China Net Investor

Meet the Founders of "China's YouTube" Tudou.com

2007-10-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

Interview with Gary Wang and Marc Van der Chijs, founders of Tudou.com - China's most popular video sharing site. (Tipped off by Startupplay.com)

According to Gary Wang Tudou.com is already streaming more minutes of video content every month than YouTube (15 billion minutes per month vs. 3.5 billion). As Wang says, "those numbers are never accurate", but considering the fact that Chinese video sharing sites have become magnets for full-lenght movies from around the world (Read: "Chinese sharing movies for the world"), I can imagine that they are streaming many, many minutes of video content.

China's Leading Internet Companies

2007-09-26T01:01:00.000-07:00

Due to Baidu's flying shares, the interest in Chinese Internet companies has increased a lot in the last few weeks.
As a consequence many visitors have come to my weblog to find information about other promising web companies from Middle Kingdom. So I've decided to make a short overview on China's leading internet companies for those not yet familiar with China's online sector.

Portals, Search, Online Media

Baidu.com (BIDU)

Baidu is the leading Chinese search engine with a market share of almost 70% (Google 23%, Yahoo 3%). Besides the search engine Baidu also operates very popular search query-activated message boards (Baidu Post Bar), a social question & answers service (Baidu Knows) and an online collaboratively-built encyclopedia similar to Wikipedia (Baidu Baike).

Sina.com (SINA)

Sina is the leading internet portal in China. Most of China’s netizens go and check Sina for breaking news at least once a day, giving Sina a similar position in the news market like CNN and MSNBC in the US.
Sina is also one of the biggest blogging service providers in China(Blog Sina) and together with China Telecom they are operating the fast growing video sharing platform Sina-Vnet Podcast.

Sohu.com (SOHU)

Sohu.com is a well established online brand in China and Sina's archrival. Sohu’s most important web properties are Sohu.com (portal); Sogou.com (search engine - market share 2%); Chinare n.com, an online alumni club; 17173.com, a games information portal and Focus.cn, a real estate website. In an attempt to gain an edge over its competitors, Sohu bought the right to create the official 2008 Beijing Olympic Games website and to use the logo in marketing.

Tencent QQ (SEHK:700 Hong Kong; not traded on Nasdaq)

Tencent is China’s instant messaging (IM) king. Its flagship product Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging service in China with a market share of almost 80% (over 250 million subscribers). Tencent is quickly leveraging its IM leadership into other business lines, including online media (QQ.com Portal), mobile & telecommunications value-added services , online gaming, e-commerce (Paipai.com C2C auctions; Tenpai.com online payment ) and online advertising services.

Tom.com (TOMOY.PK)

Tom Online is a leading mobile Internet company in China that offers an array of wireless internet services such as SMS, MMS, WAP, wireless IVR (interactive voice response) services, content channels, search and classified information. Tom Online is also operating the quite popular Internet portal Tom.com. In 2005 Tom Online partnered with Skype to provide Skype Voice over IP (VOIP) communications services in China. Tom Online also holds a 51% stake in Eachnet.com (formerly known as EbayEachnet) - a joint venture created with eBay in 2006.

Tudou.com

Tudou.com, known as "the YouTube of China", is the leading video sharing website in China. As of August 2007, Tudou had 28.84 million weekly unique visitors and 360 million weekly clip views according to Nielson/NetRatings.

However, it is not clear yet if Tudou can keep its leading position in the future as China’s internet giants Sina and Tencent have launched their own video sharing sites – and not to forget the fact that there are already at least 150 similar services available in China.

E-Commerce

The Alibaba Group

The Alibaba Group is the largest e-commerce company in China and operates the world's largest online business-to-business marketplace.

As of September 2007, the Alibaba Group is made up of 5 companies:

1.) Alibaba.com: Alibaba International is now the world's largest online business-to-business marketplace, with more than 500,000 people visiting the site every day and 3 million registered users from more than 200 countries.
Alibaba China is the largest B2B marketplace for domestic China trade. As of June 30, 2007, it had nearly 21 million registered users across China.

2) Taobao.com: Within three years Taobao has dethroned eBay as China’s auction king and is now the largest C2C online auctions platform in China with a market share of between 70% and 80%.

3) Yahoo! China: In October 2005, the Alibaba Group acquired Yahoo! China and formed a long-term strategic partnership with Yahoo! Inc.. Under the agreement, Alibaba owns and operates Yahoo! China, with exclusive rights to use the Yahoo! brand and technologies in China. (In exchange, Yahoo took a 40 percent stake in Alibaba.)

