China :: Business :: Deals

Lenovo Mobile App Incubator Fund Invests in 18 Projects Sina Tech, 11/30/11 Chinese laptop, PC, and handset manufacturer Lenovo (0992.HK) revealed at the 2011 Lenovo Mobile Internet Developers Conference in Beijing today that 18 out of more than 1,000 projects that applied will receive nearly RMB 60 mln in combined funding from the LeFund mobile app development incubator fund. The LeFund investment fund was first unveiled at the same conference in 2010, with an initial investment of RMB 100 mln to be overseen by a team of professional investors which answers directly to parent company Legend Holdings. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing revealed in his keynote speech at the conference that there are currently more than 13,000 apps available through Lenovo's mobile applications store, 1,300% more than this time last year. The number of downloads also increased by 1,000%, and the Lenovo mobile applications store is currently partnered with more than 12,000 developers. Editor's Note: For mor...

Study of Consumer Behavior Leads to Specific Ideas for Consumer Product Launches in China New York Michael Zakkour , principal of Technomic Asia a veteran business consultancy for companies in the China market, provides insights about Chinas fashion consumer at the fashion business industry event, Fashion, China, and You on Tuesday, December 6 from 9am noon. The event, being held at SUNY Global Center at 116 East 55th Street, is part of the State University of New York program Confucius Institute for Business which incorporates expertise in innovation, culture and business strategies. Zakkour has more than a decade in developing business strategies for companies launching products in China markets. Technomic Asia also recently concluded a year long study of Chinas high-end brand consumers and growing middle class consumer who have an appetite for known and independent new fashion brands. Hell present these findings and other first hand information about Chinas fashion consumer ...

Baidu, MIIT Partner on SME Assistance Program Tencent Tech, 11/28/11 Chinese Internet giant Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), along with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (MIIT) Department of Medium & Small Enterprises and Department of Informatization Promotion, has announced its new RMB 3 bln "Xiang" ("Soar") SME Assistance Project. The project is designed to support the development of 2 mln SMEs over the course of China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). The project has four goals, according to Baidu VP of marketing and public relations Zhu Guang: train at least 100,000 search marketing professionals within participating SMEs; build a search marketing service platform; provide free promotion for SMEs in remote and underdeveloped areas; and deliver research reports on SMEs' operating conditions to relevant government agencies. The Xiang project will first be introduced in Beijing, Shanxi, Henan, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and expa...

In America we have laws and contracts so that we can create predictable outcomes. In China no such system exists but the same desire for predictable outcomes is there. That is what lies at the heart of guanxi- Vice Minister Xi, paraphrased. In this day of technological ubiquity in entertainment, it is still The Theater (and books) that give me the greatest pleasure. I love plays: comedies, dramas, ancient, classic, contemporary, and musicals of all stripes as well. I love that plays are essentially staged and told the same as they were 2,000 years ago. The planks, the players, the audience, the ambiance. But it is not often that I go to the theater with the anticipation of seeing my life, my profession and my experiences laid bare upon the stage. So it was with David Henry Hwangs new play about cross-cultural misunderstanding, Chinglish. His best since his Tony Award winning M. Butterfly. If you are in any way involved in doing business in/with China, if you are a Sinophile, if you...

Rumor: NDRC Dispenses RMB 660 Mln in Cloud Subsidies China Securities Journal, 11/25/11 China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) distributed the first batch of cloud computing industry subsidies - totaling RMB 660 mln - last month to more than 10 firms involved in 15 pilot projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Wuxi. Recipients include e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group subsidiary AliCloud, internet giants Tencent (0700.HK) and Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Shanghai East-China Computer (600850.SH), and integrated IT service provider Teamsun (600410.SH). Alibaba and Baidu each received a subsidy of more than RMB 100 mln, while sums received by East-China, Teamsum and others ranged between RMB 15-20 mln. According to the source, the NDRC will conduct annual assessments of the 15 projects over the coming five years to determine which will be eligible for continued funding. The NDRC, however, has not yet determined whether it will solicit new projects next y...

Source: GLG Life Tech Vancouver, British Columbia, Nov. 14, 2011 -- GLG Life Tech Corporation, the vertically-integrated leader in the agricultural and commercial development of high quality stevia and all natural and zero calorie food and beverage products, announces financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Revenue from AN0C for the third quarter was $1.0 million -- The Company's consumer products business, AN0C, had sales of $1.0 million in the third quarter of 2011. The average revenue per bottle was higher by 3.8% for the third quarter compared to the second quarter as it reflected the change in product mix and the reduced level of promotional activities that were undertaken in the second quarter to support the launch of the new AN0C brand the RTD products. The first sales of vitamin enriched waters began in the third quarter, and were on average sold at a higher price than the RTD teas. The objectives of the promotional campaigns were to encourage consumers...

Tencent Microblog Launches E-Commerce Platform China Computer World, 11/18/11 Chinese internet giant Tencent's (0700.HK) microblogging platform has launched its "Wei Mai Chang" e-commerce feature, with sites like Beijing-based apparel e-commerce firm Okaybuy launching dedicated pages. E-commerce sites can promote items on Tencent Microblog by posting a limited-time deal on specific items. The price is reduced by RMB 0.1 each time a user "tweets" about the deal, which means users can obtain the item for free if enough users "retweet" the post, or can purchase it at anytime at the current price. While users currently must go to the merchant's official website or online store to complete their purchase, a spokesperson for Tencent said that soon users will be able to complete purchases on the microblogging platform itself. Okaybuy has garnered over 50,000 followers since launching on November 14. Tencent plans to release an API within a month, enabling...