Sohu.com reports US$45 million loss

    SOHU.COM Inc., operator of a popular Chinese Internet portal, said yesterday it lost US$45 million in the latest quarter while revenue rose 18 percent to US$400 million.

    The loss for the three months ended June 30 compared with a US$69 million loss in the previous quarter and an operating profit of US$64 million in the same period of 2013. Profits at China’s Internet companies have been squeezed by heavy spending to build a mobile presence as Chinese Web surfers shift quickly to going online wirelessly through smartphones and tablet computers. Sohu operates online media, search, gaming, community and mobile services.

    China Mobile unit woos subscribers

    BEIJING Mobile, a provincial-level branch of China’s largest telecom operator China Mobile, sharply increased data streams for its 4G packages Saturday without increasing prices.

    This is the third time the company has increased data allowances in an attempt to attract more 4G subscribers. Following the latest upgrade, the most generous package offers 3 gigabytes of data for a 188 yuan (US$30) monthly package, up from 500 megabytes. The most modest package increased from 200 megabytes to 500 megabytes for 58 yuan per month.

    Shares worth US$2.26b eligible for trade

    LOCKED-UP shares worth 13.9 billion yuan (US$2.26 billion) become eligible for trade this week in China.

    Nine listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges see a total of 642 million locked-up shares released onto capital markets from yesterday to Aug. 1, according to data from Southwest Securities. Under China’s market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up before they are permitted to trade.

    Yuan hits four-month high

    THE yuan rose to its highest in four months against the U.S. dollar yesterday after last week’s economic data boosted investor interest in the currency.

    The yuan hit 6.1848 to a dollar in the afternoon, its strongest since March 25 when it touched 6.1732. The currency ended at 6.1863 yesterday compared with 6.1915 at Friday’s close. “The yuan will continue to break new ground in the coming sessions and the currency-appreciation trend will be confirmed once it rises above the 6.1700 key level,” a Shanghai-based bank trader said. A lower figure means a stronger yuan.