4) Alipay: A service similar to PayPal and now one of the leading Chinese online payment systems.

5) Alisoft: Alisoft provides web-based business software services for SMEs in China.

Ctrip.com (CTRP)

Ctrip is the leading online travel service company in China with a market share of almost 50% (Zacks Equity Research). Ctrip provides all kinds of travel related services including hotel reservation, air-ticketing and packaged tour services. Other activities include Internet-related advertising services and hotel management operations in China.

Dangdang.com

Dangdang.com is China's version of Amazon.com. They are the biggest online bookstore with a market share of around 27%, slightly ahead of Amazon’s Chinese subsidiary, Joyo.com, which the Americans purchased in 2004.

Online Gaming

Shanda Interactive Entertainment (SNDA)

Shanda is one of the leading operators of online games, especially massively multiplayer online role-playing games ( MMORPGs), in China. They were the first company in China to license and operate online games from abroad.
Shanda has recently aquired Chengdu Aurora Technology Development, a Chinese developer of 3D online role-playing games and also increased its stake in Korea's MMORPG developer Actoz Soft Company to 50.1%.
The most important MMORPGs that Shanda operates at the moment are The Legend of Mir II, Dungeons & Dragons Online and The World of Legend.

NetEase.com (NTES)

NetEase online games business focuses on offering massively multi-player online role-playing games to the Chinese market, known as MMORPGs. Unlike its main competitors Shanda and The9, Netease has developed most of its games in-house. Netease’ flagship product Fantasy Westward Journey is the most popular online game in China.

Besides its online gaming business NetEase also operates 163.com, the third most popular web portal in China.

The9 (NCTY)

The9 Limited is a Shanghai-based online game operator with the exclusive license to operate and distribute World of Warcraft in mainland China. Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft is the world's largest MMORPG in terms of monthly subscribers. As of June 30, 2007, approximately 8.3 million accounts have been registered and activated for the World of Warcraft game in Mainland China.
The9 has also obtained exclusive licenses to operate additional MMORPGs in China, including Granado Espada, Guild Wars, Soul of the Ultimate Nation and Ragnarok Online 2.

China Tech Roundup - September 05, 2007

2007-09-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

MSN's China Partner Wants out of Joint Venture
The state-owned Chinese partner of MSN, Microsoft's online services group, is looking to sell its 50 percent stake in MSN China due to its dissatisfaction with MSN China's revenue model.

CDC Games Launches U.S. Operations
CDC Games a pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online games in China, has launched operations in the U.S. under a new business unit called CDC Games USA.

Chinese Military Hacked into Pentagon
The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American officials.

Novoking: A New 3D Virtual Community in China
A new virtual 3D world akin to "Second Life" will start its private test in coming September.

China Puts Cartoon Cops on The Internet
Cartoon police officers are to appear in "pop-up" warnings on the internet every half hour to warn Chinese users that they must steer clear of unapproved websites.

Alipay Takes World to Chinese Shoppers
China's leading online payment service Alipay on Tuesday launched a new international service that will allow consumers in mainland China to buy directly online from global retailers.

China Tech Roundup - August 28, 2007

2007-08-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

The9 Announces September Launch for "Burning Crusades" World Of Warcraft Expansion
The9 announced today its plans to release the expansion pack "The Burning Crusade" for its licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft's in September.

Acer Takes on Lenovo with $710m Gateway Buy
After the $710m Gateway Buy, Acer replaces China-based Lenovo as the world's number three PC vendor.

eBay's Market Share in China Falls Below 10%
EBay China's market share fell from 16 per cent to 7.2 per cent during the first six months of this year. eBay's Chinese competitor Taobao increased its share from 74% to 83%.

Chinese Seek to Buy an American Maker of Disk Drives
The CEO of Seagate Technology, one of the two remaining U.S. drive makers, disclosed that a Chinese technology company has expressed interest in buying a U.S. maker of computer disk drives.

Chinese Hackers Target German Government Computers
German news magazine Der Spiegel reports that Chinese hackers have infiltrated German government computers with spy programmes.

Yahoo!, Microsoft Agree to Strict Blogging Rules in China
At least 20 blogging services, including Yahoo!.cn and MSN.cn, have agreed to the new "self-discipline pact" laid down by the Internet Society of China, a spin-off from the Information Industry Ministry. Under the pact, the services are encouraged to store the real names and contact details of Chinese bloggers and delete "illegal and bad" information from user comments.

