China :: Business :: Deals

Source : Reuters (Reuters) - China Resources Enterprise Ltd , the country's biggest supermarket operator and top beer maker, said on Friday (July 29)it plans to buy domestic retailer Jiangxi Hongkelong Department Store for 3.69 billion yuan ($573 million). In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, China Resources said it would finance the acquisition by cash in four installments. "The acquisition of the target Company will enable the company to increase ... market share in retail business," China Resources said. The target company, based in the southeast Chinese province of Jiangxi, had an after-tax profit of 93 million yuan in 2010, up from 18 million yuan the previous year. As of the end of last year, it had audited net asset value of 230 million yuan. In May, China Resources' Chief Financial Officer Frank Lai said the company was looking at 6-7 deals in China in areas including breweries, supermarkets and beverage to tap China's rising consumer demand. Chi...

Social Game Developer Boyaa Lands USD 6 Mln in VC Funding Tencent Tech, 7/29/11 Chinese social game developer Boyaa Interactive recently obtained USD 6 mln in funding from Sequoia Capital. As part of the deal, Sequoia Capital partner Zhou Kui will join Boyaa Interactive's board of directors. According to an industry source, Zhou Hongyi, chairman of Chinese online security software developer Qihoo 360 (Nasdaq: QIHU), is a former investor in Boyaa Interactive. As of this round of funding, however, Zhou cashed out his shares in the company, worth an estimated USD 3 mln.

Youku, China Unicom Launch Mobile Video UGC Platform Tencent Tech, 7/28/11 Victor Koo, CEO of Chinese online video site Youku (NYSE: YOKU), said on his Tencent microblog today that Youku and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) would partner on the operator's new mobile UGC video platform, WoShare. As the exclusive content partner and operator for the new platform, Youku will allow users to upload, view, and share videos from their mobile devices. In March of this year, Youku partnered with China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) on the UGC channel of the operator's E-Surfing Video service, cooperating again with the operator the next month on PC and mobile services for its animation site. Youku has also partnered with China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) on its own mobile animation service, currently in commercial trials in six provinces.

by Michael Zakkour, Principal, Technomic Asia We are very active in the fashion/accessory/luxury market in China. For a couple of years now I have been telling anyone who will listen that this is the hottest apparel market in the world. Well, we now have this A.T. Kearney report to back up what I have been talking about. Hat tip to Mr. Robert Shecterle for the summary. To which I would add that in addition to the sales channels mentioned we have found that multi-brand stores, multi-brand boutiques and franchises are starting to creep their way into increasing importance in China. The dominance of the distributor/mall/department store and/or stand alone store model is starting to erode. Not to mention the growing importance of e-commerce and concept stores. Part II two of this post will discuss these new channels. There is an an interesting top ten market list at the end as well. We are extremely active in the fashion/accessory/luxury market in China. For a couple of years now I have be...

Sina Begins Open Beta Testing of "Daren" Sina Tech, 7/26/11 Chinese internet company Sina's (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging platform today began open beta testing of its "Daren" ("Expert") user verification plan. User data will be preserved after the open beta concludes in two weeks. Approved users will receive a red star next to their name in their user profile. Sina previously carried out small-scale closed beta testing of the service, and after the open beta will launch a newly upgraded version. The "Daren" red star will be given to active, popular users who are neither celebrities (who can receive an orange "V"), or institutions (which can receive a blue "V"). Applicants must upload a real photo, bind their account to a mobile phone number, have more than 100 followers and friends, and have more than 30 mutual friends with their accounts bound to their mobile phones. Applicants must also submit their real name, inte...

Alipay "Quick Pay" Users Exceed 20 Mln Sina Tech, 7/25/11 Chinese online payment platform Alipay announced today that its Quick Pay online payment-by-credit-card service now has more than 20 mln users and accounts for 36% of all transactions made through Alipay, an increase of nearly 6 percentage points since early June. According to Alipay vice president Fan Zhiming, Alipay's Quick Pay service has currently signed partnership agreements with 123 separate banks, 91 of which have already integrated the Quick Pay service with their own online banking services. This represents an increase of eight since early June in the number of online banks utilizing Alipay's Quick Pay service. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank now remains the only bank with nationwide operations yet to begin using Alipay's Quick Pay service. Fan said that the company hopes to see an increase in the number of Quick Pay users from 30 mln to 40 mln before the end of this year, followed by reaching 10...

