China

Fortnite outplays media titans in a battle royale

18 January 2019

The video game may have raked in as much as $2.4 bln in sales last year, more than any 2018 Hollywood blockbuster. Now Netflix says it is threatened too. Success comes from mass appeal: both young and old gamers are hooked. Streaming giants and movie outfits are right to be alarmed.

Viewsroom: China’s slowdown is not created equal

17 January 2019

People in the Middle Kingdom are buying fewer iPhones and cars, but Nike and others are chugging away nicely. Meanwhile, India’s struggling rural farmers are a force too big to ignore in this year’s general election. Plus: The Detroit auto show reflects the industry’s gloom.

China can give stock buying idea a wide berth

15 January 2019

Beijing’s financiers are abuzz with debate about whether the central bank should buy equities as part of official efforts to help a slowing economy. Drawbacks would outweigh limited benefits. Luckily there is a better way to channel money to where it would do growth more good.

AB InBev’s Asia sale needs breathalyser test

14 January 2019

The Belgian brewer is said to be mulling an IPO of its Asian unit. The region is a fast-growing jewel in the drinks giant’s crown, yet it faces stiff competition in China, and still struggles in India and Southeast Asia. The mooted $70 bln valuation will be tough to keep down.

Chinese mystery beauty queen is ripe for makeover

11 January 2019

Pechoin is giving global cosmetics brands a run for their money in China’s $30 bln skincare market. Its revival from state-owned obscurity is impressive; it did so without outside investors or partners. As the economy cools, however, it could make an attractive acquisition target.

Beijing U-turn hints at silly season for subsidies

9 January 2019

The state planner is hinting at measures to increase domestic consumer spending on cars and appliances. Any tax cuts or handouts would be a short-term fix that shifts focus away from efforts to cut excess capacity. It underscores China’s determination to prop up the economy.

HNA’s haphazard selloff keeps getting trickier

9 January 2019

The Chinese conglomerate is flogging stakes in an online lender, life insurer and brokerage. A lack of clear strategy and market perceptions of creditor clout will make it harder to profitably unwind HNA’s $50 bln buying spree. Falling asset prices aren’t helping, either.

Citi plays longer game in China

9 January 2019

Even as the mainland economy wobbles, the U.S. mega-bank is ditching a Shanghai underwriting and advisory JV to build a brokerage it can control. A more pliant partner would help Citi compete against entrenched Chinese rivals. Slumping markets should make finding one easier.

iPhones are unreliable Chinese shopping indicators

4 January 2019

Apple’s warning about China iPhone sales has freaked out markets. Yet foreign luxury brands – such as thousand dollar smartphones - make shallow indicators of broader trends. Chinese demand is indeed cooling, but unevenly. Investors need not panic just yet.

Airbnb will succeed where U.S. peers failed: China

4 January 2019

Unlike Google or Facebook, the home-sharing app’s model dovetails with Beijing’s view that property be used for living, not speculating; and its rating system helps with social credit scoring. Domestic rivalry will be fierce, but Airbnb’s global network gives it one advantage.

Cannabis will take China tech’s path to propriety

3 January 2019

A subversive industry feared by the establishment, with investors reliant on legal loopholes: American pot companies are starting out much like Chinese tech giants did. In the same fashion, as this shadowy industry creates jobs and wealth, appetite for reining it in will wane.

Apple suppliers have few tools to defy gravity

3 January 2019

The iPhone maker’s profit warning has hurt shares in European chipmakers like AMS. Apple can appease investors with buybacks or extra software revenue. But suppliers are in a bind. Any attempt to diversify means they will have plough cash into new ventures that may easily flop.

Starbucks will start brewing a venti Chinese deal

3 January 2019

The $80 bln coffee chain is targeting big mainland expansion, with some 6,000 stores by 2022. Such bold plans will run up against stiffer competition and trade-war-related pressure on U.S. companies. Starbucks would be smart to find local backers the way McDonald’s and Yum did.

Apple sales warning is a Chinese joint venture

2 January 2019

Investors may not always believe China’s official data, but Apple’s warning that iPhone sales rapidly decelerated in the country sends an alarming message about the main engine of global growth. Still, in some ways the U.S. tech giant may be at the sharp end of the slowdown.

Truce brakes Evergrande’s bad bet on Tesla wannabe

2 January 2019

The Hong Kong-listed conglomerate has ended a legal spat with electric-vehicle developer Faraday Future over a soured $2 bln investment. It seems unlikely that Evergrande's stake in the troubled Chinese carmaker will ever pay off, but this deal at least limits the downside.

Chinese stocks are cheap for good reason in 2019

2 January 2019

Shanghai’s bourse lost a quarter of its value last year, despite official pep talks. Now it looks a bargain, compared to past levels and other exchanges. But investors won’t be going hog wild: the economic outlook for the Year of the Pig is the most uncertain in over a decade.

A plucky local upstart will take on Macau’s moguls

31 December 2018

Regulators in the world’s largest gambling hub could allow new players onto the casino floor when licenses expire in 2020. With frayed U.S.-China relations dealing American giants Sands and Wynn a weak hand, homegrown names like Suncity and Golden Dragon will try their luck.

China will outdo U.S. in scramble for Africa

28 December 2018

Beijing will cement its position as the leading power on the continent, countering a U.S. pushback. Besides flexing muscles from Djibouti, its first overseas base, China will squeeze U.S. firms out of commercial and mining deals as tensions take on a Cold-War tinge.

ByteDance will take over B in China’s BAT

28 December 2018

The fast-growing startup behind AI-powered news and video apps Toutiao and TikTok is valued at $75 bln, on par with Baidu. Marketing and tech synergies would benefit both if ad spending falls. A 2019 merger will help rebalance the power with acronym partners Alibaba and Tencent.

Weed, China, guns and money lead most-read stories

27 December 2018

We promised 2018 would bring “Froth and Frustration,” and that’s just what readers got. Other topics that piqued your interest: Rising populism in Italy, Brazil and France; Broadcom’s doomed bid for Qualcomm and the sale of Refinitiv by Breakingviews’ parent. Plus, fake meat.