BBC Learning English launches on Chinese portal Sina
Visitors to Chinese web portal, sina.com.cn, can now learn English with the BBC. The site offers its users direct access to the BBC Learning English content specially tailored for Chinese-speakers.

8 Quick Tips to optimize your site for Baidu
Tips to improve your site optimization for Baidu and Chinese search engines in general.

New Social News Aggregator for Chinese Hi-Tech and Internet Sector

2007-08-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Chinamemes.com is a social news aggregator dedicated to the Chinese technology sector. The website allows you to submit an article that will be reviewed by all and will be promoted, based on popularity, to the main page. When a user submits a news article it will be placed in the "unpublished" area until it gains sufficient votes to be promoted to the main page.

China Tech Roundup - August 23, 2007

2007-08-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Baidu Spanks Google in China's Online Ad Market
Baidu retained its position as ad sales leader in the last quarter with 23.5 per cent of the market. Google ranks only fourth with about 10 per cent of the country's total online ad revenues.

Alibaba Prepares its own "AdSense" Advertising Distribution Network
Alibaba has recently begun a beta test on its new online advertising distribution website Alimama (www.alimama.com), which is scheduled to be formally launched in the second half of this year.

Google China Blog Search Goes Live
Google China now has a blog search engine among its array of sites.

China Mobile gets even bigger
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone operator by number of subscribers, grew by more than 20 per cent in the first half of 2007.

The company claimed that it signed up more than 31 million new customers to bring its total to 332 million.

Google Rolls Out Laiba, Competing With Baidu Postbar
Google China Rolls Out "Laiba" - a product similar to Baidu Postbar, which enters or generates discussion board based on search keywords.

Sina Obtains Broadcasting Rights for European Soccer
Sina.com has obtained online broadcasting rights in China for soccer matches of the English Premier League and Italian Series A.

Google-powered Questions & Answers for China
Google rolled out a free Q&A service in China in cooperation with Tianya.cn, a popular Chinese net forum.

Google reveals stake in Chinese social Web Tianya
Google revealed on Monday that it had acquired a stake in Chinese community Web site Tianya.cn, indicating a foray by the global search leader into social networking in China.

Chinamemes.com - Observing China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - February 24, 2007

2007-02-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Dell Grows in China, Lenovo Losing Steam
In the fiscal third quarter of 2006, Dell reported a 33% growth in the number of computers it made and sold in China - roughly double the pace of China's overall market growth. In China, Dell is the fastest-growing player and in less than a decade it has grown to be third-largest PC vendor with a 10% share, behind home-grown Lenovo, which has more than a third of the domestic market, and Founder Technology.

Looking at Tencent
Travis Johnson from the "One Guy's Investments" Blog analyzes China's Instant Messaging services King Tencent.

Report: China will not issue 3G licenses before 2008
The Chinese government will not issue licenses for 3G (third-generation) mobile services until the first quarter of 2008, according to a Chinese report. Delaying the release of the 3G licenses will give China's homegrown 3G technology TD-SCDMA and its backers additional time to close the gap with more mature 3G technologies, WCDMA (wideband CDMA) and CDMA2000 EV-DO (evolution data optimized).

Can Baidu Survive Google's Ferocious Uppercut?
Google vs. Baidu - with the hometown hero decisively winning the first few skirmishes with the global godzilla waking up from its slumber and getting down and dirty, real fast.

QQ - China IM Service Goes Web 2.0
Tencent is now recognized as the leading provider of Internet, mobile & telecommunications value-added services in China. QQ, Tencent's instant messaging service platform, officially launched in Feb 1999 and announced in its 2006 Q3 report that it has 221.4 million active users. What's more, the total registered user accounts has climbed to 572.3 million!

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China Tech Roundup - February 17, 2007

2007-02-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Social Bookmarking in China
China Web2.0 Review on Chinese Social Bookmarking Sites.

Baidu Thinks It Can Play in Japan
Faced with slower growth at home, China's No. 1 search engine looks to its island neighbor for new growth opportunities. Will it translate?

BBC in Content Deal with Chinese Portal
Users of Chinese web portal QQ.com can now learn English directly from the site thanks to a partnership deal with BBC. It is the first Chinese portal to enter content partnership with the BBC.

Ebay's Deal with Tom Online Offers Some Timely Lessons for Managers of Global Online Companies
Knowledge Wharton China looks at why eBay failed in China, quoting China experts Dwight Perkins, professor of economics at Harvard University.

