The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 14. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Audi May Be Fined 250 Mln Yuan In First Anti-Trust Penalty Against Car Makers (Chinese article)
The following is the 7th and final part in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
WeChat builds an ecosystem
While China might be behind the US in many key areas of Internet development, it is quite advanced in the use of smartphones as the primary device for accessing the Internet. Tech guru Mary Meeker’s 2014 Internet Trends Report showed that China has more than 500 million mobile Internet users, accounting for 80 percent of its online population, the highest level worldwide. With the nation’s smartphone prices in freefall and high-speed 4G access expanding, it’s likely that a majority of Chinese people will be on the mobile Internet in the next 5 to 6 years. Read Full Post…
Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) hugely popular WeChat and QQ instant messaging platforms are once again hogging the headlines, reflecting the increasingly important role the 2 services are playing for the future development of the Internet giant. This time WeChat is in the news after coming under new government restrictions aimed at censoring some of its content. Meantime, QQ has formally launched an official shopping channel in partnership with e-commerce giant JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), laying down a big challenge for sector leader Alibaba. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 12. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Dairy Farm to Pay $925 Million For China’s Yonghui (Shanghai: 601933) Stake (English article)
Xiaomi Admits To Secretly Collecting User Information In Taiwan, Apologizes (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 9-11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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CIC, AVIC In Talks To Buy Aircraft Lessor Avolon For 12 Bln Euros (Chinese article)
JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Launches Direct Access on Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) Mobile QQ (PRNewswire)
China Billionaire Wang Jianlin Buys LA Land for Foray Into Hollywood Films (English article)
China Tells South Korea It Blocked KakaoTalk, Line To Fight Terrorism (English article)
McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) Casts Doubt On Sales Outlook After China Food Scare (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Imposes New Restrictions On Instant Messaging Tools: Xinhua (English article)
Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN) To Invest $500 Mln In China’s Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) (English article)
Huawei To Exit Ultra-Low End Smartphones, Cut 80 Pct Of Models By Year End (Chinese article)
Anti-Trust Probes Expand To Include 12 Japanese Automotive Firms (Chinese article)
Top executives from software security maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and struggling game operator The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) were getting chummy in the blogosphere last week, filling the airwaves with chatter as they prepared to announce a new alliance at the country’s top gaming trade show in Shanghai. Meantime, executives from PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) took time out from their usual tech and marketing chatter to make some low-key criticism against the government, including a microblog post in defense of the beleaguered McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) as it grapples with one of its worst-ever food safety scandals in China. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Said to Exclude Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) From Procurement List (English article)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Said to Have Held Talks on Buying Axiata Stake (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Removes 100 Rumor-Spreading Public Accounts From WeChat (Chinese article)
The following is Part 6 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
WeChat builds up payment capabilities
WeChat has played a key role in Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) recent efforts to build a “federal republic” on the mobile Internet. That interpretation comes from Cheng Lingfeng, a China tech reporter and former Tencent employee, describing Tencent’s strategy of selling stakes to close partners who promote WeChat Payment, a new service that allows users to link their bank cards to their WeChat accounts to facilitate online transaction payments. Such linkage gives WeChat users easy access to selected paid add-on services like shopping, mobile top up and taxi booking. Read Full Post…
A year after entering the ultra-competitive online gaming market, e-commerce leader Alibaba is boosting its drive into the space through a major new tie-up with Kabam, a fast-growing American designer of free online games. The move looks squarely aimed at archrival and leading Chinese game operator Tencent (HKEx: 700), which has just made its own major advance in the space with the launch of an officially licensed version of the wildly popular “Candy Crush” game in China. Read Full Post…
The following is Part 5 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
Tencent targets smart partnerships
Venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road always ask young entrepreneurs with little business knowledge what they would do if Facebook did the same thing, and similar concerns exist for China start-ups in dealing with the “Tencent factor”. With the strategic goal of providing users with “one-stop online lifestyle services”, nearly everything has become a must-have for Tencent, making it a public enemy for the entire community of Internet-based service providers in China. Read Full Post…
