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The slower summer months haven’t cooled down appetite for new M&A among Chinese Internet firms, with word that e-commerce leader Alibaba is chasing a massive investment that could see it purchase a stake in US social networking high-flyer Snapchat. At the same time, software security specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) has just announced new plans to raise up to $1 billion through a convertible bond offer, in what also could be the prelude to a major new acquisition. Read Full Post…
The following is Part 4 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
As China ended last year with an online population of 618 million and more and more people access the Internet over their smartphones, it has become evident that the Internet will play a growing role in the way Chinese people live and do business. Internet thinking has emerged as a concept that empowers newer start-ups to challenge older businesses not necessarily via cutting-edge technology, but more by rethinking the whole business in the context of a more connected world.
Many Chinese firms are thrilled by the widely-touted story of Xiaomi, the 4-year-old smartphone maker that calls itself an Internet company. Xiaomi is already outselling Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in its home market using a web-only marketing strategy, redefined cost structure, fan-centric product philosophy and flat organizational composition. But Tencent (HKEx: 700), China’s undisputed Internet leader with a market cap that is challenging global online retailer Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), labels itself as an online company that partners with old industries, with service accounts hosted by WeChat as the magic tie in that relationship. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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The following is Part 3 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
While many popular WeChat subscription accounts are still affiliated with established organizations, the social media upstart has also given rise to a new generation of “self-media”. This new group of publishers comes as a welcome development in the Chinese media space, comprising independent professionals from sectors like tech, finance, fashion, media and education who have seized the opportunity to broadcast their know-how and build online audience networks of their own.
Without some expert “gatekeepers” from traditional hierarchical publication systems standing in their way, this new group of voices on WeChat have become a celebration of grass-root content creators. Articles from these new publishers can be easily found online, and members of this group are gaining personal influence among readers, listeners and viewers on WeChat who want to hear their latest views.
US software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the subject of 2 major news stories today, casting a spotlight on a pair of very different trends involving e-commerce and foreign companies in China. The first news bit has the world’s largest software company formally launching sales of its Xbox gaming console in China through a tie-up with JD.com (Nasdaq: JD), spotlighting the rapid rise of China’s second largest e-commerce company following its own tie-up with Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) earlier this year. The second news bit looks more ominous, with word that Microsoft is being probed by one of China’s anti-trust regulators. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Earlier reports of e-commerce leader Alibaba’s strong political ties appear to be overstated, following word that archrival Tencent (HKEx: 700) has become the first of China’s major Internet firms to win a highly sought banking license. Both companies had been aggressively expanding into financial services over the past year, though each was reliant on partnerships with other companies that already had licenses to offer services in the highly regulated sector dominated by big state-run companies. But now Tencent will be able to offer many of those services on its own, following this ground-breaking award of a license from the nation’s banking regulator. Read Full Post…
The following is Part 2 in a multi-part series about the rise of WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging service owned by Tencent.
By Lanie Nie
If WeChat’s story can be divided into two parts, the big dividing point would be the launch of its 5.0 version on August 5, 2013. Before that, users of the popular mobile chatting app were mainly focused on fancy gimmicks like “shake“, “people nearby” and “drift bottle” that help users make contact with a few strangers. The hyperactive “moments” feature is also very popular, allowing users to share photos, status updates, links and locations with friends; and so were “official accounts” that enabled business owners, media outlets and even individuals to push out messages and articles to their followers.
But after the launch of WeChat 5.0, people began to wonder if the real ambition of this chatty app might go beyond its dominant role as a center for Chinese socializing on mobile. With a newly introduced mobile payment solution and an enhanced “scan” function that is no longer restricted to QR codes but also applicable to bar codes, book covers, street views and even basic English to Chinese translation, WeChat showed a strong interest in bringing out the next generation of shoppers in its post-5.0 era. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 26-28. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Note: Today marks the start of a series of guest posts on the rise of WeChat, China’s wildly popular mobile messaging giant that now boasts more than 600 million users. The series by freelance writer Lanie Nie will run on alternating days over the next 2 weeks.
By Lanie Nie
If you recently traveled by bus or subway in a big Chinese city, you probably noticed one thing immediately — nearly everyone was fixated on the small screens of their smartphone handsets, no matter how crowded the place or how long the journey. At the center of that obsession is the mobile messaging app called WeChat or Weixin in Chinese, which is owned by Chinese Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) and is similar to services like WhatsApp, Kakao Talk and Line.
WeChat might share the same starting point with these popular services, but it has already been telling another story in its home market. With a claimed domestic user-base of more than 600 million, the native mobile app for average Chinese smartphone owners has become a village square of friend updates and subscription feeds, an online storefront for money market fund products as well as a portal into a taxi ride, a group-buying deal and a movie ticket reservation. It’s also an urban guide and offers business review services and a catalog of top smartphone games, which makes it fair to say the world is your WeChat. Read Full Post…
Update: Since originally writing this post, Tencent has issued a statement in response to the original Chinese media reports saying it has no plans to close its microblogging service. It adds the service will be combined with its news service, as part of a broader restructuring of its online media group.
New reports are saying that leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700) is quietly halting development for its largely ignored microblogging service, in what would amount to a rare admission of defeat in its core social networking services (SNS) business. The move would be long overdue, as Tencent’s microblogging service, a variant of US leader Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) service, was never really a major player in China. So in that sense I have to at least congratulate Tencent for finally conceding defeat in the space to Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), the Twitter imitator founded by leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). Read Full Post…
