It’s quiet outside as markets reopen on this first work day after the New Year, so I thought I’d start off 2014 with some predictions for the year ahead in the sectors that I cover. Generally speaking, I do think the first half of the year will see a continuation of strong momentum that began in late 2013 for many sectors. But that momentum will slow as we near the mid-year mark, and 2014 could end with a whimper as the Chinese economy continues to slow and Beijing pushes for higher quality growth. Read Full Post…
The microblog realm has been buzzing loudly this final week of 2013 with stories that are likely to be major themes in the new year, led by a probable IPO by Jingdong, China’s second largest e-commerce firm. Meantime, e-commerce leader Alibaba was showing no signs of slowing down the endless promotion of its recently launched mobile instant messaging (IM) service Laiwang, as it tries to catch up with Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) hugely popular WeChat rival service. Lastly, tweets coming from top e-commerce firms Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) and Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) hint that 2014 could see the start of consolidation in the booming but also fiercely competitive parcel delivery sector, perhaps including a few major acquisitions and closures and a long-awaited domestic IPO for China Postal Express, the parcel delivery unit of China’s Post Office. (previous post) Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Removes All Pirated Material From Yingyin Video Platform (Chinese article)
Trina (NYSE: TSL) Signs Framework Agreement For 1GW Solar Project in Xinjiang (PRNewswire)
Vanke (Shenzhen: 000002) CEO, Fearing Changes In Real Estate, Learns From Alibaba, Tencent (Chinese article)
It seems quite appropriate that we’re ending 2013 with word of yet another acquisition and New York IPO plan in China’s Internet space by leading search site Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), capping a year that will go down as the most active for Chinese online M&A in the sector’s short but colorful history. It’s certainly appropriate that Baidu’s name is connected to both of these final news bits for the year, since the company and e-commerce leader Alibaba were the 2 most active drivers of this year’s M&A wave. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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MIIT Issues First Batch of Virtual Network Operator (VNO) Licenses (Chinese article)
Didi Dache Wins $100 Mln Funding from Tencent (HKEx: 700), Citic – Source (English article)
Japan Car Makers Brace For China Backlash To Shrine Visit (English article)
China’s Zoomlion (HKEx: 1157) Acquires German Dry Mortar Producer
US IPO Window To Reopen foF Chinese Companies in 2014: Report (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Rolls-Royce Says Britain’s SFO Begins Bribery Investigation Related To China (English article)
First Virtual Network Operator (VNO) Licenses To Be Awarded By Year End (Chinese article)
A major homecoming for the top executive at e-commerce giant Jingdong is topping the news this week in China’s microblog airwaves, which have been humming with gossip in the run-up to the Christmas holidays. Internet watchers will know I’m talking about Jingdong’s talkative founder Liu Qiangdong, whose voice suddenly disappeared from the microblogging realm for much of this year. Now we’re learning that his silence was due to his quiet departure from China for the US, where he spent a year in a study program.
Elsewhere in the microblogging world, a couple of high level executives at UnionPay, operator of China’s leading electronic payments network, and game operator 4399 are drawing attention to the fact that Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging service may be past its peak and losing its luster. I’ve also noticed this trend, which spotlights how China’s Internet seems much more susceptible to fads than in other parts of the world. Read Full Post…
US-listed Chinese stocks neared the end of 2013 with a wild ride last week, as 3 major developments provided a glimpse of the bumpy road that lies ahead in the New Year. That performance points to a strong start for new IPOs at the start of 2014, even though momentum could quickly flag due to the highly volatile and unpredictable nature of these stocks. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 14-16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Launches China Website, Sets Deposits At 250,000 Yuan (Chinese article)
EU To Probe Chinese Nuclear Power Investments In Britain – Report (Chinese article)
China Unicom (HKEx: 762) To Focus On FDD-LTE Network (English article)
Spin doctors from Chinese tech titans Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Alibaba have been hard at work these last few days, doing their best to promote their products and add positive interpretations to news involving their companies. Tencent chief Pony Ma was actively hyping up several of his company’s products and services, while an Alibaba executive was touting a visit between founder Jack Ma and visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron. Tencent also got a helping hand from restaurant ratings giant Dianping, whose low-key founder was hyping a new tie-up between Dianping and the payments platform on Tencent’s wildly popular WeChat instant messaging service. Read Full Post…
A recent rush into financial services by Chinese Internet firms took a new twist last week when China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), the nation’s second biggest wireless carrier, announced it will move into the space with the establishment of a new joint venture. Unicom joins China’s major Internet companies and a wide range of other firms in launching such joint ventures, with Alibaba, Tencent (HKEx: 700) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) all announcing similar tie-ups this year. Read Full Post…
