What do Walmart & ZTE have in common?

Both stocks dropped significantly in value after running afoul of the US anti-bribery laws.

Moral of the story:  Bribe, er, donate to US senators campaigns BEFORE you bribe legislators in other countries?

Chinese telecoms kit maker ZTE is in for a rough ride: its shares fell to a three-year low on Monday amid a profit warning and rumours that it may axe up to 12,000 workers.

The firm, second in the domestic market for telecoms equipment behind Huawei, warned last week that its net profits for the first half of 2012 could fall by as much as 80 per cent year-on-year. Its stock slumped by more than 17 per cent in Hong Kong this morning.

Beijing-based IT consultancy Marbridge Consulting published rumours on Friday that ZTE may be preparing to jettison about 12,000 staff this year, with overseas workers particularly at risk.

It said that there had already been three rounds of employee recalls and lay-offs in overseas offices since the Chinese New Year on the back of sliding market share. It added that cash-flow problems have intensified in some markets where big contracts have led to long delays before payment.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, ZTE has been rocked by a series of probes into shady business practices.

via Wobbly Chinese telecom giant ‘may sack 12,000’, shares nosedive • The Register.