BDA In The Press - Archive 1999

BDA In The Press 2000 + 1999 + 1998 + 1995-97

ABC News
Thursday 18 November 1999

'Internet Controls in China'
by Deborah Wang
Original article: ABC News (Requires RealPlayer)

In Beijing, 29-year-old William Ding is in the thick of Internet interest that is growing by leaps and bounds. "You can see that everybody's very excited," Ding says in Chinese, "The Net is so big." Ding's Web site provides news, e-mail, chat rooms and online auctions. It is getting 7 million page views per day. The number of people using the Internet is doubling every few months, but unlike in many countries, information in China is severely controlled. The Chinese authorities actively block any site they find offensive. For example, if you want to log onto the site for Human Rights in China, which is highly critical of the government, you would not be able to access it. There are "four no's" on the Internet: no dissent, no sex and no advocating independence for Tibet or Taiwan. No dissent meant that when the banned movement Falun Gong used e-mail to gather its members for a major protest in Beijing, authorities responded by shutting down e-mail servers. Internet chat rooms are closely monitored … and police routinely insist that offensive messages be removed. "At the very top, the Chinese government doesn't know what to think about this," says Duncan Clark, a partner in BDA China, a telecom and Internet industry group. "They want the economic technology benefits of the Internet but they're afraid of the social side effects." So for now, the Chinese can only get access to sports and entertainment and news that is heavily censored. But then government soon will have to contend with changing technology that will make the Internet nearly impossible to control.

South China Morning Post - Technology Post
Tuesday 15 June 1999

'Lower costs spell mainland Net boom'
by Yvonne Chan
Original article: SCMP Technology Post

Cheaper PCs and Internet fees will help lift the number of mainland Net users from 2.1 million last year to 6.7 million by the end of this year, rising to 33 million in 2003, according to a report.

The Internet in China, published by BDA China (www.bdaco.com) and the Strategis Group, reports that the average mainland Net user is 21-25 years old and likes to use the Net to send and receive e-mails, play on-line games and access information such as news and sports.

The use of communal Internet accounts - where one may be shared by six office workers or 10 university students - gradually would fade as costs for PCs, telephone lines and on-line fees continued to drop, said Duncan Clark, a BDA partner.

Home computers were becoming more common in urban areas, and Internet charges were affordable, with the average monthly bill for 40 hours on-line costing 15-24 yuan, Mr Clark said.

Telephone charges had fallen in March, and installation of a second line now was almost free.

More Chinese-language content on the Web also has encouraged computer users to log on.

As of December, there were 18,396 registered domain names with the mainland-assigned URL ending, ".cn". Less than 5,000 were registered in October 1997.

Among the most popular Chinese sites are Sina (www.sina.com.cn), Netease (www.netease.com), Yahoo! Chinese (www.gbchinese.com) and Sohu (www.sohu.com).

However, nearly 50 per cent of Net users complained of a lack of Chinese-language content, said BDA consultant Ted Dean.

While CNN was among the most-visited sites among users "they also want to see things relevant to China".

Chat rooms were growing in popularity and on-line games were a big attraction among the young. Free e-mail services, such as Hotmail, also had taken off.

There were fewer cases of authorities blocking sites they deem "subversive" in recent months, due in part to the time needed to monitor and block the sites.

"The Internet has become an accepted part of society," Mr Clark said.

Internet telephony also had caught on due to growing awareness that a PC could be used as a phone, Mr Clark said.

However, PC-to-phone usage was upstaged recently by the trial launch of low-cost, long-distance calling by operators, who offer phone-to-phone convenience and use leased lines to provide more stable connections. While users and content providers are growing, the Internet has not yet become the industry it is in the United States.

Mainland sites earned only US$3 million in advertising revenues last year, forecast to grow to $9-$12 million this year.

Part of the reason was lack of knowledge and experience in Net advertising, Mr Dean said.

Advertising sales staff lacked confidence to approach multinationals and some smaller sites did not have the software to measure page views and impressions.

"Sohu has been extremely successful in wooing ads. Netease has more page views, but less ads," Mr Dean said. "It's a young market, a very underdeveloped market."

Entrepreneur-driven Internet service providers (ISPs) have found competing with state-run entities to be a losing battle.

"A majority of ISPs are losing money," Mr Clark said.

The top ISP with 670,000 subscribers is ChinaNet, run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. By comparison, smaller and privately run ISPs China Infohighway and China Online each has less than 70,000 subscribers.

