Despite rising costs and increasing competition from rivals like Tencent, Chinese Internet giant Sina narrowed its first-quarter net loss to $13.2 million from $13.7 million a year earlier, the company reported today. Sina’s net revenue increased 19 percent year-over-year to $126 million, strengthened by stronger-than-expected non-advertising revenue.
One interesting thing to watch is how social networking platforms mature divergently as businesses around the world.
Sina Weibo, the public microblogging platform that has had a huge impact on online discourse in China, is veering down a path toward e-commerce and transactions after Alibaba took a stake worth $586 million in it last month.
Kaifu Lee, former head of Google China and founder of Beijing-based startup incubator Innovation Works, said on Twitter yesterday (h/t Sinocism) that he has been banned from posting on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo for three days.
Lee is one of the most followed people on Sina Weibo, with more than 30 million fans (his Twitter account has a much more modest 997,530 followers).
Chinese Internet companies Baidu, Tencent and Qihoo 360 are reportedly competing to purchase Sogou, Sohu‘s search business. Sina Tech’s report cites unnamed sources in the investment industry (link via Google Translate) and Sogou CEO Wang Xiaoquan has already taken to his Sina Weibo account to brush off the report as “unreliable,” but it’s worth noting that rumors of
Despite investors’ concerns over a slowing online advertising market in China, Sina’s managed to post Q4 revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations, though its earnings fell 74 percent from a year earlier. Investors were encouraged by Sina’s results, however, and the company’s shares jumped as much as six percent after hours, hitting $56.50.
Pouring $586 million in Sina Weibo gives Alibaba Group several perks, including an inroad into social media and access to the microblogging platform’s data.
Sina Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform sometimes referred to as “China’s Twitter,” is finally offering an English-language interface, as confirmed to Tech In Asia by the company.
Though the English-language interface is still only partial, it will help turn the site into an important marketing tool for overseas brands and celebrities hoping to reach Chinese consumers, esp
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is embarking on a major reorganization of its business structure that will divide the company into 25 different units, each led by a general manager, said CEO Jack Ma in a company-wide email published by Sina News (link via Google Translate, h/t 36Kr).
Despite being booted off his Sina and Tencent Weibo accounts for three days after criticizing state-run search engine Jike, former Google China head Kaifu Lee remains optimistic about social media in China.
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