appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Denis Green


In 2014, there were 649 million internet users on mainland China, and 557 million of those were mobile users. Mobile app use is also growing extremely quickly across the border. Mobile games and messaging apps are making the biggest noise, with WeChat one of the most popular. Almost all mainland mobile users are using a messaging app. Mobile travel booking apps are the fastest-growing category, with their usage increasing 194.6 per cent.
Due to the strong interest in the start-up and app market on the mainland, increasing numbers of investors are flocking to grab a piece of the market. So, what makes the mainland mobile market so enticing?
Andy Tian is co-founder and CEO of Asia Innovations, maker of PengPeng, one of the fastest-growing mobile social apps in the country. He believes venture capitalists play a big role in the success of the market. 
“The foundation of venture capital is growth, that is, [when] venture capitalists invest in small businesses in the hope of them growing a hundred- or a thousand-fold. Therefore, China’s rapid growth in the past 20 years, on top of a huge economy base, is extremely attractive to venture capital,” Tian says.
“In addition, venture capital needs to return profit to its limited partners, and as the number of initial public offerings from Chinese internet companies increased in the last few years, many funds made a lot of money, especially since some of the world’s largest public valuations are from China. Finally, China has a large base of technical talent, which provides the necessary resources to create massive companies. As the entire venture capital market started to grow only in the past 10 years, we can anticipate even more growth in future.”
There is a bright outlook for the mainland in the mobile market, yet challenges remain. While the nation leads the world in numbers of mobile internet users, at about 50 per cent of the world’s Android users - and manufactures most of the world’s mobile phones - third-generation access across the country is still poor, and data rates are some of the most expensive in the world. As the mainland transitions towards the fourth generation, and hopefully lowers data rates, it will see an even bigger explosion of mobile opportunities.
As the nation’s mobile companies grow, they are also well-positioned to compete in the international market. A number of mainland mobile companies have already made history as the first pure public-listed mobile firms, including Go Desktop, Cheetah Mobile, and Momo. Xiaomi is the most famous home-grown mobile company on the mainland. Customers can expect to see in the next few years an increasing number of mainland mobile technology companies competing in various international markets.
Tian believes the mainland faces unique challenges. 
“Many of them stem from government regulation, and also lack thereof," he says. "The government has made a number of restrictions, from validity of the common variable interest entity structure, to content regulations, to blocking many international internet services. These restrictions strengthen the government’s ruling power, but create obstacles and friction for start-ups. 
"On the other hand, the lack of enforcement of intellectual property violations and unfair competition also creates significant challenges for smaller companies. This being said, it is not easy to start a company in China, but those [who] do, come out stronger,” Tian adds.
The mainland’s unique advantage is that it has been the hardware manufacturing base for most of the world’s electronics, from televisions to iPhones. Smart hardware requires fast iterations and lower costs, and the closer you get to the original source of manufacturing, the faster and cheaper you can build. Therefore, Shenzhen has now become the “smart hardware Silicon Valley” of the world, where a start-up can directly work with the myriad manufacturers to produce high-quality, low-cost innovative products. 
“I have several friends making smart scales that can test your body fat percentage and a variety of bio measures, with an international-grade finish, at a cost of a few hundred yuan,” Tian says. “These would sell three to four times [more] easily if [they] were in the US. More than mobile apps and websites, smart hardware has the benefit of being “tangible” goods; users in China are a lot more likely to pay for them. Therefore they are seen as attractive businesses with a proven business model. That is, if your product works.”


China drops $145 million on a superconducting computer

Wanda looks to sell most of its overseas properties

Morgan Stanley to seize control of China business after foreign rule U-turn

China Literature raises second-largest investor capital in Hong Kong IPO history, aiming to be China's Marvel Studios

Invest China

QIANHAI INTERNATIONAL LIAISON SERVICES LIMITED

Mobile apps soar in China as games and messages excite investors

Games and messaging growth excite venture capitalists


In 2014, there were 649 million internet users on mainland China, and 557 million of those were mobile users. Mobile app use is also growing extremely quickly across the border. Mobile games and messaging apps are making the biggest noise, with WeChat one of the most popular. Almost all mainland mobile users are using a messaging app. Mobile travel booking apps are the fastest-growing category, with their usage increasing 194.6 per cent.


Mobile gaming

Mobile apps soar in China as games and messages excite investors

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Games and messaging growth excite venture capitalists

Games and messaging growth excite venture capitalists