Source : By Saritha Pingali, The China Business Review China's unprecedented economic growth has led to increased disposable income, which has caused a rise in consumption and changes in eating and drinking habits. In terms of the country's alcoholic beverage market, many consumers could afford only locally made alcoholic drinks prior to the economic boom. But the rise of China's middle class and increases in discretionary income have allowed many consumers to afford foreign-made and foreign-branded alcoholic beverages. Changing social and cultural factors have also strengthened the potential of China's alcoholic beverage market. China's expanding pub culture has offered more avenues for people to consume alcohol. In addition, a rise in the number of women who consume alcoholespecially winehas expanded the China market. Overall, Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to try new varieties of alcoholic beverages. To successfully tap China's alcoholic beverage ...

Source : CENS Taipei, July 18, 2011 (CENS)--Uni-President Enterprise Corp., Taiwans food giant, recently announced to sell all its stakes in the three Carrefour outlets in China, located in Tianjin, Guangzhou of Guangdong Province, and Chongqing of Sichuan Province for an estimated 110 million renminbi (RMB) or about NT$490 million (US$16.33 million). C.H. Lo, president of the company, indicated that Uni-President owns 45% in Carrefours operation in Tianjin, 10% in Chongqing and 20% in Guangzhou, all of which to be sold by the end of this year. But Uni-President will keep its stake in Carrefour Taiwan for being a long strategic partner, which holds 40% of Carrefour Taiwan with its sister President Chain Store Corp. Over the last two years Uni-Presidents investments in China have focused on the beverage sector with investment exceeding NT$10 billion (US$333.33 million) in 2010, with Lo disclosing the investment this year in China might exceed that of last year. Uni-Presidents milk tea p...

Source : Campaign China By Benjamin Li SHANGHAI - Lowe Shanghai has rolled out an integrated ad campaign for Remy Martins new product launch Centaure - a cognac tailor-made for Chinese consumers. The ad campaigns encompasses TVC, print OOH and digital viral video, as well as electronic PR. It was launched today after the trade launch of the product earlier this month. The 60 second main TVC features Hong Kong film celebrity Anthony Huang Qiusheng, who is well-known for his frank and outspoken personality, Huang has also done a travelogue programme in the Cognac region with Remy Martin chief winemarker Pierette Trichet in France, this will be aired on Travel Satellite TV channel in China this summer. Lowe China won the Remy Martin creative account in the first quarter of this year, and immediately worked on this campaign. Kitty Lun, CEO and chairman of Lowe China, said the strategy came about after extensive research that cognac drinking in China is for business entertainment'. ...

Rumor: China Mobile to Establish Corporate Client Subsidiary CWW, 7/22/11 An industry source close to China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) recently claimed the operator's plans to spin off its corporate client division as a subsidiary were under way and could be announced in the near future. Plans call for the entire process to be completed in August. With the establishment of the new subsidiary, the source said, China Mobile will move further into line with GM Li Yue's strategy of increasing China Mobile Group-level oversight.

Taobao Mall Ordered to Halt Online Pharmaceutical Sales Southern Daily, 7/21/11 Hangzhou-based C2C & B2C e-commerce site Taobao was recently ordered to halt the sale of pharmaceuticals on its Taobao Mall platform. Zhejiang province's food and drug administration authorities have ordered Taobao to make the necessary alterations as quickly as possible. Links to pharmaceutical goods on Taobao Mall are no longer functioning, instead displaying a message stating the user must log-in directly to the merchant's website in order to make any purchase. Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Taobao Mall Pharmacy "Only Provides Information"," MD 6/22/11 issue.

Baidu Merges Post Bar into Major Products Division Sina Tech, 7/20/11 Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) has confirmed that it recently dissolved its Post Bar editorial team, merging Baidu Post Bar operations and marketing with Baidu's major products technical team. Shu Xun, head of the Post Bar team, has been transferred to another postion within the company. The change was announced internally this week. While certain parts of Baidu's corporate restructuring plan have yet to be implemented, it is now known that Baidu will no longer rely on independent key performance indicators (KPI). Operation of Baidu Post Bar will continue following the restructuring. A source within the company said that Baidu has always placed a high degree of importance on strategy for its community forum, and that following the merger of Post Bar with other products, Baidu will invest further resources into promotion of the service. Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, plea...

Rumor: Founder Exits E-Reader Market Sohu IT, 7/18/11 Beijing-based PC and peripherals manufacturer Founder Technology Group (600601.SH) plans to exit the e-reader market, according to a source within the company, and is already liquidating its existing stock. Xu Naiqiang has already left his position as general manager of Founder's R&D and design center.

True conversation, word for word, as it took place in the Shanghai airport Saturday: ME to US BIZ MAN: So, this was your first trip to China. Where did you visit. US BIZ MAN: We went to Shanghai and Xian. ME: Oh, I love the history in Xian. US BIZ MAN: Yeah, we saw the PTERODACTYL WARRIORS.

