Others News
- Internet giants ready to rumble
Date: 21-Aug-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
DESPITE global stocks turmoil, interest in Internet companies is still intense especially with the approach of the Olympic Games and an anticipated surge in online advertising.
Google Inc.'s China subsidiary plans to buy one or two Chinese firms outright and invest in four or five more Chinese companies in the next year, according to Google China president Kai-Fu Lee.
Mobile search will be an area of focus for the search giant's research team. China Mobile Ltd. alone has 332.4 million users. Shanghai-based mobile advertising start-up MadHouse forecasts there will be 230 million mobile Internet users in China by 2008, easily surpassing the number of fixed-line Internet users (latest official statistics had 162 million fixed-line Internet users).
Alibaba Group now appears to have added Google to its list of companies to beat. Not content to own China's biggest online business directory, consumer-to-consumer auction site and a slew of other successful business, Alibaba has launched Alimama, an online advertising platform. Alimama allows Alibaba's 21.5 million registered members to buy and sell online advertising slots.
Google rival Baidu Inc. seems to be moving to offer Internet users every service Google offers. Baidu vice president Shen Haoyu hinted earlier this month that a Baidu instant messaging tool - akin to Google Talk - could be on the table.
Asia's biggest instant messaging provider Tencent Holdings Ltd. has some impressive statistics: Its instant messaging tool QQ had 273 million active accounts in the second quarter. The company recorded 30 million peak concurrent users July 13. This quarter Tencent will be scrambling to add sales staff to keep up with growth in its online advertising business. To date Tencent has been the only listed Chinese company to announce an increase in second quarter mobile value-added service revenue. Even as its competitors predict continued gloom Tencent noted in an earnings release that its wireless portal is generating continued usage growth.
Out of home media network Focus Media Holding Ltd. is still operating under a cloud.
Since July 16 the company has not made any public statements regarding a question of related party transactions that caused the company to miss a NASDAQ filing deadline. Management is not too preoccupied with the case as reports emerged earlier this month regarding a purchase of a 70 percent stake in Beijing-based online game advertising specialist WonderAd for between US$20 million and US$40 million.
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