We’re getting a glimpse of where future priorities may lie for smartphone makers ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) and TCL Communications (HKEx: 2618; Shenzhen: 000100), with the former hinting at a move into wearable devices and the latter placing big bets on China’s homegrown 4G technology called TD-LTE. ZTE isn’t exactly known for setting new market trends, but I would certainly like its decision to test its luck in wearable devices like wrist watches and glasses sooner rather than later. Meantime, TCL’s TD-LTE gambit looks like a 50-50 bet to me, as this notoriously boom-bust company tries to find a sustainable formula for success. Read Full Post…
The number 1,000 took on new significance in the blogosphere this past week, with tech titans Lenovo (HKEx: 992), Huawei and Xiaomi in a sudden new rush to chop prices for some of their newest products to under 1,000 yuan. The number translates to roughly $160, and is certainly not a bad price for the relatively high quality smartphones and tablet PCs that are suddenly being sold by the trio at that price and even less.
Meantime, tech executives were also paying tribute on their microblogs to Pat McGovern, the billionaire founder of the IDG media empire that was one of earliest venture capital investors to realize the potential of China’s Internet. McGovern, who died last Wednesday, leaves behind an empire that helped to fund some of China’s most recognizable Internet names, including sector leaders Tencent (HKEx: 700), Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) and SouFun (NYSE: SFUN), and many others. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 700) To Buy 20 Pct Of Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) – Source (English article)
I generally try to avoid taking sides in political disputes like the one involving US accusations that Chinese telecoms equipment from Huawei could pose a national security threat. But in the case of the latest revelations about US government spying on Huawei, I do think that Washington should at least discuss the results of its efforts to find evidence of a covert relationship between Huawei and the Chinese military. At the same time, I find Beijing’s condemnation of the snooping a bit insincere, as I’m quite sure that China and most other nations also engage in similar electronic spying. (English article) Read Full Post…
Telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) are in the headlines today for their newer product initiatives, as each tries to offset slowing growth in their core telecoms equipment business. Of the pair, Huawei’s news looks the most bullish, with the company targeting a sharp rise in smartphone sales as it sets its sights on overtaking Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as the world’s second largest seller. Meantime, ZTE has formally rolled out its new gaming console, the FunBox, which looks a bit more exciting that I’d originally imagined and carries an extremely low price tag. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 19. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Tencent (HKEx: 700), New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) In Online Education JV – Sources (English article)
Unicom (HKEx: 762) Announces 4G Plans Starting At 76 Yuan Per Month (Chinese article)
Online Classifieds Site Ganji Very Profitable, Considering IPO – CEO (Chinese article)
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) Reports Q4 and Full Year 2013 Results (PRNewswire)
ZTE (HKEx: 763) Wins Final Ruling from US ITC in FlashPoint Case (Businesswire)
The latest developments in an ongoing strike at an IBM (NYSE: IBM) plant in Shenzhen are highlighting the big gap that still exists between Chinese companies and their western peers in terms of attractiveness as employers. In the latest twist to the story, half of the workers at the south China plant have decided to accept severance packages and quit their jobs rather than go to work for Chinese PC giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992), which is set to take over the plant as part of its purchase of IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3 billion. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
I have to credit telecoms equipment maker ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063) for chasing an interesting new idea, following reports that it’s preparing to launch a gaming console later this month. Such a plan plays to ZTE’s telecoms strength, since such consoles are almost inevitably connected to the Internet these days and are rapidly merging with a similar group of Internet TV set-top boxes. But that said, I have some serious doubts about the chances of success for this new foray, due to the company’s late arrival to the space, and also because I question its choice of venture partner, faded online game operator The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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JD.com Rolls Out Financial Product Similar To Yu’ebao To Boost IPO (Chinese article)
E-House (NYSE: EJ) Announces Leju’s Plan For Proposed IPO (PRNewswire)
Home Inns (Nasdaq: HMIN) to Acquire Yunshang Siji Hotel Management Co (PRNewswire)
ZTE (HKEx: 763), The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) to Release Game Console – Source (English article)
Ackman To Renew Attack On Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) With Aim On China Business (English article)
The 4G strategies of China’s 2 smaller telcos are starting to emerge under an unusual hybrid scheme being rolled out by the nation’s telecoms regulator, and the path being pursued by China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) certainly doesn’t look encouraging. Both Unicom and China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) have been given the nod to launch commercial 4G service using a homegrown standard known as TD-LTE, even though both plan to build their main networks using a more globally tested technology technology called FDD-LTE. But whereas China Telecom is making minimal investment in TD-LTE, Unicom seems intent on wasting billions of dollars, with word that it has awarded contracts to 8 companies to start construction of a network based on the technology. (Chinese article) Read Full Post…
Much of the China tech world was focused last week on the world’s largest telecoms trade show taking place in Barcelona, but one company that was noticeably absent from the Mobile World Congress was fast-rising smartphone maker Xiaomi. That absence was all the more noticeably because Xiaomi has made no secret of its plans for a global expansion this year as part of a strategy to maintain its explosive growth in the 4 years since its founding. Xiaomi seems to have skipped the big show this year, and instead focused its energies on its own internal suppliers meeting, as reflected by a flurry of microblog posts from that event. Read Full Post…
