Bottom line: The absence of Xiaomi and other newer Chinese smartphone makers from the world’s leading telecoms show reflects their focus on emerging markets and limited promotional budgets due to stiff competition at home.
Xiaomi missing at world’s top telecoms show
I’m in Barcelona this week for what has become the world’s biggest annual telecoms show, and thought I’d kick off my coverage with a look at who is attending from China this year. The list contains most of the big names you’d expect, including Huawei, ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) and Lenovo (HKEx: 992), though Lenovo has decided to keep its name off the “made in China” list and is opting to call itself a US company.
But equally noteworthy is who isn’t on the list, at least not as an exhibitor. That list of absentees includes all of China’s newer smartphone makers, led by the fast-rising Xiaomi that has come from nowhere over the last 3 years to become the world’s third biggest brand. Others that aren’t on the list include locally well-known Chinese names Coolpad (HKEx: 2369) and Meizu, which have recently formed tie-ups with major Internet companies Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA, respectively. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Xiaomi’s sales growth will slow this year as it faces stronger competition outside China, while recent momentum by Huawei could position it as the country’s solid number-two manufacturer.
Huawei shakes up Honor brand
I previously gave Xiaomi my award for China’s top tech company of 2014, and now the smartphone superstar has cemented that title by formally unseating global giant Samsung (Seoul: 005930) as last year’s leading Chinese brand. In a separate smartphone news bit, the stodgier and older Huawei has changed the chief for its Honor brand, in one of a series of recent developments that could position the company to become China’s second best-selling manufacturer this year.
As a regular writer about the China smartphone market, I’ve watched the many twists and turns in the rapid development of both Xioami and Huawei, which have emerged as my 2 major players to watch this year. Rivals Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) are also names to keep an eye on; but if I had to bet money, I would say Xiaomi and Huawei are likely to end 2015 as China’s 2 largest smartphone makers by a comfortable margin. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 23-24. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Xiaomi Smartphone Sales Surge To Top Samsung (Seoul: 005930) As China’s No. 1 (English article)
A recent round of virtual “red envelope wars” was making waves in the microblogging realm in this final week before the Lunar New Year, in one of the many recent battles that have seen Internet titans Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) lock horns. This particular rivalry has gained wide attention in the Chinese headlines these last few weeks, though it’s worth noting that many others are staging similar copycat promotions following the huge success of Tencent’s original virtual hongbao promotion last year.
Meantime, the hyperactive Xiaomi moved offshore in its own bid to make sure it continues to garner attention, with a flurry of microblogging buzz related to its new move into the ultra competitive US market. Last but not least, several high-tech leaders extended their well wishes to Internet elder Lee Kai-fu, following his return to his Innovation Works high-tech incubator in Beijing more than a year after returning to his native Taiwan for treatment of cancer. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 14-16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Taxi Apps Didi Dache And Kuaidi Dache Announce Merger (English article)
Chinese Smartphone Giant Xiaomi Makes Debut In US Market (English article)
China’s Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Attracts Attention From US Regulator (English article)
China Cellphone Sales Top 47 Mln In January, 4G Models Account For 77 Pct (Chinese article)
Tech Financier Lee Kai-fu Returns To Beijing, Says Won’t Retire Due To Illness (Chinese article)
Bottom line: Alibaba’s Meizu investment is likely to spark a round of similar buying by major Chinese Internet firms, but could jeopardize Meizu’s access to the latest Android technology from Google.
Alibaba invests in Meizu
E-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is finally making a smart acquisition to revive its flailing smartphone initiative, with word that it’s investing a hefty amount in the well-respected second-tier player Meizu. This particular investment comes just 2 months after another similar deal that saw security software specialist Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) form another tie-up with smartphone maker Coolpad (HKEx: 2369), and could auger a new wave of similar investments by Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Tencent (HKEx: 700) and perhaps one or two other cash-rich Internet companies.