China Gaming: Shanda's Back in the Action
The online-game producer is in the black again as its free-entry model, and sale of avatar accessories, clicks with young Chinese gamers

Chinese Netizens' Online Time Increases By 56% Annually
The "Report on the Internet Use of Netizens In Chinese Cities In 2006″ from CTR Market Research says that the time Chinese netizens spend on the cyberworld per day has increased from 88.2 minutes in 2002 to 137.8 minutes in 2006, an increase of 56% annually.

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China Tech Roundup - February 9, 2007

2007-02-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Shanda to Sell 4 mln Sina Corp Shares for 129.6 mln
China's online game operator Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. said it agreed to sell about 4 million shares of online media company Sina Corp. to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. for $129.6 million. Following the sale, Shanda will continue to hold 2,118,278 SINA shares, representing approximately 3.9% of the issued and outstanding share capital of SINA.

An Open Letter to Google Founders--- to save Google in China and save Internet in China
By Venture Capitalist Isaac Mao: "I'm writing you the short letter on behalf of many Internet users in China to have some suggestions to resolve the current dilemma for Google in China ..."

Chinese Cozy Up to E-Commerce
China Market Research Group's Shaun Rein says a new breed of younger, more affluent consumers will drive e-commerce on the mainland.

Huawei Sales Hit $11B
Chinese Telecom Equipment Supplier Huawei announced that its global contract sales for 2006 reached USD11 billion, 65% of which comes from overseas market. 2006 global contract sales representing a year-over-year growth rate of over 34%. The increase is a result of continued market growth in the product areas of mobile network, next generation network ("NGN"), optical networks, data communications, software and applications and IP.

IBM sells 3.5% stake in Lenovo
Following an almost 10% run-up in Lenovo’s share price over the past few days, Citigroup executed a private placement on behalf of IBM on Monday afternoon and evening. The 300 million shares sold in the transaction amount to a 3.5% stake.
Following the sale, IBM – which sold its personal computer division to Lenovo in April 2005 in return for cash and a 15% stake in Lenovo – faces a 90-day lockup.

China Businesscast: Interview with James McGregor
Interview with James McGregor, author of the book "One Billion Customers, Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China". Topic: China's media industry and failures of foreign web companies.

China Mobile Wants to be a Big Face in the Global Market
China Mobile may already be the world's biggest wireless company in terms of both subscribers and market capitalisation, but the cash-flush company has not been shy about its plan to look for opportunities abroad to boost its earnings and scale.
To name a few, the Chinese company in the last two years has been linked to CSL, a Hong Kong-based mobile operator, China Resources Mobile, another Hong Kong firm, Pakistan Telecom, Reliance Telecom of India, Millicom, the emerging market mobile company.

Internet Boom in China Is Built on Virtual Fun
New York Times article on China's hottest Internet company Tencent which reaches more than 100 million users, or nearly 80 percent of the market.

Chinamemes.com - Observing China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - February 2, 2007

2007-02-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Lenovo To Sponsor Williams Formula One Team
Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo officially signed on today as a sponsor of the Williams Formula One racing team in the United Kingdom.

Huawei Chosen by France Telecom to be UMTS Mobile Equipment Suppliers
The Chinese firm Huawei Technologies has been chosen by France Telecom to be one of its UMTS mobile equipment suppliers.

Mozilla Sets up Shop in China
Mozilla.org, which makes the open-source Firefox browser, is opening a China office to do battle in the world's second-largest Web market.

IPTV In China Will Exceed 23 Million Subscribers By 2012
China’s flourishing broadband environment paves the way for IPTV to reach out to the potentially huge addressable market. In a new study, ABI Research forecasts the IPTV take-up in mainland China to pass the 23 million-subscriber mark by 2012.

Web Giants Urge State Dept. to Fight Censorship
After being criticized for bending to Internet censorship demands in China and other countries, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft defended themselves Tuesday and appealed for help from the U.S. government.

The9 Announces WoW Expansion
Chinese online game operator The9 announced on Tuesday that it has signed an amendment with Vivendi Games to release the expansion pack The Burning Crusade for MMORPG World of Warcraft in China.

Pirated Vista beats Microsoft to China's PCs
At least a week before the rest of the world got its first look at Microsoft Windows' new Vista operating system, bootleg copies of the software were widely available in China. The the pirated Chinese version of Vista was priced by vendors from $1.30 to $4.

Microsoft Setting up China R&D
Software giant Microsoft is setting up a $20 million research and development center in Shanghai for its online MSN service, its first such center outside the United States, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

China Readies 4G for a Mobile Revolution
China might ignore the 3G standard for mobile phones and go directly to 4G. In theory the new technology, developed by ten "leading domestic institutions" calling themselves collectively the "FuTURE Project", will allow data transmission at up to 100 megabytes per seconds — several times faster than current technology.

