This is about Jack, not the house. Alibaba escapes with a slap on the wrist and Beijing’s further actions demonstrate very clearly that its actions are all about bringing Jack Ma to heel rather than killing the economic powerhouses that he created. The Chinese regulator has fined Alibaba RMB18.2bn ($2.8bn) for market abuses and ordered it to file a report...
LG finally throws in the towel. LG has finally thrown in the towel on smartphones in an admission to what has been patently clear for many years which is that had no chance of creating a stable smartphone business. I have followed LG’s mobile phone efforts for over 17 years and when this business was all about hardware and miniaturization,...
The great reset spreads. The migration towards electric and autonomous is showing signs of strain with crashing valuations and signs of a significant slowdown in progress. This is good news for the OEMs who have been served notice by the technology industry, but which has spectacularly failed to live up to the timetable giving them more time to get their...
Semis and smartphones drive results. Samsung reported excellent Q1 21 results as mobile devices and semiconductors look like they have underpinned a substantial recovery compared to Q1 20. However, as usual, this was already broadly known in the domestic market meaning that the shares barely reacted to the good news. Samsung expects Q1 21 revenues / EBIT to be KRW65tn...
The Supreme court puts the issue partially to bed. A 10-year titanic struggle comes to an end with Google triumphing over Oracle in a case that will set a precedent for where the value really lies in software and who owns it and who can monetise it. This is not a new fight as Oracle has been seeking $9bn in...
EVs might just work for Xiaomi. I have been pretty negative with regard to the prospects of Apple making and selling an electric vehicle due to the impact it would have on the company’s profitability. However, by the same token, the opposite may be true for Xiaomi which has always taken pride in its low hardware margins. Xiaomi, like everyone...
Lack of support looks to have been the cause. Deliveroo took a hammering on its first day of trade falling 26% below the issue price in what I suspect has more to do with institutional support than its valuation. This is a major black eye for the London Stock Exchange and may make other companies such as Oxford Nanopore (in...
Arm lays out its position with Armv9. Arm has announced its first new processor architecture for quite some time but the real test of this will come when it goes head to head with Intel on a level playing field. Arm held its Arm Vision Day event where the headline news was the launch of the new Armv9 architecture updating...
Xiaomi’s looks to be going after Huawei’s business. Xiaomi’ latest launches signal a change in direction for the company that I suspect has been triggered by Huawei’s problems which have created the opportunity for Xiaomi to take its place in overseas markets and especially at home. Xiaomi’s “Mega Launch 2021” event revealed a new smartphone with a variant to match...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Ant Group – Crushed by the state.
A very different fate to that of Alibaba. The censure dealt to Ant Group is the exact opposite of that given to Alibaba (see here) that will destroy its proposition, ensure that it no longer threatens the banking sector and also supplies all of its data to the state. Tencent can expect the same treatment. Some commentators will see this...