CCTV Home Shopping Announces RMB 10 Bln Procurement Plan DVB CN, 7/18/11 CCTV Home Shopping (IGoCCTV.com) recently announced a RMB 10 bln procurement plan and its strategic supplier policy during a recent meeting in Beijing. Under the new policy, suppliers are not required to purchase TV advertising on the channel or pay fees to offer products on IGoCCTV, and IGoCCTV will not hold suppliers' revenue share but rather transfer it immediately. As of the end of June, IGoCCTV reached 35 mln households in 158 prefecture-level cities, and is expected to reach 45 mln households by September.

Source : By Yu Hongyan (chinadaily.com.cn) COFCO Corporation bought another 142 million shares of China Mengniu Diary Co Ltd for around HK$3.59 billion ($461 million), raising its stake in the dairy producer to 28.04 percent, the Shanghai Securities News reported Friday. COFCO may have bought the shares from Yinniu, Jinniu and a trust fund founded by interests under Concert Party Agreement, including Niu Gensheng, the former chairman and founder of Mengniu, which is China's largest dairy producer, according to a previous media report. A Deutsch Bank report also confirmed that, saying the sellers are not institutional investors. It means that Niu transferred all his shares after he resigned as chairman. Mengniu said previously that Niu resigned to focus more on charity. COFCO, together with Hopu Investment Management, bought 20 percent of Mengniu for HK$6.1 billion ($783 million) in 2009, making COFCO the largest shareholder of Mengniu since then, the paper said. COFCO said previous...

Rumor: Longcheer Cut Workforce by 600 in June China Business News, 7/14/11 An employee at Chinese mobile handset design house Longcheer Holdings said recently that the company laid off between 500 and 600 people last month, and could continue with layoffs in the future. Longcheer employed more than 3,000 people in 2010, a figure that the company now plans to cut back to around 2,000. The employee said that a decline in the number of clients had led to fewer shipments for Longcheer over the past several months. Although Longcheer has designed several smartphone solutions, its clients have had difficulties making inroads in the smartphone market, as the market for high-end smartphones is currently limited to a few major brands, and gray market "shanzhai" handset makers are unable to find a foothold in the market.

Sogou Sets Sights on Google China Sina Tech, 7/12/11 Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Chinese Internet firm Sohu's (Nasdaq: SOHU) online search subsidiary, Sogou, recently disclosed that Sogou aims to surpass Google in domestic market share within one year. Sogou expects revenues to exceed USD 20 mln in Q4 2011, and to become profitable by next year. Sogou is also strengthening its partnership with e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group to develop a browser designed for e-commerce. Wang said that Sogou's search traffic has doubled over the past year and revenue has continued to grow. Sogou expects to expand its staff by approximately 30% from its current 600 to 800 by the end of this year. The new hires will supplement both the front-end business as well as back-end departments such as operations, administration, and marketing. Sogou's core products currently include its search engine, browsers, and Chinese language Pinyin input software, with search as the primary revenue generator. ...

Raleigh, NC and Shanghai, China July 12, 2011 Parts and service in Chinas light passenger vehicle market reached an estimated US$55 billion in 2010, driven by strong expansion and continued aging of the vehicle parc, according to new research conducted by Technomic Asia, an international market consultancy specializing in China strategies for western companies. The report, titled A Strategic Assessment of Chinas Light Passenger Vehicle Aftermarket, Sixth Edition, stems from Technomic Asias ongoing primary research into the Chinese auto marketplace and its key players. Other major findings indicate that the light passenger vehicle car parc has expanded to more than 62 million units, with middle-aged vehicles (4-9 years old) reaching a 50 percent share. More information is available at www.technomicasia.com/auto. The aging and expanding parc, coupled with private ownership of vehicles at more than 70 percent today, supports strong growth in the parts and service market, said Steve Gans...

Tudou Files Nasdaq IPO for Fourth Time SEC, 7/08/11 Chinese online video site operator Tudou Holdings Limited has filed an amended IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that founder, chairman, and CEO Gary Wei Wang has agreed to pay his ex-wife, Yang Lei, out of his personal assets a cash amount before June 2012 and an additional cash amount in the event of an IPO, merger, acquisition, reorganization or a similar transaction within two years of such an event. Yang, who holds 95% of the equity interests in variable interest entity (VIE) Quan Toodou Network Science and Technology Co., Ltd., recently initiated a lawsuit against Wang, seeking the division of 76% of the equity interest in Quan Toodou held by Wang. Historically almost 100% of Tudou's net revenues and approximately 60% to 70% of costs were attributable to Quan Toodou, and Tudou relies on Quan Toodou to hold and maintain the licenses necessary to operate its website as well as online advertising ...

