AOL plans to re-enter China
www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-29 15:40:22
BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Just months after pulling out of its high-profile $200 million joint venture in China, Time Warner Inc.'s America Online unit said on February 27 it is in talks to re-enter the world's most populous market.
"We're in some talks for something in China," Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Miller said. "It's a different business model."
Miller would not be more specific about the nature of the new model, except to say AOL would invest far less than it did in its previous China joint venture with the nation's No. 1 PC maker Legend Group Ltd.
Legend Group Ltd, China's largest computer maker, said on January 7 that it has bought a 49 per cent stake held by Time Warner, formerly AOL Time Warner Inc, in their Internet joint venture. The purchase means the Beijing-based company has ended its partnership with the world's leading media firm.
Miller added he hopes that a new deal can be reached within a year.
Likely candidates could include China's mobile phone giants of China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Unicom Ltd; and its top two fixed line carriers, China Telecom and China Netcom, which have both spent millions of dollars over the last two years to build out their high-speed Internet networks.
Other partners could include China-based online media firms like Sina.com, Sohu.com and NetEase.com which have all become profitable in the last two years and were some of the best performers on the Nasdaq in 2003.
All have relied on a combination of paid services, most notably short-text messaging to mobile phones and online games, to boost their non-advertising businesses that now account for more than half of total revenue.
America Online's return to China would come as a quick about-face for the firm, following Legend's disclosure in January that it bought out AOL's stake in the stalled project.
The pair formed the venture with much fanfare nearly three years ago, but it never began commercial operations due to what Legend said were rapid changes in China's Internet market.
In January, Legend also unveiled a partnership with China Telecom to promote broadband Internet access on the mainland, a market that analysts say enjoyed triple-digit growth in 2003. Enditem
(China Daily/Agencies)
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