"It's all about speed of access and only ChinaNet can really address that," Mr Clark said.

asia.internet.com
Tuesday 15 June 1999

'BDA, Strategis Forecast 33M Chinese Users By 2003'
by Hans Lombardo, Managing Editor, asia.internet.com
Original article on asia.internet.com

[June 15, 1999--HONG KONG] BDA (China) Limited and the Strategis Group have published a new study on China's Internet market that projects China's online user total will reach 12 million by 2000 and 33 million by 2003.

'The Internet in China' study was compiled over a six month period and includes organizational profiles based on interviews with regulatory players, equipment vendors, Internet service providers (ISPs), Internet content providers (ICPs), software players and e-commerce shops in China.

"'The Internet in China' is an essential business tool for companies seeking to size up or enter the China Internet market," said Duncan Clark, partner at BDA China.

"Each new user that comes online creates new opportunities for Internet-related business, enabling companies to leverage technology, service or capital in one of the world's most exciting Internet markets," added Clark.

Currently, foreign vendors dominate China's Internet infrastructure market which BDA forecasts to exceed US$160 million in 1999.

"While domestic players gear up for this market, foreign vendors are likely to accelerate plans for local manufacturing to preserve their lead," said Alexandra Rehak, another BDA analyst.

With regard to China's ISP market, BDA's study indicates that only providers with access to the "fattest pipes" (largest bandwidth), typically those funded or owned by China Telecom, have come out on top.

Nevertheless, the China Internet report projects that the country's ISP market will exceed US$4 billion by 2003.

BDA's study also provides an analysis of the Internet content market in China which it profiles the strong portal competition and predicts the market to grow to US$12 million in 1999.

According to BDA, a critical success factor for China's ICPs will be financing from foreign private and capital interests and the movement towards IPOs in overseas stock markets.

Financial Times
Wednesday 7 April 1999

'Beijing plans national cable network'
by James Harding in Shanghai

The cable network "was always the sleeping giant in terms of competition in the telecommunications industry in China", Duncan Clark at telecoms consultancy BDA said yesterday. The plans to establish a national cable company, he said, could result in the "emergence of a new network service provider".

Reuters
Friday 2 April 1999

'China Unicom Freezes Payments To Foreign Telecom Partners' GUANGZHOU, Apr. 02, 1999 -- (Reuters)

Duncan Clark, a partner of BDA China Ltd. consulting firm in Beijing, called the freeze a way to press foreign firms to settle for a buyout of their investments, so clearing the way for an eventual China Unicom initial public offering.

"This is one way to get them to the table," Clark said.

[...] Clark said China Unicom was underestimating the commitment of the foreign partners to stay in China, who want to keep their foot in the door ahead of the market being fully opened to competition.

"Most of these companies are totally unwilling to sell their stake," he said.

Computerworld Hong Kong
Thursday 25 March 1999

'China not ready for major e-commerce'
By David Legard

"There is no push from business to adopt e-commerce yet, since the large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are not market-driven, not innovative, and have long-established buying relationships," said Alexandra Rehak, a partner at Hong Kong-based consultancy BDA China Ltd. "Smaller companies have limited technical knowledge, and high-tech startups have difficulty accessing capital."

[...]

Another inhibitor is that the Chinese government wants to use locally-developed algorithms for encrypting Internet traffic, Rehak at BDA China said.

"This is because of both national security concerns and pure nationalism," she said. "Along with restrictions on export of U.S. encryption algorithms, this is delaying adoption of e-commerce in China."

Local Chinese governments are going ahead with ambitious plans to build e-commerce testbeds in a number of eastern cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dalian, Tianjin and Guangzhou, Rehak said. The central government, through the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, is setting up an EDI (electronic data interchange) center, she said.

"Support from the central government is doubly important in China for e-commerce to take off," said Rehak. "This is officially the year of the Internet in China, and ministries are moving towards putting their procurement procedures online."

Financial Times
Tuesday 2 March 1999

'Beijing acts to boost great leap online'

[...] Duncan Clark ... said the sweeping price cuts would foster the growth of China's internet industry. But, he said, the measures intended to appease dissatisfaction in the market did not address the fundamental problems of the near-monopoly enjoyed by China Telecom: "Beijng is trying to introduce the results of competition in the telecoms industry without introducing the competition".

