Leading Chinese map provider AutoNavi holdings is planning to raise $100 in an IPO on Nasdaq under the symbol “AMAP”. The company generates most of its revenue from automobile navigation. Wireless and online mapping services (through its MapABC Technology subsidiary) account for approximately 10% of overall, and Google specifically accounts for just over 1%. (As [...]
On Monday evening SIG analyst Zhao Chunming downgraded Tencent from positive to neutral over concerns about its valuation in the face of a slowdown in the Chinese online game market. 48% of Tencent’s revenue comes from online gaming, and in the last several weeks Perfect World, Shanda Games, Giant Interactive and Netease have all issued [...]
Ku6, acquired by Shanda (Nasdaq:SNDA) controlled Hurray Holdings (Nasdaq:HRAY) in November 2009, is now poised to become the first US-listed pure play Chinese online video site. I have written extensively about China’s online video business. To date more than $500M has been invested into various Chinese firms, with the field effectively winnowed down to four standalone [...]
In today’s Q1 2010 earnings release Perfect World announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in Runic Games, a Seattle-based game development studio. Perfect World, which already has a deal to publish an MMORPG version of Runic’s “Torchlight“, says it paid “consideration of approximately US$8.4 million” for the majority stake. From Perfect World’s [...]
Niko Partners, run by a good friend, has released its latest survey of the China Game Market. Per the release: Niko Partners, the leading market intelligence firm on China’s video game industry, today announced preliminary results from its upcoming Annual Review & Five-Year Forecast on China’s video game industry, citing $3.57 billion in revenue from [...]
In a post last week on Netease ($NTES) I quoted Chinese press reports saying that on January 17 Chinese government regulators would announce penalties for Netease and its “unapproved” launch of World of Warcraft. That did not happen. The GAPP’s annual online game conference just concluded, and not only was there no news of a [...]
The media has paid a lot of attention to the plight of Google employees. Google’s sudden move was a shock to them, but they will be fine. Google will be more than generous in paying severance and they will quickly land on their feet, either at new jobs (Tencent, why not just hire the entire [...]
Right now I don’t have much more to add to the discussion of Google’s decision to no longer play by the PRC’s rules, and all the implications that decision may have for many US firms in China. When the dust settles I will try to write something intelligent. In the meantime, without intending to be [...]
Shanda Games ($GAME) purchased Mochi Media, a flash game distribution and advertising platform, for a reported $80m. It is Shanda’s first move into the US market. Several of the other leading Chinese game firms are already operating in the US or have announced plans to enter the market. Perfect World ($PWRD) operates English versions of some [...]
If the latest reports in the Chinese press are accurate, China’s General Administration for Press and Publications (GAPP) has told Netease ($NTES) that it has until January 17th to stop charging for World of Warcraft, otherwise it will impose a massive fine and shut off its Internet access. This has not been confirmed, nor have [...]
Items of Interest