Opinion | Jego suspension: China Mobile's latest mixed signal

I previously welcomed the installment of a new generation of leaders at China Mobile (0941.HK; NYSE: CHL) about a year ago, but a steady series of mixed signals since then have me wondering if these new executives may be just as confused as their predecessor, former Chairman Wang Jianzhou. Since taking the helm of the world's biggest telco, the new executives, led by new Chairman Xi Guohua, have made a number of moves that seem to reflect a company whose head remains in a haze. The latest of those has seen China Mobile just announce that it's suspending its Skype-like Jego mobile messaging service just weeks after its launch. 

Before we go any further, it's helpful to review the twisted story that led to Jego's launch less than a month ago.  In many ways, that story reflects the current state of dysfunction that increasingly looks like a central part of China Mobile's emerging corporate culture under its new leaders.

The story began late last year, when China Mobile executives began publicly complaining about WeChat, the popular mobile instant messaging product developed by Chinese Internet giant Tencent (0700.HK). China Mobile complained that it was losing major business for its traditional short messaging (SMS) service to WeChat, which let mobile users send messages for free using the mobile Internet.

A bitter war of words broke out after that, with China Mobile pressuring Tencent to start charging money for WeChat use. China Mobile wanted to get some of that money from Tencent under a revenue sharing agreement, even though Tencent repeatedly insisted the service would remain free. 

That conflict finally receded earlier this year when China Mobile finally stopped complaining and did what it should have done all along - try to develop its own rival products. One of its major moves in that direction was its launch of Jego early this month. Now media are reporting that China Mobile has announced it is suspending new registrations for Jego indefinitely.