China market leader Sina.com has introduced a Hong Kong portal
to its network of Chinese sites.
Although only one million people are online in Hong Kong, Sina.com’s
management indicated that the Hong Kong portal was an important addition to
its network because of the city’s financial capital and its geographical and
strategic significance.
“Sina Hong Kong fulfills our landscape picture,” said Daniel Chiang,
Sina.com’s Chairman and the former president of Trend Micro.”Having the Hong
Kong site completes our global strategy.”
In China, Sina.com was rated the number one site in two different surveys by the China Network Information Center
(CNNIC) and Australian research firm www.consult respectively.
The company hopes to have the same success in Hong Kong as it has enjoyed in the mainland.
“We would like to
be number one. The higher traffic sites in Hong Kong are about one million
page views,” commented Laurie Kan, general manager of Sina.com Hong Kong.
“We are very confident that we will exceed this level.”
With the addition of Sina.com.hk, the
portal operator will have four Chinese sites including Sina.com.tw for Taiwan, Sina.com.cn for China, and Sina.com for
North America.
Across its network, Sina.com claims to have 180 million page views per month
with the its mainland China site topping 3.4 million in one day in July.
In regard the possibility of a share offering, Daniel Chiang said he could “give no specific answer.”
“Where we stand now, we could probably raise all the money in the world,”
said Chiang. “However, currently, we are concentrating on building a brand
and earning market share.”
Chiang did indicate that Hong Kong’s Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board, a
Nasdaq-type market to be launched later this year, was in contact with his
company.
Earlier this year, several venture capital groups and private investors lead
by Walden International Investment Group
injected US$25 million into Sina.com.