After moving extremely slowly throughout the year, the telecoms regulator is suddenly surprising everyone with a flurry of major new announcements in the final weeks of 2013. First the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued long-awaited 4G wireless licenses earlier this month, and now we’re learning that it has just issued its first batch of virtual network operator (VNO) licenses. This sudden issue of VNO licenses comes as a bit of a surprise, since there were no advance indications for the timing and many believed the MIIT wouldn’t make the move until next spring. Read Full Post…
More mixed signals are coming from the IPO space, with listing candidate 500.com raising the price range for its shares indicating that demand is better than previously thought. The lifting of the range for its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) comes just a day after 2 recently listed Internet companies, Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) and LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), announced new quarterly results that showed both were losing money. In what could be another piece of IPO news, Internet aspirant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) has made a high profile move outside China by opening an R&D center in the US, leading me to speculate that perhaps the company could be eying an offshore IPO in the next year or two. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 21. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Hundreds Of Chinese Nokia Workers Protest At Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Deal (English article)
Unicom (HKEx: 762), Huawei Partner To Offer Internet TV In Qingdao (English article)
Chalco (HKEx: 2600) Vice President Li Dongguang Under Investigation (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Sets Up Silicon Valley R&D Center (Chinese article)
500.com Raises Price Range For IPO To $11-$13 Per ADS, From Previous $9-$11 (Chinese article)
Sometimes it seems like I’m living in slow motion when I write about China telecoms, since major developments in the sector often drag on for months past their expected launch dates. That’s been the case for 3 major new initiatives that could inject important new life into the space, even though rumored launch dates for all 3 have passed numerous times. The latest news bits on all 3 indicate things are still moving ahead, meaning perhaps we will someday soon see the announcement of licenses for 4G mobile service and new virtual network operators (VNOs), as well as the launch of a new national broadband network operator.Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 2-4. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Qunar (Nasdaq: QUNR) Doubles In Debut As Chinese Stocks Make US Comeback (English article)
Lenovo (HKEx: 992) To Enter US Handset Market (English article)
China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) Buys 76 Pct Of BicBanko For $720 Mln (HKEx announcement)
PPTV Won’t Enter Smart TV After Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Investment – CEO (Chinese article)
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) In 100MW Supply Deal With 3 Gorges New Energy (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939) In Talks To Buy Brazil’s BicBanco: Source (English article)
After shopping around for an investor for much of this year, money-losing video sharing site PPTV has finally found a new patron in retailing giant Suning (Shenzhen: 002024). I’m quite happy to see this latest development in China’s rapidly consolidating online video space, as it means I can finally stop writing about all the latest rumors that have popped up for the last 6 months surrounding PPTV. Rumors of this particular tie-up first emerged about a month ago (previous post), and I’ll admit that this deal doesn’t look particularly attractive to me. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Suning (Shenzhen: 002024), Hony Capital To Invest $420 Mln In PPTV (English article)
Telecoms Regulator Requires Handset Makers To List Pre-Installed Apps (English article)
A new flurry of e-commerce news bits shows that competition in the sector continues unabated, with no signs of easing anytime soon. Sector leader Alibaba tops the headlines with word that it’s rolling out same-day delivery service for customers of its industry-leading TMall B2C site. Meantime, Yihaodian is drawing on its connections with global retailing giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) to boost its imported food business amid China’s nonstop series of food-safety scandals. These and similarly aggressive moves are also leading to signs of growing stress, with Jingdong, the second largest operator, making a strange anti-competitive complaint about rival Suning’s (Shenzhen: 002024) recent unified pricing policy. Read Full Post…
China’s smart TV space has gotten a big lift in recent months with a flurry of major new developments, including 2 major new moves this past week by industry veteran LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). This sudden rush to smart TVs, which deliver most of their content over the Internet, is being driven by a number of factors that make China ideal for development of the market. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba Gives Up Plan For Hong Kong Listing – CEO (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Wins Fund License, Prepares To Roll Out Product (Chinese article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Quits Race For Pakistan Telco Warid (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Targets 2 Bln Yuan In 2013 Mobile Gaming Revenue (English article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Prices Offering of $700 Mln Convertible Senior Notes (PRNewswire)