Chinese Authorities Repeal Domestic Preference in IT Procurement Sina Tech, 7/11/11 China's Ministry of Finance and other government agencies recently abolished the national government's procurement policy giving priority to "indigenous innovation" products. He Hongfeng, a professor at the Nankai University School of Law, said that the United States government and European governments had pressured the Chinese government to do so, claiming discrimination against overseas companies. Xiao Bin, VP of Kingsoft (3888.HK) subsidiary Zhuhai Kingsoft Office Software, said that the government's moves to give priority to domestic software had made a major difference for Kingsoft. Government procurements account for 56% of sales of Kingsoft's WPS office suite at present, and Kingsoft has seen growth of 200% over last year in governmental procurements of WPS. The company expects total WPS revenues to grow by 20% to 30% this year.

Download this podcast Length 16:03 Download audio file (20110701_autoaftermarket2011.mp3) Twenty percent growth in Chinas auto aftermarket in the recent past has slowed to under 10%, but the numbers disguise the opportunities that exist for auto parts companies. There are 350 different models of cars and light vehicles on Chinas roads. New car sales since 2006 have doubled from under 7.5 million annual sales to 15 million units in 2010. Technomic Asia produced its sixth annual China Auto Aftermarket report. This is a comprehensive report of Chinas growing auto aftermarket. It covers the trends in auto part sales, regions of growth, and also details distribution channels. Steve Ganster, managing director of Technomic Asia, shares some of the highlights of the report and describes the possible ways this market will change. The chart below shows how the category of other repair has spiked. These are repairs of middle-aged vehicles parts like, batteries, brakes, transmissions, and m...

Rumor: Ctrip Acquires 99Pto Sohu IT, 7/06/11 An industry source has said that Chinese online travel service provider Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) recently finalized its acquisition of Chinese ticketing site 99Pto.com. According to information available through the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce (SHAIC), the listed legal representative for 99Pto.com operator Shanghai Xuntu Ticketing is Li Xiaoping, whom Ctrip has confirmed currently serves as its own vice president. A spokesperson for Ctrip declined to either confirm or refute the news regarding 99Pto.com. The same spokesperson did, however, confirm that the two companies are partnered on certain operations, such as Ctrip's service in selling high-speed and conventional rail tickets. The source also noted that all Ctrip capital operations are made known through the company's listing announcements.

Meituan Obtains Second-Round Funding Sina Tech, 7/05/11 Chinese group buy site Meituan has announced that it recently obtained an eight-digit USD sum in second-round funding, led in part by Meituan's first-round investor, Sequoia Capital. Meituan said that it will release further details sometime this week. Meituan CEO Wang Xing said that the overall depressed state of capital markets has persisted for nearly two months, leaving investors feeling cautious and making it much more difficult at this stage to begin financing talks. Wang said that the fund had been received in full. He also predicted that group buy websites will see a slump in growth beginning at the end of this year. "Everyone with a group buy website is seeing profit right now," Wang said. "And the spending we're seeing reflects that. Venture capitalists will be more discriminating from now on, and only the best group buy websites will survive." Editor's Note: An industry source told Sohu T...

Rumor: China's Homegrown WAPI Standard Remains Unused IT-Times, 7/04/11 An IT Times reporter found recently that although China's own WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI) wireless networking standard is available as a standard option for wireless equipment, it is seldom actually used. A source in the wireless division of a provincial-level telecom operator said that while WAPI is supported in all of its public wireless internet access equipment and the wireless equipment it provides to customers, the feature had not been activated in practice. A technician surnamed Hou at Ruijie Networks, one of the members of the WAPI Industry Alliance, said that the company's wireless networking products for enterprise and operator customers all supported WAPI -- but that "essentially none" of the clients he had dealt with had ever used WAPI security. Most, Hou said, used the competing WPA or WPA2 security standards. Miao Yan, a networking products department em...

Source : China Retail News South Korean retail giant E-Mart has announced plans to sell about ten unprofitable stores in China. It is reported that E-Mart plans to relocate its operating strategic center from northern China to the northwestern region. The company will sell its outlets in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai while opening new stores in medium- and small-sized cities. According to the plan, E-Mart will increase the number of its stores from the current 27 to 45 by 2015. Depending on its new development strategy, E-Mart hopes to improve its retail sales in the Chinese sector and achieve good results. In addition, the South Korean media reported that E-Mart had talked with a potential buyer of its stores, but the negotiation failed due to price differences. The retailer now holds an open attitude towards selling these stores to multiple buyers. The report also revealed that E-Mart's Chinese business made losses of KRW91 billion, which was about USD83.7 million, in...

Rumor: Sina Weibo Rejects USD 500 Mln from DST TechWeb, 7/01/11 According to an industry source, Chinese internet company Sina's (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo microblogging platform recently declined USD 500 mln in investment funds from Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies (DST). DST reportedly appraised Sina Weibo at a value of USD 5 bln.