[November 16, 2009] UC Mobile Seeking to List Shares in Three Years Tweet SHENZHEN, Nov 16, 2009 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- UC Mobile, the top-ranking mobile browser developer in China, is set to list its shares on the stock market in Hong Kong or the US in the coming three years, said its CEO Yu Yongfu on November 11. But Mr. Yu did not celebrate on how the company would break even and secure a sustainable money-making business model. UC Mobile looks promising as one of its basic investors is Alibaba Group, whose chairman Jack Ma is good at turning start-ups into megahits in the capital market. Alibaba Group, along with another two institutional investors, injected as much as USD 12 million in UC Mobile six months ago, giving the browser developer a big lift. Since its inception five years ago, UC Mobile has secured the top spot in China's mobile browser market amid Mr. Fu's growing concern over the rising competition from its rivals and fast-changing demand from its users. As the mobile Internet is moving from 1.0 to 2.0, mobile Internet users have a surging demand for online entertainment and mobile-commerce, which has set a higher bar for mobile browser developers. Telecom carriers, which are moving to make the mobile Internet fall under their control, also pose a big threat to mobile browser browsers. The participation and interference of Chinese telecom operators is expected create a change in the country's mobile browser market landscape. Besides, Internet highfliers are also seeking a way to grab a slice of the market. Tencent, a top-notched Internet portal, online game vendor, and messing software carrier in China, launched its mobile browser in the second quarter of 2009, putting great pressure on its competitors. By buying into UC Mobile, Alibaba Group gives its subsidiaries like Taobao.com and Alipay the entr?e to UC Mobile's browser UCWeb without having to pay any advertising fee, which directs UC browser users to their websites. UC Mobile has partnered with a host of Internet companies like Sina.com, Xinhuanet.com, People's Daily Online, Baidu.com, and Google. Mobile browser will prove to be as meaningful to the mobile Internet as PC browser was to the Internet. As the portal of mobile Internet, mobile browser will be even more important than PC browser in the long run. The fast proliferation of mobile phone users in China has triggered a surging demand for phone browsers and mobile phone applications. By now, downloads of UCWEB have reached 70 million in this country. It saw its customer base increase 300% last year, with more than 30 million active users. (USD 1 = CNY 6.83) Source: www.hexun.com (November 16, 2009) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]