Really Big Data gives China medical AI edge 18 Jul 2018 Investors at a Hong Kong conference talked up a digital-healthcare revolution. The hype is also palpable in Silicon Valley, where U.S. life-sciences investment hit a record $17 billion last year. It’s early, but Chinese outfits with access to a huge data trove can take the lead.
Race to governance bottom won by China’s Pinduoduo 18 Jul 2018 The shopping app’s owner apes Alibaba with a partnership that controls the board and an insider committee on top. It then adds super-voting stock for founder Huang Zheng, who is a member of all three groups. Investors who buy into the $1.6 bln IPO are just along for the ride.
BYD’s football fumble salts investor wounds 17 Jul 2018 The $17 bln Chinese car and battery maker says a fraudster struck deals in its name, including with Arsenal. BYD has already squandered a rally in electric vehicle stocks; its muddled response to this scandal will vex stakeholders like Warren Buffett. Patience could run out.
Chinese shopping-app IPO travels long last mile 17 Jul 2018 Shanghai-based Pinduoduo is seeking a $20 bln valuation in a New York debut. Sales are surging, but its social-networking e-commerce business model targeted at lesser-known areas of China may perplex overseas investors. Unwelcome comparisons to Groupon and Zynga are possible.
Alibaba’s $2 bln food sale hints at indigestion 17 Jul 2018 The e-commerce firm is raising new funds from outside investors for its meal delivery arm Ele.me, media reports. This comes just three months after Alibaba took full control of the unit. Rival Meituan's mooted $4 bln Hong Kong flotation might be giving Jack Ma stomach jitters.
Netflix growth setback gives rivals an opening 16 Jul 2018 The streaming-video service attracted fewer new subscribers than forecast in the latest quarter, knocking $20 bln off its value. That will comfort Disney and Comcast as they wage a costly battle for Fox and Sky. Yet with 130 mln customers, Netflix remains far ahead in the race.
Elon Musk outburst puts Tesla board on the spot 16 Jul 2018 Punishing a CEO who tweets, without evidence, that someone is a pedophile ought to be a no-brainer. But Musk’s fortunes and the electric-car maker’s are symbiotic, and his allies pack the board. Investors should worry for their own sakes if directors fail to act this time.
Broadcom chief uses up eight of his nine lives 12 Jul 2018 With a single deal – the $19 bln acquisition of software company CA – Hock Tan has torched a reputation built through years of savvy acquisitions. Broadcom lost nearly $16 bln of market value at a stroke. Recovering from that will take time, luck and abstinence.
SoftBank gets some help tinkering with valuation 12 Jul 2018 Masayoshi Son’s sprawling operation attracted an investment of over $1 bln from hedge fund Tiger Global. That should help SoftBank narrow its conglomerate discount, as might spinning off the Japanese mobile unit. The massive Vision Fund, though, is a murky hodgepodge unto itself.
Broadcom’s new M&A strategy has a bug 11 Jul 2018 The $105 bln chipmaker’s prolific dealmaking has supercharged growth. But its size, and the torpedoing of its Qualcomm bid, left it bereft of natural targets. Expanding into software by buying CA brings new opportunities - and substantially increases the risks of pitfalls.
“Back to the Future” trade war lacks Reagan vision 10 Jul 2018 Trump is using 1980s tactics to hit China with tariffs. The Gipper used similar levies to curb Japanese chips, computers and TVs. But Reagan also helped kick off global talks that created the WTO. Today’s White House wields only sticks, not carrots that might boost U.S. exports.
SoftBank gets a shrewd deal as Altaba’s middleman 10 Jul 2018 The Japanese conglomerate is acting as go-between for Yahoo Japan in a $2 bln stock buyback from the U.S. investment firm. SoftBank's domestic telecoms arm gets a stake at a cheap price, and closer ties with Yahoo Japan. That will help it gear up to go public.
Sonos IPO sounds like a sales pitch to Amazon 9 Jul 2018 The wireless-speaker maker plans to go public and may target a $3 bln valuation. That’s pitched high for a firm facing stiff competition and losing money on barely double-digit sales growth. But it’s a trifle for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who can mimic Apple’s success with Beats.
Spurned $3 bln satellite group still in M&A orbit 9 Jul 2018 Inmarsat seems a plausible target despite U.S. peer EchoStar dropping its offer. The shares are down a third in a year, and on some estimates fail to reflect the value of the spectrum it controls. The former Permira buyout may appeal to private equity, or to satellite rivals.
Xiaomi IPO will punish bankers twice 9 Jul 2018 The Chinese smartphone-maker’s shares opened below the issue price in their $54 bln debut. It’s not the start tech companies covet. Advisers failed to sufficiently lower an unrealistic valuation goal. Their penalty may be that other big listings in Hong Kong are delayed.
China’s Fosun gets into bed with its boss 6 Jul 2018 The $16 bln conglomerate is adding matchmaking to its "happiness ecosystem", buying a dating service from Chairman Guo Guangchang for $600 mln. Baihe Jiayuan is a big brand, but sector growth is slowing and the price looks steep. This insider deal is unlikely to charm investors.
Singapore makes Uber unlikely techlash test case 5 Jul 2018 City-state regulators say the ride-app’s merger with $6 bln Grab curbs competition. They want drivers freed up and prices held steady, but also threaten to undo the deal unless consumers are happy with the fixes. The hard line may be a small sign of what’s to come for Big Tech.
Chinese tension whips up a new chip super-cycle 5 Jul 2018 Micron suffered a fresh setback after a rival said a mainland court banned the $60 bln company from selling some circuitry in the country. Even as booming demand pushes prices up, legal battles and China’s quest for homegrown tech amid trade strains are reshaping the industry.
Viewsroom: Is Silicon Valley getting nervous yet? 4 Jul 2018 The tech hub is getting squeezed by new policy restrictions amid a looming trade war between the U.S. and China. How is the Valley holding up? Plus: India's state lenders are losing CEOs. Is running these banks into the ground part of the plan?
WhatsApp hits limits of technology in India plight 4 Jul 2018 Just as the Facebook-owned messaging app pushes into payments in its biggest market, it has been warned by New Delhi about false information linked to mob killings. The service’s encryption means new code will be of little help. WhatsApp requires a different sort of innovation.