MySpace Set to Launch in China
News Corp. is finalizing a deal with partners, including private equity heavyweight IDG, to launch a networking Web site venture in China within a few months, financial and Chinese government sources said Friday.

Chinamemes.com - Observing China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - January 27, 2007

2007-01-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Google Building Virtual World akin to Second Life in China?
From GigaOM: "...our sources in China say that Google has teamed up with a Chinese company to develop the “virtual people” or avatars, while an internal team develops the virtual world internally.

3G Still A Long Shot In China
After Chinese government officials stoked hopes that 3G would be released in the first half, that possibility is fading fast as insiders note that network testing will continue into the fourth quarter.

China Mobile Begins Overseas Acquisition Spree
China Mobile, which generated more than $2bn in profit last year, could be about to start an overseas shopping spree, analysts predict. The world's largest mobile phone operator's purchase of a small Pakistani operator is probably just the first of many overseas takeovers, according to analyst firm Ovum.

Google Founders Admit: "China Censorship Damaged Us"
Google's decision to censor its search engine in China was bad for the company, its founders admitted yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Google Is Clearly King of Search -- Except in China
The Google of China is a local search engine called Baidu.com that increasingly dominates the world's second-largest online market of 132 million internet users despite Google and Yahoo's best efforts to fight back.

World Economic Forum: Who Will Shape the Agenda?
Jack Ma Yun, founder and CEO of Chinese Web and electronic commerce giant Alibaba.com, suggested that outsiders often overstate China's controls and regulations of the Internet. While many complain about government censorship, "to me it's not that serious," he said.
He suggested the Web cannot be fully controlled and said his company has managed to educate the Chinese government about its benefits and to demonstrate to the country's people how it helps them. "You create value and show the government it works," he said.

AMD Inks Strategic Chinese Partnership With TCL Computer
AMD says that TCL Computer, one of China's fastest-growing PC manufacturers, will offer customers a range of commercial notebooks and desktops based on high-performing AMD64 processors.

UTStarcom Expands IPTV In Shaanxi Province
UTStarcom (UTSI) has signed a contract with China Telecom to deploy its RollingStream end-to-end IPTV solution for a new commercial IPTV network in Shaanxi Province.

China's Top Travel Site Ctrip Partners with MSN
China's largest online travel agent, Ctrip.com, is partnering with software giant Microsoft Corp. and will build a travel channel for MSN.

Chinamemes.com - Observing China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - January 23, 2007

2007-01-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

China Mobile Subscribers Top U.S. Population
With over 301 million wireless subscribers, Chinese operator China Mobile now has more mobile customers than there are people in the entire United States of America.

China Netizen Population Leaps
The number of Internet users in China made its highest recorded jump to reach 137 million at the end of 2006, a state information centre said on Tuesday.

China's netizens grew by 26 million, or 23.4 percent, year on year -- the highest jump since the report began in 1997 -- to reach 10.5 percent of the total population, China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) said in its 19th Internet Development report.

Baidu Receives License to Provide News
China's search leader Baidu won approval to become an online news portal, government and industry sources said today, heating up a rivalry in the world's second-largest Web market.

China's Growing Blogosphere Turns on US coffee Icon Starbucks
Article that describes the growing influence of weblogs in China. "[it's] becoming a pattern ... bloggers create the issues, and the mainstream press follows."

US and China Behind Two-thirds of Computer Security Threats
Computer security firm Sophos said 34.2 percent of the so-called malware last year originated from the United States, and 31 percent from China. Russia was third, accounting for 9.5 percent of the threats.

China's Leading Auction Website Reports Surging Transaction Volume
The transaction volume of Taobao.com, a major Chinese auction website in China, more than doubled to 16.9 billion yuan (2.11 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up 110 percent from the 8.02 billion yuan in 2005.

China Now Has PCs with Homegrown CPU
Lemote Technology, has said the first batch of 80 computers powered by home-grown Chinese CPUs are undergoing user tests. This means the home-made chip, Godson II E, is out of the lab and moving into at least a small commercial operation followed by the big time.

Chinamemes.com - Observing China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - January 17, 2007

2007-01-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

China Worries about 2 Million Teen Webheads
Of China's 18,3 million teen Internet users, more than two million were addicts, with "good kids who impress their parents and teachers" the most vulnerable to the affliction, the China Daily said, citing a study by the Communist Youth League.

