A new memo that has been reportedly leaked from China’s second largest mobile carrier, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), shows the nation’s 3 telcos may not be nearly as united as many may think in their approach to Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular WeChat mobile app. This revelation, if true, doesn’t surprise me at all, since industry giant China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has been leading the assault on WeChat from the very beginning, complaining the popular mobile instant messaging app uses huge amounts of its networking capacity. But it’s far from clear if the nation’s other 2 mobile carriers, Unicom and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) share China Mobile’s discontent. Read Full Post…
In the space of just a half year, Internet giant Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) popular mobile messaging WeChat app has gone from obscurity, to red-hot rising star, to its latest position as a target of attack from just about everyone. The popular app has come under assault in the last 3 months from the nation’s 3 telcos, which complain that WeChat users are taking up a growing share of their network capacity. The trio have found a potent ally in the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which has stepped in to help “mediate” the dispute. On top of all that, a wave of envious rivals with copycat products is quickly appearing on the scene. Read Full Post…
A social networking (SNS) application called WeChat has boomed on China’s Internet over the last two years, challenging Twitter-like industry leader Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo and even cellular titan China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) with its innovative and cleverly designed features. Now the popular instant messaging program for smartphones is showing early signs of stepping onto the world stage, with the potential to become China’s first true contribution to a vibrant global Internet culture. Such a development would mark a significant milestone for China, whose most successful high-tech firms have thrived so far by largely copying existing global technologies.
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
ZTE (HKEx: 763) To Increase Smartphone Revenues By 30 Pct In 2013 (Businesswire)
Tencent (HKex: 700) Establishes US Office for WeChat (English article)
CNOOC (HKEx: 883) Says Completed Nexen Acquisition On Feb 25 (HKEx announcement)
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) To Provide Internet Security Products to Commerce Ministry (PRNewswire)
Yum (NYSE: YUM) Cutting Some Supplier Ties After China Food Scare (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline. ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
New government data on mobile text messaging, also known as SMS, is underscoring how this former cash cow for China’s telcos is quickly losing its audience, forcing the carriers to quickly look for replacement revenue sources. The new data also adds some new perspective to the high-profile clash between leading telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) and top Internet player Tencent (HKEx: 700) that erupted last month, as the former accused the latter of stealing its SMS business.
Just a couple of weeks after telecoms heavyweight China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) complained that Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) was stealing its text messaging business, we’re getting word that the 2 companies may have started talks for a revenue sharing agreement to resolve the dispute. China Mobile’s discontent involves Tencent’s popular mobile instant messaging service WeChat, better known by its Chinese name Weixin, which has soared to prominence in the last 2 years and recently passed the 300 million registered user mark. (previous post) The service allows people to send text messages back and forth over the Internet, letting them circumvent traditional text messaging that is one of the biggest revenue sources for China Mobile and the nation’s other 2 big telcos.
It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.
An epic battle on the Chinese Internet is shaping up for the New Year, pitting dominant social networking site (SNS) Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo against up-and-coming challenger WeChat, also known by its Chinese name Weixin. The looming battle in many ways reflects the rapid rise in China of the mobile Internet, where WeChat has found an eager new audience that likes to use SNS all the time instead of only at desktop computers where Sina Weibo dominates.
A couple of items in the news today are shining a spotlight on the very real and unique risks of doing business in China from heavy-handed government oversight, with fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi and Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) both sparring with Beijing in different own ways. Xiaomi’s situation looks the most serious with the “temporary” suspension of its newly launched Internet TV service, which probably reflects the company’s youth and inexperience at dealing with government bureaucrats. Tencent also appears to be playing a game of brinksmanship with Beijing by bringing its own unusual interpretation to a controversial “real name” registration requirement imposed on all social networking sites early this year.
I have to admit that I’m becoming just a little bit confused by all the user data coming from China’s top 3 microblog operators, which seems to paint a slightly different picture from the one that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) would like everyone to believe about the dominance of its popular Sina Weibo service. My attention was first drawn to the subject by a new media report in which NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) says its microblogging service now has more than 260 million registered users, up sharply from 180 million just 2 months earlier. (English article) That number seemed to be a big narrowing of the gap with Sina Weibo, which had 360 million registered users at the end of June.
Just a couple of weeks after telecoms heavyweight China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) complained that Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) was stealing its text messaging business, we’re getting word that the 2 companies may have started talks for a revenue sharing agreement to resolve the dispute. China Mobile’s discontent involves Tencent’s popular mobile instant messaging service WeChat, better known by its Chinese name Weixin, which has soared to prominence in the last 2 years and recently passed the 300 million registered user mark. (
It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.
A couple of items in the news today are shining a spotlight on the very real and unique risks of doing business in China from heavy-handed government oversight, with fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi and Internet giant Tencent (HKEx: 700) both sparring with Beijing in different own ways. Xiaomi’s situation looks the most serious with the “temporary” suspension of its newly launched Internet TV service, which probably reflects the company’s youth and inexperience at dealing with government bureaucrats. Tencent also appears to be playing a game of brinksmanship with Beijing by bringing its own unusual interpretation to a controversial “real name” registration requirement imposed on all social networking sites early this year.
