I don’t usually like to toot my own horn, but my prediction last month that we could soon see a major fund-raising exercise by high-flying e-commerce firm Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) has come to pass, with word that the firm is preparing to sell stock and bonds worth more than $600 million. Investors weren’t extremely excited about the plan, with Vipshares falling slightly after the announcement came out. But considering that the company’s shares have risen about 8-fold over the last year alone, the reception wasn’t all that bad either. From the strategic perspective, this new massive fund raising hints that Vipshop wants to take advantage of the recent wave of M&A sweeping China’s e-commerce space, and I expect we could see some big deal announcements later this year. Read Full Post…
I wanted to take this opportunity to commend Internet companies YY (Nasdaq: YY) and Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) for taking the risky move of launching New York IPOs at the heart of a deep freeze in investor sentiment towards Chinese companies in 2012. The pair, which have both just announced their latest stellar results, were 2 of the only major offerings by Chinese firms in New York that year. Shares for both received an initial tepid reception due to the chilly investment climate at the time. But all of that has changed more recently with a sudden surge in investor interest, and anyone who was brave enough to buy the companies’ shares shortly after their IPOs has been handsomely rewarded. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 22-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Fosun Int’l (HKEx: 656) May Acquire Forbes Media For Under $250 Mln (Chinese article)
CCTV Commentator Calls For Ban Of Alibaba’s Yu’ebao, Calling It A Vampire (Chinese article)
Vipshop Acquires Minority Interest in Ovation For $55.8 Mln (PRNewswire)
China Auto Lobby, Policymakers Collide Over Foreign Investment (English article)
The group of big Chinese web firms driving a recent wave of M&A has a new member, with word that fast-rising e-commerce site Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) has made its first major acquisition. The move marks the latest step in consolidation in China’s overheated e-commerce sector, which is crowded with around a half dozen major players and many smaller ones that are mostly losing money. Vipshop is one of the few players that is quite profitable, even though it doesn’t have a huge cash pile as it spends heavily to quickly build up its business. That leads to my next prediction that we could see the company raise some money soon through a share or bond sale, as it seeks to build up a war chest to help fund future acquisitions. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 15-17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US To Pursue Trade Dispute Over Chinese, Taiwanese Solar Imports (English article)
China’s Wanxiang Wins US Bankruptcy Auction For Fisker Automotive (English article)
Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) Acquires Controlling Interest In Lefeng For $133 Mln (PRNewswire)
Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) Guangdiantong Unveils WeChat Public Account Ad Product (English article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Sets Up Transport Services Headquarters (Chinese article)
How quickly things can change! China tech stocks are suddenly back in vogue on Wall Street after more than 2 years of frigid sentiment, as evidenced by an unexpected surge in demand for 2 new offerings from classified ads site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) and online travel agent Qunar. My initial reaction to the strong demand is relief, since it previously looked like shares of Chinese tech firms might remain in an endless winter after a series of accounting scandals in 2011 that rocked investor confidence. But now I’m just a bit concerned that this sudden explosion in interest may lead to unrealistic expectations for these companies, causing turbulence for their shares.
Update: After publishing this originally, a Qunar spokeswoman pointed out that Goldman Sachs was among the investment banks underwriting its IPO. So that changes the tenor of the last part of the post, which says that no premium investment banks were involved in the offering.
A long awaited year-end fund-flurry of fund raising by Chinese tech firms is gaining momentum, with online travel sites Qunar and Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) leading the charge as investor interest finally returns to the market. Qunar has just made the first public filing for its long-delayed IPO, while Ctrip continues to dazzle the markets by raising the size of its recent mega bond offer for the second time, underscoring strong demand from investors. Read Full Post…
E-commerce firm LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB), the only major Chinese company to list in New York this year, is learning that Wall Street can be a volatile place, following the release of its maiden earnings report that showed slowing growth. Meantime, another much smaller Chinese micro-lender called China Commercial Credit (Nasdaq: CCCR) is making a similar discovery following a strong reception for its own microscopic New York IPO last week. Read Full Post…
E-commerce firms Vipshop (NYSE: VIPS) and Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) have both just reported their latest quarterly results that look quite solid, as the former consolidates its position as China’s leading discount online retailer and the latter overhauls its business model. But you would never know the results were good based on shareholder reaction, with shares of China’s 2 largest US-listed e-commerce firms both tumbling after their reports came out. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Could Target Oil Firms, Telecoms, Banks In Price Probes: Report (English article)
When is a modestly successful IPO cause for big celebration? The answer is: When your name is LightInTheBox, and you’ve just completed the first IPO in New York by a Chinese company in a half a year. Not only is LightInTheBox the first major New York IPO by a Chinese firm this year, but it’s also only the third such offering since the beginning of 2012, reflecting the chilly investor climate that has stifled such listings on Wall Street for more than 2 years. Read Full Post…
