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West Australian
13-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Trade tensions aren't stopping Chinese companies from pushing into the US
Chinese companies are so intent on global expansion that even the biggest stock offering to date on Shanghai's tech-heavy STAR board counts the US as one of its biggest markets, on par with China. Shenzhen-based camera company Insta360, a rival to GoPro, raised 1.938 billion yuan ($417 million) in a Shanghai listing Wednesday under the name Arashi Vision. Shares soared by 274 per cent, giving the company a market value of 71 billion yuan ($15.3 billion). The US, Europe and mainland China each accounted for just over 23 per cent of revenue last year, according to Insta360, whose 360-degree cameras officially started Apple Store sales in 2018. The company sells a variety of cameras — priced at several hundred dollars — coupled with video-editing software. Co-founder Max Richter said in an interview Tuesday that he expects US demand to remain strong and dismissed concerns about geopolitical risks. 'We are staying ahead just by investing into user-centric research and development, and monitoring market trends that ultimately meet the consumer['s] needs,' he said ahead of the STAR board listing. China launched the Shanghai STAR Market in July 2019 just months after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for the board. The Nasdaq-style tech board was established to support high-growth tech companies while raising requirements for the investor base to limit speculative activity. In 2019, only 12 per cent of companies on the STAR board said at least half of their revenue came from outside China, according to CNBC analysis of data accessed via Wind Information. In 2024, with hundreds more companies listed, that share had climbed to more than 14 per cent, the data showed. 'We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. More and more capable Chinese firms are going global,' said King Leung, global head of financial services, fintech and sustainability at InvestHK. Leung pointed to the growing global business of Chinese companies such as battery giant CATL, which listed in Hong Kong last month. 'There are a lot of more tier-two and tier-three companies that are equally capable,' he said. InvestHK is a Hong Kong government department that promotes investment in the region. It has organised trips to help connect mainland Chinese businesses with overseas opportunities, including one to the Middle East last month. Roborock, a robotic vacuum cleaner company also listed on the STAR board, announced this month it plans to list in Hong Kong. More than half of the company's revenue last year came from overseas markets. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, Roborock showed off a vacuum with a robotic arm for automatically removing obstacles while cleaning floors. The device was subsequently launched in the US for $US2600 ($4020). Other consumer-focused Chinese companies also remain unfazed by heightened tensions between China and the US. In November, Chinese home appliance company Hisense said it aimed to become the top seller of television sets in the US in two years. And last month, China-based Bc Babycare announced its official expansion into the US and touted its global supply chain as a way to offset tariff risks. Chinese companies have been pushing overseas in the last several years, partly because growth at home has slowed. Consumer demand has remained lackluster since the COVID-19 pandemic. But the expansion trend is now evolving into a third stage in which the businesses look to build international brands on their own with offices in different regions hiring local employees, said Charlie Chen, managing director and head of Asia research at China Renaissance Securities. He said that's a change from the earliest years when Chinese companies primarily manufactured products for foreign brands to sell, and a subsequent phase in which Chinese companies had joint ventures with foreign companies. Insta360 primarily manufactures out of Shenzhen, but has offices in Berlin, Tokyo and Los Angeles, Richter said. He said the Los Angeles office focuses on services and marketing — the company held its first big offline product launch in New York's Grand Central Terminal in April. Chen also expects the next phase of Chinese companies going global will sell different kinds of products. He pointed out that those that had gone global primarily sold home appliances and electronics, but are now likely to expand significantly into toys. Already, Beijing-based Pop Mart has become a global toy player, with its Labubu figurine series gaining popularity worldwide. Pop Mart's total sales, primarily domestic, were 4.49 billion yuan in 2021. In 2024, overseas sales alone surpassed that to hit 5.1 billion yuan, up 373 per cent from a year ago, while mainland China sales climbed to 7.97 billion yuan. 'It established another Pop Mart versus domestic sales in 2021,' said Chris Gao, head of China discretionary consumer at CLSA. The Hong Kong-listed retailer doesn't publicly share much about its global store expansion plans or existing locations, but an independent blogger compiled a list of at least 17 US store locations as of mid-May, most of which opened in the last two years. The toy company has been 'very good' at developing or acquiring the rights to characters, Gao said. She expects its global growth to continue as Pop Mart plans to open more stores worldwide, and as consumers turn more to such character-driven products during times of stress and macroeconomic uncertainty. CNBC
CNBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Trade tensions aren't stopping Chinese companies from pushing into the U.S.
