Internet

China’s $9 bln classifieds buyout is an easy sale

16 Jun 2020

A group including Warburg Pincus will take U.S.-listed 58.com private. A 20% premium is decent for a business that has fallen out of favour to sexier tech stocks. Private equity boasts a strong record in classifieds, and can offer 58.com a clean exit from an unwelcoming market.

Zoom’s China conundrum poses division problem

11 Jun 2020

The $62 bln videoconferencing firm temporarily suspended a U.S.-based Chinese activist account after it held an event commemorating Tiananmen Square. The incident hasn’t dented Zoom stock, up 200% this year. But like ByteDance, Zoom may need to hive off China operations somehow.

NetEase’s Hong Kong reception beckons to China Inc

11 Jun 2020

Local mom-and-pop investors ordered 360 times as many shares of the $58 bln video-game maker as were on offer. Easy money is distorting markets everywhere and NetEase has virus-resistance appeal. Exuberant retail buyers only make the case for other secondary tech listings easier.

JD stock sale helps illuminate China’s have-nots

5 Jun 2020

The $70 bln Beijing-based online retailer will be next with a second listing, in Hong Kong. Others are bound to follow, but not all 175 trading on New York exchanges can access this safety valve from a U.S. backlash. Some may need to go private and hibernate for a while.

Even a chastened SoftBank leans on engineering

2 Jun 2020

Boss Masayoshi Son is scrambling to clean up his “foolish” and costly WeWork mess. Instead of just selling some Alibaba shares, though, he’s using derivatives linked to them to raise $11.5 bln. The transactions are fiddly, but in this case may be a good use of creative finance.

NetEase fortifies itself against global disarray

2 Jun 2020

The $51 bln video-game producer is ready to raise $2.6 bln in Hong Kong. Quarantined customers have helped it defy a U.S. backlash against Chinese stocks. A secondary listing closer to home, following a tougher trail blazed by Alibaba, should add a useful layer of protection.

India Insight: Mukesh Ambani sets high bar for Jio

1 Jun 2020

At $68 bln, the tycoon’s telecom operator is being valued like a tech startup. It’s backed by A-list investors from KKR to Facebook, and more are queuing up. Growth has been impressive. But the wannabe super-app could encounter serious competition in the country’s digital race.

Meituan Dianping cooks up some tasty scraps

25 May 2020

Covid-19 hit China’s $83 bln takeaway-to-taxis company, whose quarterly sales fell 13%. The outlook is shaky, but more restaurants have signed up and new initiatives like contactless delivery should provide value longer-term. Merging Western peers are in comparative disarray.

Stimulus blunder Down Under sends Big Data alert

25 May 2020

Australia overfunded an $85 bln wage subsidy programme due to excessively pessimistic epidemic models and data entry errors. Canberra thought 6.5 mln workers needed help, nearly twice the real number. Others will find it similarly difficult to cut through the noise.

Delivery app dares Shanghai-to-New York IPO route

15 May 2020

Dada Nexus, backed by JD and Walmart, aims to raise $500 mln on the Nasdaq even as U.S. political backlash against Chinese companies intensifies. Luckin’s scandal raises fresh doubts, as do stock performances of recent debuts. And yet rival bourses are struggling to capitalise.

China’s JD flexes virus muscle memory

14 May 2020

Since forging its online business model during the 2003 SARS outbreak, the company has grown into a $70 bln force. With logistics providing a Covid-19 edge over Alibaba, JD’s quarterly sales are seen rising 13%. The momentum should help ease plans to raise $3 bln in Hong Kong.

Tencent’s post-pandemic vision looks too normal

13 May 2020

Mobile games sales surged 64% to $5 bln in the first quarter. That one-off gain will fade as Chinese people return to offices and schools. Yet where rivals Alibaba and ByteDance are betting on new opportunities, Tencent seems overly focused on returning to business as usual.

Cloud IPO is fresh air for U.S. China listings

6 May 2020

Lei Jun is eyeing a healthy $3.6 bln valuation for his cloud venture. The Xiaomi founder makes for a tried and tested boss for Kingsoft, a strong rival to Alibaba and Tencent. In the wake of the Luckin scandal and Covid-19, it looks as good as any Chinese company in New York can.

Groceries are gluttony for India’s takeaway giants

28 Apr 2020

Couriers of prepared food are increasingly pushing into dried and fresh fare. It’s a bigger prize in a market dominated by home cooking. That could make SoftBank-backed Grofers, last valued at $650 mln, appealing to Zomato. Such meal combos are unlikely to deliver value, however.

China’s Didi looks short on engine power

23 Apr 2020

The ride-hailing giant unveiled a three-year plan. Hard-to-compare targets and more of the same bets hardly inspire, especially as tech peers Alibaba and Meituan grab Covid-19 opportunities in health and more. Didi’s $53 bln valuation is vulnerable without a stronger drive.

It’s easy to like Facebook friending Reliance

22 Apr 2020

The social networking giant is paying $5.7 bln to buy 10% of the conglomerate’s Jio digital services division. WhatsApp will be able to power the retail ambitions of India’s richest man, and even potentially help build a super-app. This rare minority stake is a major step.

ValueAct nudges Nintendo to ditch the joystick

22 Apr 2020

The U.S. investor disclosed a $1 bln stake in the maker of Super Mario. Unlike the typical activist target, Nintendo is well run and outperforms rivals. But its focus on consoles looks short-sighted. As it did with Microsoft, ValueAct can push Nintendo in the right direction.

Hadas: Cheap data at last gets its due

22 Apr 2020

Faster and inexpensive connections are being appreciated now more than ever, but U.S. government inflation measures miss most of the gains. A fairer count would push up historical GDP growth, new research shows. The pandemic suggests even the revised figure lowballs the value.

Tencent puts e-sports endgame into position

16 Apr 2020

The Chinese web giant has tightened its grip on rival video-game streaming sites Huya and DouYu. That paves the way for a merger that would create a $3.4 bln enterprise. The benefits of uniting are appealing. And with Covid-19 weighing on shares, the timing is better than ever.

Virus sets off China Inc’s biggest clash

14 Apr 2020

Alibaba, Tencent and Ping An dominate e-commerce, video games, and insurance, respectively. Now the trio, worth a combined $1 trln, is converging on the healthcare system, which is due an urgent upgrade. Financial and regulatory risks abound, but patients will be better off.