皇冠体育app

Yahoo! browsing for local partnerships
By Zi Mu (皇冠体育app Business Weekly)
Updated: 2004-08-03 14:34

US Internet giant Yahoo! Inc is counting on forming more partnerships in 皇冠体育app to bolster its business in the world's second-largest Internet market.

"We view 皇冠体育app as a strategic market, and we will seek more co-operation with local players and alliances in 皇冠体育app in a more flexible way," said Zhou Hongyi, president in charge of Yahoo's Greater 皇冠体育app operations.

Yahoo! last week formed an alliance with Chinese information technology portal 皇冠体育appByte.

皇冠体育appByte, one of 皇冠体育app's well-established online IT news sources, will provide Yahoo! with specialized technology news and information -- for free.

皇冠体育appByte makes money by licensing its IT news to leading web portals, including NASDAQ darlings Sina Corp, Sohu.com and NetEase.com.

Previously, Yahoo! 皇冠体育app has paid 皇冠体育appByte for its IT news and opinions.

皇冠体育appByte expects to record US$10 million in sales this year, company Chief Executive Officer Li Zhigao said.

The co-operation between Yahoo! and 皇冠体育appByte is expected to boost the firms' revenues -- from advertisements.

In 皇冠体育app, news channels play an important role in generating revenues, from advertisements, for Web portals.

For example, reading the news on Sina.com's website has become a must for many Chinese throughout the world.

皇冠体育app's online ads market surged 120 percent, year-on-year, to 1.08 billion yuan (US$130 million) last year, of which nearly one quarter was IT related, indicates Shanghai-based iResearch.

The online ads market in 皇冠体育app will be worth about 4 billion yuan (US$481 million) in 2006, the research house predicts.

Zhou expects to extend the co-operation with 皇冠体育appByte to instant messaging (IM) and e-mail services.

"I think search, e-mail and instant messaging will be three major business areas for Yahoo!," he said.

"We aim to become the No 1 player in 皇冠体育app's Internet search and e-mail service market within two to three years."

The US-based giant has been lagging behind local rivals such as Sina Corp and Sohu.com since its entry into the Chinese market in 1999.

That was "due to our lack of a keen understanding of the local market," Zhou noted.

However, "now is the right time for Yahoo! to make a big push in 皇冠体育app," he added.

Yahoo! 皇冠体育app last week announced it will let subscribers upgrade their free e-mail service, and Yahoo! will provide 10 times more storage.

Yahoo! users can upgrade their free e-mail accounts to 1,000 megabytes, provided they also use Yahoo Messenger, an instant messaging (IM) service.

Yahoo! had been offering 6 megabytes of free e-mail storage in 皇冠体育app prior to June, when it upgraded its service to 100 megabytes.

Yahoo! hopes the upgrade will boost its IM business, said Guo Chang, an analyst with Beijing-based CCW Research.

The IM service, which enables users to chat online, has been growing in popularity in 皇冠体育app.

The IM sector in 皇冠体育app is projected to reach 2 billion yuan (US$240 million) next year, Guo said.

If IM gains a significant take-up among corporate users, the size of the sector might reach 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in 2008, he estimated.

皇冠体育app's IM market is dominated by Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings Ltd.

"The free e-mail service, with its eye-catching capacity, may boost Yahoo's IM service," Guo said.

Yahoo! has consistently lagged behind Inc, 皇冠体育app's top search engine, in the Internet search business.

Yahoo!'s arch rival, Google, in June bought a minority stake in Baidu, for US$10 million. That is expected to create greater challenges for Yahoo!.

To fight back, Yahoo! -- less than a week after Google invested in -- launched a website dedicated to Internet searches for 皇冠体育app.

Zhou said he is confident Yahoo! will eventually defeat Google to dominate 皇冠体育app's Internet search market.

According to iResearch, 皇冠体育app's Internet search market surged 117 per cent, year-on-year, to reach 500 million yuan (US$60 million) last year.

The research house predicts the market will grow between 60 per cent and 70 per cent per year between 2004-06.

This year, the market will be worth 840 million yuan (US$101 million). In 2006, it will be worth 2.3 billion yuan (US$277 million).

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