BEIJING — Chinese companies are so intent on global expansion that even the biggest stock offering to date on Shanghai's tech-heavy STAR board counts the U.S. as one of its biggest markets, on par with China. Shenzhen-based camera company Insta360, a rival to GoPro, raised 1.938 billion yuan ($270 million) in a Shanghai listing Wednesday under the name Arashi Vision. Shares soared by 274%, giving the company a market value of 71 billion yuan ($9.88 billion). The United States, Europe and mainland China each accounted for just over 23% of revenue last year, according to Insta360, whose 360-degree cameras officially started Apple Store sales in 2018. The company sells a variety of cameras — priced at several hundred dollars — coupled with video-editing software. Co-founder Max Richter said in an interview Tuesday that he expects U.S. demand to remain strong and dismissed concerns about geopolitical risks. "We are staying ahead just by investing into user-centric research and development, and monitoring market trends that ultimately meet the consumer['s] needs," he told CNBC ahead of the STAR board listing. China launched the Shanghai STAR Market in July 2019 just months after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for the board. The Nasdaq-style tech board was established to support high-growth tech companies while raising requirements for the investor base to limit speculative activity. In 2019, only 12% of companies on the STAR board said at least half of their revenue came from outside China, according to CNBC analysis of data accessed via Wind Information. In 2024, with hundreds more companies listed, that share had climbed to more than 14%, the data showed. "We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. More and more capable Chinese firms are going global," said King Leung, global head of financial services, fintech and sustainability at InvestHK. Leung pointed to the growing global business of Chinese companies such as battery giant CATL, which listed in Hong Kong last month. "There are a lot of more tier-two and tier-three companies that are equally capable," he said. InvestHK is a Hong Kong government department that promotes investment in the region. It has organized trips to help connect mainland Chinese businesses with overseas opportunities, including one to the Middle East last month. Roborock, a robotic vacuum cleaner company also listed on the STAR board, announced this month it plans to list in Hong Kong. More than half of the company's revenue last year came from overseas markets. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, Roborock showed off a vacuum with a robotic arm for automatically removing obstacles while cleaning floors. The device was subsequently launched in the U.S. for $2,600. Other consumer-focused Chinese companies also remain unfazed by heighted tensions between China and the U.S. In November, Chinese home appliance company Hisense said it aimed to become the top seller of television sets in the U.S. in two years. And last month, China-based Bc Babycare announced its official expansion into the U.S. and touted its global supply chain as a way to offset tariff risks. Chinese companies have been pushing overseas in the last several years, partly because growth at home has slowed. Consumer demand has remained lackluster since the Covid-19 pandemic. But the expansion trend is now evolving into a third stage in which the businesses look to build international brands on their own with offices in different regions hiring local employees, said Charlie Chen, managing director and head of Asia research at China Renaissance Securities. He said that's a change from the earliest years when Chinese companies primarily manufactured products for foreign brands to sell, and a subsequent phase in which Chinese companies had joint ventures with foreign companies. Insta360 primarily manufactures out of Shenzhen, but has offices in Berlin, Tokyo and Los Angeles, Richter said. He said the Los Angeles office focuses on services and marketing — the company held its first big offline product launch in New York's Grand Central Terminal in April. Chen also expects the next phase of Chinese companies going global will sell different kinds of products. He pointed out that those that had gone global primarily sold home appliances and electronics, but are now likely to expand significantly into toys. Already, Beijing-based Pop Mart has become a global toy player, with its Labubu figurine series gaining popularity worldwide. Pop Mart's total sales, primarily domestic, were 4.49 billion yuan in 2021. In 2024, overseas sales alone surpassed that to hit 5.1 billion yuan, up 373% from a year ago, while mainland China sales climbed to 7.97 billion yuan. "It established another Pop Mart versus domestic sales in 2021," said Chris Gao, head of China discretionary consumer at CLSA. The Hong Kong-listed retailer doesn't publicly share much about its global store expansion plans or existing locations, but an independent blogger compiled a list of at least 17 U.S. store locations as of mid-May, most of which opened in the last two years. The toy company has been "very good" at developing or acquiring the rights to characters, Gao said. She expects its global growth to continue as Pop Mart plans to open more stores worldwide, and as consumers turn more to such character-driven products during times of stress and macroeconomic uncertainty.