Lenovo, Hai'er, Huawei Top China's Information Technology Firms in Revenue
Lenovo Group, Hai'er Group and Huawei Technologies Co, have topped China's information technology firms in revenue in the first 11 months of 2006, Sina.com reported today, citing the latest data released by the Ministry of Information Industry.

Chinese Xbox 360 Coming Soon
Microsoft is planning the Chinese launch of their Xbox 360 console.

China's Virtual e-Commerce Currency
The volume of virtual currency has reached several hundred million USD a year in China. China’s major internet portals are battling with each for command of the market. Aside from Tencent, SINA (SINA) has U coins, Netease (NTES) has POPO coins, and Baidu (BIDU) also has its own currency. Right now the Q coin is the most widely used form of virtual currency in China.

Baidu Launches Online Music Streaming Service with EMI Music
EMI Group Plc., which lost a copyright infringement lawsuit against Baidu.com Inc., will drop its appeal and work with the Chinese Internet search site to win advertising by offering free online samples of its music.

Internet: Both Bust and Boom
Shanghai based journalist Fons Tuinstra analyzes the latest "Internet Users Spending" numbers.

The problem with Made in China
The Economist describes the reasons why many big manufacturing companies chose to avoid China's thundering economy in order to put their factories elsewhere in Asia.

2006 IT Awards in China
The top 10 IT firms in China: Alibaba, Google China, Gome, Lenovo, Hasee, Shanda, Tencent, Tom.com, Xunlei, and Intel China. (according to the Sina.com “2006 IT Awards”)

Times Coverstory - China Takes on the World
The Times Magazine's coverstory on China. "Already a commercial giant, China is aiming to be the world's next great power. Will that lead to a confrontation with the U.S.?"

Summary of VC Investment in Chinese Video Sites
ChinaVenture report on vc investment in video sites in China.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup - January 13, 2007

2007-01-13T04:11:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

China Is No. 2 Online
The growth in China's Internet population (now the world's second largest behind the U.S.) has driven a 47% surge in total online spending, to $35.5 billion, according to a new survey.

China Had 20.8 Million Bloggers by 2006
A recent survey conducted in China has found that the number of bloggers in the country reached nearly 20.8 million by the 2006-end, out of whom nearly one-seventh are active authors.

Lenovo Opens an Innovation Center in India
Lenovo has announced the launch of its first innovation centre in India. This is Lenovo’s third innovation centre, the first two are in the United States and China respectively.

China 2006 Internet Users Spending up Almost 50 pct
Users in China spent 276.76 bln yuan on internet services in 2006, up nearly 50 pct, the official China Daily reported, citing the Internet Society of China.

Sohu No Longer in The Top 3 Portals in China
Sohu is no longer in the top 3 portals in China, but has been knocked out by Tencent according to a new China Internet Survey Report. 55% of Chinese Internet users used Sina last year; 51% hit Netease; 48% used Tencent.

China Tech Roundup - January 10, 2007

2007-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

U.S. Commerce Secretary Slaps China for 3G Stance
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez Tuesday criticized China for delaying the creation of a 3G (third generation) wireless network in that country, saying it is thwarting global technology innovation by not embracing standards.

Baidu's Most Popular Questions of 2006
Baidu Knows' (China's version of YahooAnswers) 2006 top ten questions list.
Top Ten "How" questions:
1. How to lose weight?
2. How to reset a system?
3. How to make money?
4. How to get pregnant?
5. How to build a harmonious society?

Lenovo to Give IBM a Quiet Burial
Lenovo is moving far more swiftly to remove the IBM name as a part of its brandbuilding venture, leaving many wondering if Lenovo has abandoned the IBM brand too quickly.

Chelsea Target 100m Chinese Fans in Global Campaign
Chelsea Football Club's tie-up with China's biggest portal Sina.com adds more than 100m people to the club's potential fanbase.

Computer Game Operators Unite To Fight Against Online Thieves
The leading computer game operators in China have together asked Chinese policy-makers and law enforcement departments to work together to stiffen penalties for virtual asset crimes and to maintain a healthy development of the computer game industry.

Alibaba's Software Strategy Could Hurt eBay in China
eBay's Chinese competitor Alibaba launched a new software division, Alisoft, to provide its Chinese customers with various ecommerce software.

Yahoo China to Evolve into Business-Oriented Search Engine
Yahoo's China portal will be reorganized as a business-oriented search engine, the company's head announced Monday, saying it had to change or fail amid intense competition from domestic rivals.

