The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Huawei Biggest China Smartphone Brand in Q3, Xiaomi Finishes Second (Chinese article)
3 China Telcos Complete Sale of Towers to China Tower (HKEx announcement)
Online Loan Search Platform Rong360 Lands 1 Bln Yuan Series D Funding (English article)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) in Product Delivery Scandal After Sept 19 Promotion (Chinese article)
Geely (HKEx: 175) Said to Plan Research Center for London Black Cabs in UK (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Walmart’s (NYSE: WMT) Yihaodian Overhaul Sparks Mass Resignations (Chinese article)
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Leads Huawei into US Smartphone Market (Chinese article)
Didi Kuaidi Invests in Indian Car Hire App Ola (English article)
Beijing Commerce Department Opens Inquiry into Xiaomi False Claims (Chinese article)
Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Says on Track to Spin Off Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Stake This Year (English article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi will lower its profile after a recent spate of negative publicity and intensifying competition, but could still stand a 50-50 chance of becoming a major smartphone brand if it executes well in its globalization strategy.
Xiaomi in new switcharoo scandal
Former smartphone high-flyer Xiaomi is quickly learning that a high profile is a double-edged sword, with word that it’s landed in the middle of a fresh new false advertising scandal. Xiaomi certainly isn’t the only company learning this lesson, as its recent downfall tracks a much louder crash at former e-commerce high-flyer Alibaba (NYSE: BABA).
No one is predicting Xiaomi’s demise just yet, and I’ve often said that co-founder Lei Jun is largely to blame for the recent fall due to the huge expectations he set for his company. But this latest news involving false claims for one of the newest models from Xiaomi’s low-end Redmi smartphone line will certainly bring the company down yet another notch in the eyes of investors and consumers. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Carrefour (Paris: CA) to Double China Convenience Stores by Chinese New Year (Chinese article)
Suning (Shenzhen: 002024) Logistics Begins Delivery Service for Tmall Supermarket (English article)
Xiaomi Caught in New Switcharoo Scandal for Redmi 2A Screen (Chinese article)
China’s Sky Solar (Nasdaq: SKYS) Soars After Signing $100 Mln Funding Pact (English article)
TAL Education (NYSE: XRS) to Acquire Firstleap Education (PRNewswire)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 17. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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CICC, China Reinsurance Prepare for HK IPO Hearings on Thursday – Source (Chinese article)
Uber Rival Lyft Teams With China’s Didi Kuaidi (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Could De-List From NY, Re-list in China – Chmn (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Rolls Out Trolley-Style Suitcase for 299 Yuan (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s latest scandal involving false promotional claims will deal another blow to its rapid rise, increasing the likelihood that it will miss its already-reduced target for smartphone sales this year.
Xiaomi caught in bait-and-switch scandal
Smartphone maker Xiaomi started this year on a high note, after scoring a major new fund-raising late last December that gave it an impressive $45 billion valuation just 4 years after its founding. But it seems there was only one direction to go from there, as the company has been dogged by a steady series of minor scandals, product delays and disappointing sales figures ever since.
The latest headlines of a Xiaomi scandal reflect just how much momentum the company has lost this year. The reports center on allegations of false promotions for the company’s Hongmi Note 2, after consumers noticed the new low-end smartphone came with a cheaper screen than originally promised. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 3-7. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Chmn Said to Plan $2 Bln Loan Against Stock (English article)
Snackmaker Liwayway Said to Prepare $200 Mln Hong Kong IPO (English article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Watch China Sales Pass 1.07 Mln – Report (Chinese article)
iQiyi, Shanghai New Culture (Shenzhen: 300336) in 1 Bln Yuan Production Tie-Up (Chinese article)
Xiaomi Accused of False Promotion Claims for Redmi Note 2 (Chinese article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 1. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Micron (Nasdaq: MU) Deal in Suspense as Unigroup Exec Returns Home (Chinese article)
Focus Media Aims to Relist Via Hedy (Shenzhen: 002027) Acquisition (English article)
Internet Entrepreneurs Back Chinese Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) Rival NextEV (English article)
Front-Line Research Shows Many Buyers Returning Xiaomi’s Redmi Note (Chinese article)
Ageas to Sell Hong Kong Unit to China’s JD Capital for $1.4 Bln (English article)
Bottom line: Qihoo and Meizu are likely to struggle with their new smartphone campaigns in India, where intensifying competition will also undermine domestic rivals like Xiaomi and Huawei that have recently entered the market.
Qihoo unveils new Qiku smartphones
Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) and Meizu have announced they are taking their smartphones to India, becoming the latest Chinese brands to export to the fast-growing but increasingly competitive market. India is actually the second stop on Qihoo’s smartphone roadmap, which will begin in its home China market with the launch of the first 2 models of its new Qiku smartphone brand. Meizu has become a major second-tier player in its home China market over the last few years, and formally announced its own move into India this week as it looks to move overseas.
The pair will join several of China’s top smartphone makers in the increasingly crowded India market, which shares many qualities with China. Xiaomi launched in India last year and the market quickly became its second largest globally, while Huawei’s Honor brand has also scored rapid progress in the market. But Qihoo’s biggest competitor in India could be Coolpad (HKEx: 2369), which is already a big player in the market but will also produce Qihoo’s new smartphones through a joint venture formed by the pair last year. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Strong sales growth for Huawei’s Honor brand in the first half of the year reflects the company’s broader accelerating momentum, and could pose a growing challenge for domestic rival Xiaomi.
Huawei’s Honor brand grows in India, eyes US
More new data is showing the growing momentum for smartphone aspirant Huawei, with word that the company’s Honor brand surpassed its sales target in the first half of the year as it prepares to enter the US. The latest numbers continue to portray a surging Huawei, and show how the company is using its traditional strengths in product development and a newer expertise in consumer marketing to overtake big domestic rivals like Xiaomi and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and also a host of smaller ones like Meizu and Coolpad (HKEx: 2369).
These latest numbers don’t look extremely impressive at first glance, as they show that Honor just slightly surpassed its sales target for the first half of the year. But in the current climate where many companies are missing their targets due to intense competition in China, the ability to not only meet but even slightly exceed a sales target does seem like a noteworthy accomplishment. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Apple will continue to post strong iPhone growth in China but could lose some momentum if the stock market sell-off continues, while Xiaomi’s new push into Africa won’t offset its own rapidly slowing momentum.
iPhone China sales continue strong
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Chinese imitator Xiaomi are both in the headlines, as the former continues to consolidate its China position at the expense of the fading latter. In this case, Apple’s continuing China surge is reflected in new remarks from CEO Tim Cook, who says his company’s business has remained strong in China during the summer months despite concerns of a slowdown linked to the nation’s tanking stock markets.
While Apple has been feasting on China, Xiaomi is feeling growing pressure at home and is looking to other global markets for growth as it struggles to meet the lofty expectations it set for itself. According to the latest headlines, the latest stop on Xiaomi’s global roadmap is Africa, where the company is eyeing another BRICS country in South Africa. Such a move would put Xiaomi in 4 of the 5 BRICS, following its earlier moves into India and Brazil. Read Full Post…