RTHK
22-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Beijing clears way for tech firms to list overseas
Beijing clears way for tech firms to list overseas Yan Bojin, chief risk officer at Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, says authorities will provide support to aid tech firms in listing overseas. Photo: RTHK Vice Minister of Science and Technology Qiu Yong says pilot technology finance programmes shall be prioritised in key regions, including the Greater Bay Area. Photo: RTHK People's Bank of China deputy governor Zhu Hexin says that over 100 institutions have issued 'sci-tech innovation bonds' amounting to over 250 billion yuan. Photo: RTHK Mainland authorities said on Thursday the country will provide a more transparent, efficient and predictable regulatory environment, along with funding support, to aid technology firms in listing overseas. This came as China's technology, banking, finance and regulatory authorities rolled out a slate of measures and programmes, as well as credit support for technology firms, to drive domestic innovation. Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing, Yan Bojin, chief risk officer at China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said 242 enterprises have completed their filings for listings overseas over the past two years since new regulations governing them have been implemented. "Among the firms, 83 are technology enterprises, mainly concentrated in fields such as information technology, biomedicine, new energy and advanced manufacturing," he said. "The CSRC will work with relevant departments to continue supporting eligible technology enterprises to develop in an orderly manner through domestic and overseas capital markets. "We will also provide a more transparent, efficient and predictable regulatory environment to support such technology enterprises to go public overseas." The regulator also noted that the country will further strengthen the security of funds raised by listed companies to ensure their allocation towards the main business rather than other purposes. Vice Minister of Science and Technology Qiu Yong noted that authorities will also continue to deepen reforms in the tech-heavy Nasdaq-style STAR Market in Shanghai, as well as the ChiNext board in Shenzhen, to encourage the so-called red-chip technology firms to return to domestic markets. A "national venture capital guidance fund", which Qiu said will be an investment vehicle with public-private partnership, will be set up to focus on "hard technology". Qiu also stressed that pilot technology finance programmes shall be prioritised in key regions, including Beijing, Shanghai the Greater Bay Area, as well as the innovation centres of Chengdu-Chongqing, Wuhan and Xi'an. "These regions should take the lead in breaking through and solving the key and difficult problems in science and technology finance, especially conducting pioneering trials in the areas of marketisation and rule of law, and exploring innovative policies related to science and technology finance," Qiu said.
RTHK
16-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Hang Seng Index slips amid mixed market openings
Hang Seng Index slips amid mixed market openings The Hang Seng Index lost 204 points, or 0.87 percent, to open at 23,249.16 for the day. File photo: RTHK The Hang Seng Index fell 204 points, or 0.87 percent, to open at 23,249.16 on Friday. The retreat came as stocks across the border started lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index losing 0.18 percent to 3,374.71 in opening trades. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.28 percent lower at 10,157.68. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was down 0.36 percent to open at 2,035.87. The region got off to a good start with Australian shares jumping to an over two-month high, led by gains in banks and miners, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy decision next week, when the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose as much as 1.2 percent to 8,398.2, its highest level since February 20. The index was on track to log its eighth consecutive session of gains. The Nikkei Stock Average opened at 37,748.58, down 6.93 points, or 0.02 percent. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened at 2,630.64, up 9.28 points, or 0.35 percent.(Xinhua/Reuters)
RTHK
24-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Hang Seng Index edges down in opening trades
Hang Seng Index edges down in opening trades Hong Kong stocks open down marginally on Thursday. File photo: RTHK The Hang Seng Index lost 42 points, or 0.19 percent, to open at 22,030 on Thursday. Mainland stocks opened lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.04 percent to open at 3,295. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.02 percent lower at 9,933. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was down 0.15 percent to open at 1,946. The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and other indices, reflects the performance of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. (Xinhua)