Chinese Websites Will Adopt Blog Real Name Mechanism
The real name mechanism means that users will need to provide their true name and identification number in order to register for a weblog on blog service providers in China.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup

2007-01-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Bring on the Games!
According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), nearly 32% of the nation's 132 million Internet users played games online in 2006, while iResearch estimates that China's online gaming market will reach close to $1 billion in 2007.

Spotlight: Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba.com
International Herald Tribune: Portrait of Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba.com (Alibaba, Taobao, YahooChina) and China's most popular Internet entrepreneur.

China: Falling Hard for Web 2.0
The BusinessWeek describes China's Web 2.0 sphere. Companies mentioned: Yoqoo, Mojiti, Qihoo, MySpace, Digg, YouTube

Is China's IPv6 Link World's Fastest?
China's is IPv6 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps) link on the long haul between Beijing and Tianjin is considered one of the fastest links anywhere on Earth and is a key element of China's Next Generation Internet (CNGI) IPv6 infrastructure.

Japan's "Amazon" Rakuten to Venture into Chinese E-Commerce
Japan's Rakuten Inc. plans to launch an online shopping mall in China in 2007. They will compete against Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce company.

China Mobile Content 2.0 - Research Report
WRHambrecht&Co. Research Report on China's Mobile Content Providers. Companies mentioned: Tom.com, Kongzhong, Hurray!, Sina, Linktone.

Surprise, Surprise! China Economy May Accelerate
Bloomberg News columnist William Pesek thinks that in 2007, the odds favor China accelerating rather than trying to cool down the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Google to buy stake in Chinese P2P network operator
Google Inc., will be buying a stake in Xunlei Networking Tech. Xunlei is a Chinese peer-to-peer file sharing network operator which attracts more than 50 million visitors a day.

China Mobile Gets Google Search
China Mobile and Google have joined hands to provide mobile and Internet search services in China.

Sohu.com Upgrades Internet Search Service
Chinese portal website Sohu.com (SOHU) says it has launched Sogou 3.0, a new product upgrade version for its proprietary Internet search engine, Sogou.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup

2007-01-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

China's TD-SCDMA to see judgment day in 2007
2007 will see the rollout of the country's 3G standard, TD-SCDMA.

The Real Firefox-Killer
The new competitor is called Maxthon, and comes from China. Maxthon (holds around 30% of the Chinese browser market) is going to be being pushed aggressively outside China this year.

Investing In China's Online Gaming Sector
Shaun Rein of the China Market Research Group analysis China's booming online gaming sector. Companies mentioned: Shanda, The9, Netease

China's newest shopping craze: 'team buying'
An overview on Chinese "Team Buying" (Tuangou) websites where strangers arrange to organize buying teams (smart mobs) in order to get discounts on specific products from retailers.

Citizen journalists view of the Chinese police
The "Virtual China" Blog describes a citizen journalist site which has a special section called "Chinese City Management in the Eyes of Netizens," which collects both positive and negative on-the-scene photos of policemen.

China-based Browser Maxthon Going Global in 2007
Maxthon is a very popular browser in China (30% market share) second only to IE and ahead of Firefox. With its success in China and the brilliant features in Maxthon 2.0, Maxthon is ready for the worldwide market.

Previewing 2007: Baidu
The Motley Fool's Aristotle Munarriz addresses some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Baidu.com in 2007.

Asia Pacific region will lead the global revolution in IPTV
California-based market research firm iSuppli has released a study that predicts that China will be the future IPTV dragon due to rapid urbanization, fast growing economy and expanding middle class.

Innovation, Chinese Style
Alarmed by the increasing dominance of foreign firms in China's high technology industries, Beijing is pouring money into research and development institutes and subsidies for Chinese companies.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup

2006-12-29T09:06:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

Xunlei Network Technology Confirms Google Investment
Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology, the Chinese P2P video software company has confirmed that Google will become an investor in the company, according to a Bloomberg news report.

Haier to Acquire Founder as China`s Second Largest PC Maker
The Haier Group, mainland China`s largest home appliance manufacturer, has confirmed its acquisition of the Founder Group, China`s second largest maker of personal computers.

The Chinese Discover Central Europe
In a strange paradox of globalization, mainland manufacturers are spending millions to establish factories in EU member countries.

Sohu Loses Illegal Movie Download Suit
A local Chinese judge has sentenced web portal Sohu.com (SOHU) to pay over RMB1.08 million (about $ 140.000) as compensation to five international entertainment companies because the portal provided illegal downloading of the companies' films to Internet users.

China has 830 million phone users, 132 million online
The number of Chinese fixed and mobile telephone subscribers has hit 830 million, while 132 million use the Internet, the state-run Xinhua news agency has reported, citing government statistics.

