China's Search Market Evolves

• Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: China, Market Survey, Media Market

By Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst

China is likely to overtake the US this year with the largest number of Internet users in the world, but China's Internet sector is still relatively immature in terms of revenue generation.

Among the leading portals and search engines in China, Tencent topped the list in 2007 as the highest revenue earner at $523.1 million. The leading Chinese search provider, Baidu, which ranked in the top 20 most-trafficked sites in the world, generated revenues of only $239.1 million during 2007. Comparing with Google's global revenues during 2007—$16.6 billion—gives a fair sense of the relative size of the leading Chinese Internet companies.

The Chinese Internet sector is evolving its own distinctive character. Unlike in other global markets, Google, Yahoo! and MSN do not rank among the top three Web sites in China. Companies such as Tencent, Baidu, SINA, Sohu and NetEase are shaping a unique Internet sector built upon an online population primarily under 30 years of age, and far more mobile- than PC-centric.

Read more - eMarketer

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