pct in August 2014 (English article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Makes Low-Key Entry To Cross-Border E-Commerce (Chinese article)
People like myself who were holding out big hopes for a new crop of private firms challenging the 3 big state telcos will be disappointed to learn that the group of virtual network operators (VNOs) are off to a glacially slow start, boding poorly for the program. It’s obviously way too early to call the program a failure, since it’s only 3 months since the first private VNOs were launched. To consumers these VNOs look the same and offer similar services to the 3 existing state-run telcos. But the VNOs don’t actually own any telecoms networks, and instead must lease network capacity from the traditional carriers. Read Full Post…
Worrisome signs of a crackdown are growing in the online video sector, where a field of young private firms rolling out a new generation of TV-like products are facing strong resistance from traditional television stations. The latest signs of turmoil are coming from PPTV, a former industry leader that is slowly getting carved up among investors as it is forced to scrap some of its most promising new products. The former high-flyer is showing up in 2 separate headlines today, including one that has seen it shelve its TV set-top box product. The other headline has the company selling 10 percent of itself to Phoenix Publishing & Media (Shanghai: 601928), marking its third major stake sale in the last year as it slowly gets carved up among a group of diverse investors. Read Full Post…
Chinese tech executives were waxing nostalgic on their microblogs this past week, reflecting a broader seasonal business slowdown as we head into the quiet summer months when many people go on vacation. The flurry of memories from top executives at smartphone maker Xiaomi, security software maker Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) and e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) came as a nice break from the usual promotional hype in the microblogging realm, and shows that even executives need to take a break periodically from their usual self-promotion.
While the airwaves were mostly empty of the usual hype, another Xiaomi executive was still at work with his hints that the company has applied for a virtual network operator (VNO) license to offer telecoms services. That move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, since a wide range of Chinese tech firms have also applied for such licenses, which allow them to offer mobile service under their own brand names to attract new users for their core products. Read Full Post…
Technology giant Legend Holdings has grabbed headlines in recent days with news of a record investment by its private equity arm in a leading British pizza chain, its first major overseas foray. The deal saw Legend’s Hony Capital agree to pay $1.6 billion for the PizzaExpress chain, as part of a growing trend by Chinese firms to invest in the overseas food and retail sectors.
The purchase comes as Legend gears up for an IPO as early as later this year, offering investors a chance to buy into a diversified group whose biggest asset is its controlling stake in PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). But the bigger headline in the Legend story is reports that the company is strongly considering staging its listing in Hong Kong rather than its native China. Read Full Post…