The news could provide some new breathing room for companies like Meizu and Coolpad, since they and many of their domestic peers are probably losing big money due to intense competition in China’s overcrowded smartphone space. But this new buying spree could also mean that competition is unlikely to abate anytime soon, since wealthy companies like Alibaba and Qihoo are unlikely to give up easily on their new smartphone initiatives. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: China could end 2015 with up to 450 million 4G subscribers, with telcos, 4G smartphone makers and mobile-focused Internet firms most likely to benefit from the massive migration.
China Telecom targets 100 mln 4G users
China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) has just become the final of China’s big 3 telcos to announce an extremely aggressive subscriber target for its new 4G service, confirming my earlier prediction that the nation could end 2015 with as many as 450 million 4G users if everyone meets their goals. If they do reach those targets, it would represent a remarkable transformation that would see around one-third of the nation’s mobile users switching to 4G service by year end. That could provide a bonanza for not only the telcos, but also the smartphone makers and Internet service providers that would also benefit from such a mass migration. Read Full Post…
Two big news stories were at the center of heated discussion in of the microblogging realm this past week, led by Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) high profile dispute with one of China’s main business regulators over accusations of being soft on piracy. At the same time, Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) roll-out of advertisements on its WeChat mobile messsaging platform also drew lots of comments, as users were suddenly greeted with unsolicited messages in the popular Moments feature that functions much like Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) newsfeeds.
Of course no weekly microblogging round-up would be complete without a mention of the media savvy Xiaomi, which was once again creating buzz after an embarrassing gaffe by global marketing chief Hugo Barra. That gaffe saw Barra use a politically incorrect version of a map of India in one of his presentations, showing India as the correct owner of parts of a disputed area of its long border with China. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Apple’s surge in fourth-quarter China sales owes to its iPhone 6 release and growing relationship with China Mobile, though it could have trouble retaining its new crown as the nation’s top smartphone brand.
iPhone sales zoom in China
Skeptics who thought Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) might be losing its luster in China might have to rethink that theory, following release of a new report that says the gadget giant grabbed the title of China’s biggest smartphone seller for the first time ever in the fourth quarter. That surprising result came as Apple released new quarterly earnings that showed China sales also surged 70 percent in its latest quarter, more than double the pace of its global revenue growth.
The surprising China surge comes as Apple works closely to address Beijing’s concerns about national security risks and the privacy of Chinese iPhone users, issues that reflect one of the continuing challenges it will face in the market. Read Full Post…
Two of China’s most successful tech companies, Xiaomi and Huawei, took center stage in the microblogging realm over the past week, engaging in a rare direct war of words over their competing products in the nation’s overheated smartphone market. Their online sparring aside, the pair of tech stars also engaged in their own separate globally-focused activities that emphasized attempts by each to become the nation’s first truly international smartphone brand.
Huawei’s media-shy founder Ren Zhengfei traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he gave a rare public speech in which he appealed to the US to accept his company’s products, in remarks chronicled by some of his top deputies on their microblogs. Meantime, several recently recruited member of Xiaomi’s high-profile international team met at the company’s headquarters in Beijing, where they were talking strategy as the company continues its global expansion. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Motorola’s China homecoming looks well-designed conceptually, but will have trouble due to stiff competition and is unlikely to become a major player in the next 2-3 years.
Moto returns to China
I’ve written quite a bit already about Lenovo’s (HKEx: 992) big plans for its recently acquired Motorola brand, which has just made its formal return to China with the local launch of the Moto X smartphone. But what’s surprised me a bit is the magnitude of the campaign that Lenovo has given to this homecoming, which hints at the big hopes it has for the brand whose name whose cutting-edge phones were once the ultimate in “cool” and “trendy”.
It’s been a number of years now since that image was relevant, and many younger Chinese might not even remember the Motorola name at all. But Lenovo is clearly hoping that this homecoming and all the accompanying fanfare will reawaken some of those former impressions among China’s older consumers, in a certain form of “retro-cool” to counter the more recent rise of names like Xiaomi and Coolpad (HKEx: 2369). Read Full Post…