Earthquake disrupts Internet access in Asia
In what local analysts are blaming on the 6.7 earthquake off the coast of Taiwan yesterday, communications and Internet access throughout Asia have been disrupted.

Google, China Mobile to launch mobile search service
Google Inc and China Mobile will launch a mobile search service in 2007.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

China Tech Roundup

2006-12-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

China Internet and Technology Roundup provided by Chinamemes.com:

For eBay, It’s About Political Connections in China
While eBay’s new partner, TOM Online Inc., has suffered a series of commercial setbacks in the last three years, no one questions that it knows the Chinese market and has political influence.

Chinese "Smart Mob" saves a life via the Internet
More than 1000 Chinese people collaborate on the Internet to save the life of a student who had almost commit suicide.

Google not interested in a Chinese partner
Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, said it won't take on a Chinese partner as the U.S. company fails to gain market share from Baidu.

Shanghai IPTV Users Break 60000 In Three Months
Shanghai now has more than 60000 IPTV users since the IPTV number issuance in September 2006 and the user number in the city is expected to at least double in 2007.

China Mobile adds 4.67 million new users in one month
China Mobile received 4.67 million new users in November which made its total user reach 296.4 million by the end of the month.

Mainland China to Have over 32 Million Mobile Video Users in 2008
The mobile video market in China will take off in 2008, driven by interest in the Beijing Olympics. A new study from ABI Research forecasts total mobile video users at more than 32 million in 2008.

Chinamemes.com - Oberserving China's Digital Revolution

NEW! Social (Web2.0) China Technology News Site

2006-12-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

The China Net Investor Goes Web2.0!

Please Visit (And Join!) My New Website at

CHINAMEMES.COM

China's Virtual Currency Threatens the Yuan

2006-12-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

From Asia Times Online:

"The so-called "QQ" coin - issued by Tencent, China's largest instant-messaging service provider - has become so popular that the country's central bank is worried that it could affect the value of the yuan. Li Chao, spokesman and director of the General Office of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), has expressed his concern in the Chinese media and announced that the central bank will draft regulations next year governing virtual transactions."

"Tencent argues that Yang and the PBOC are overreacting, and some Internet analysts agree. Nevertheless, there is no question that the virtual-currency trend is catching on in China, and the endgame is unclear.

Tencent boasts more than 220 million users, and its QQ coins can be purchased with a bank, telephone or "QQ" card at an official price of 1 yuan (12.5 cents) per coin. Originally, the virtual coins were designed to pay for Tencent services such as electronic greeting cards, online games and anti-virus software. Now, however, they have reportedly developed into an alternative currency traded on the black market and used for other, less savory services, such as online gambling and private chats with "QQ girls"."

Telefonica Plans to Raise China Netcom Stake to 9.9%

2006-12-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

From MarketWatch:

"Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF) has confirmed plans to raise its stake in Chinese telecommunications operator China Netcom Group Corp. (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CN) to 9.9%, a company spokeswoman said Thursday."

"Telefonica, the largest telecommunications company in Spain and Latin America, will also receive the right to appoint a second member to China Netcom's board of directors, the spokeswoman added."

Baidu.com May Link up with Microsoft, China Telecom, China Netcom

2006-12-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

From Forbes:

"Chinese-language search engine Baidu.com Inc is expected to sign an agreement with Microsoft, China Telecom and China Netcom to provide them with search services, the official Shanghai Securities News reported citing unnamed sources.

The report cited one analyst as saying that the agreement will likely translate to 10-20 mln usd in additional advertising revenue for Baidu."

China Has Nearly 20 Million Bloggers

2006-12-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

Form The Age:

"China had 19.87 million bloggers at the beginning of November - a 24 percent increase over the past 12 months.

While more than 15 per cent update their blogs at least once a week, only 4.6 per cent do it daily, Baidu found. Blogs devoted to medicine and education are particularly popular, the Xinhua news agency said Wednesday, quoting a study by search engine Baidu."

The Chinese Internet

2006-12-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

From Line56:

"When it comes to the Internet economy, China is the elephant in the room.

Sometime this year, according to sohu.com's Dr. Charles Zhang, Chinese Internet users surpassed U.S. Internet users in number. We have roughly 154 million Internet users and China could have as many as 200 million."

"The Chinese government realizes the importance of developing the country's infrastructure so as to enable the growth of the Internet. China has committed $127 billion to advanced telco development over the next five years. By way of contrast, this is about how much money the U.S. spends annually to prosecute the war in Iraq (minus hidden and indirect costs)."