Business Week
Monday 1 February 1999

'Beijing Sees Hope - and Danger - in the Net'

[...] Beijing also has tried to control content by blocking Web sites it deems criminal, an effort analysts call futile. China's regulators "profess a policy they are unable to implement", says Duncan L J Clark of Shanghai consulting firm BDA China.

Copyright © 1998-2000 BDA China Limited.

	ABC News Thursday 18 November 1999
			'Internet Controls in China' by Deborah Wang Original article: ABC News (Requires RealPlayer) In Beijing, 29-year-old William Ding is in the thick of Internet interest that is growing by leaps and bounds. "You can see that everybody's very excited," Ding says in Chinese, "The Net is so big." Ding's Web site provides news, e-mail, chat rooms and online auctions. It is getting 7 million page views per day. The number of people using the Internet is doubling every few months, but unlike in many countries, information in China is severely controlled. The Chinese authorities actively block any site they find offensive. For example, if you want to log onto the site for Human Rights in China, which is highly critical of the government, you would not be able to access it. There are "four no's" on the Internet: no dissent, no sex and no advocating independence for Tibet or Taiwan. No dissent meant that when the banned movement Falun Gong used e-mail to gather its members for a major protest in Beijing, authorities responded by shutting down e-mail servers. Internet chat rooms are closely monitored … and police routinely insist that offensive messages be removed. "At the very top, the Chinese government doesn't know what to think about this," says Duncan Clark, a partner in BDA China, a telecom and Internet industry group. "They want the economic technology benefits of the Internet but they're afraid of the social side effects." So for now, the Chinese can only get access to sports and entertainment and news that is heavily censored. But then government soon will have to contend with changing technology that will make the Internet nearly impossible to control.

	South China Morning Post - Technology Post Tuesday 15 June 1999
			'Lower costs spell mainland Net boom' by Yvonne Chan Original article: SCMP Technology Post Cheaper PCs and Internet fees will help lift the number of mainland Net users from 2.1 million last year to 6.7 million by the end of this year, rising to 33 million in 2003, according to a report. The Internet in China, published by BDA China (www.bdaco.com) and the Strategis Group, reports that the average mainland Net user is 21-25 years old and likes to use the Net to send and receive e-mails, play on-line games and access information such as news and sports. The use of communal Internet accounts - where one may be shared by six office workers or 10 university students - gradually would fade as costs for PCs, telephone lines and on-line fees continued to drop, said Duncan Clark, a BDA partner. Home computers were becoming more common in urban areas, and Internet charges were affordable, with the average monthly bill for 40 hours on-line costing 15-24 yuan, Mr Clark said. Telephone charges had fallen in March, and installation of a second line now was almost free. More Chinese-language content on the Web also has encouraged computer users to log on. As of December, there were 18,396 registered domain names with the mainland-assigned URL ending, ".cn". Less than 5,000 were registered in October 1997. Among the most popular Chinese sites are Sina (www.sina.com.cn), Netease (www.netease.com), Yahoo! Chinese (www.gbchinese.com) and Sohu (www.sohu.com). However, nearly 50 per cent of Net users complained of a lack of Chinese-language content, said BDA consultant Ted Dean. While CNN was among the most-visited sites among users "they also want to see things relevant to China". Chat rooms were growing in popularity and on-line games were a big attraction among the young. Free e-mail services, such as Hotmail, also had taken off. There were fewer cases of authorities blocking sites they deem "subversive" in recent months, due in part to the time needed to monitor and block the sites. "The Internet has become an accepted part of society," Mr Clark said. Internet telephony also had caught on due to growing awareness that a PC could be used as a phone, Mr Clark said. However, PC-to-phone usage was upstaged recently by the trial launch of low-cost, long-distance calling by operators, who offer phone-to-phone convenience and use leased lines to provide more stable connections. While users and content providers are growing, the Internet has not yet become the industry it is in the United States. Mainland sites earned only US$3 million in advertising revenues last year, forecast to grow to $9-$12 million this year. Part of the reason was lack of knowledge and experience in Net advertising, Mr Dean said. Advertising sales staff lacked confidence to approach multinationals and some smaller sites did not have the software to measure page views and impressions. "Sohu has been extremely successful in wooing ads. Netease has more page views, but less ads," Mr Dean said. "It's a young market, a very underdeveloped market." Entrepreneur-driven Internet service providers (ISPs) have found competing with state-run entities to be a losing battle. "A majority of ISPs are losing money," Mr Clark said. The top ISP with 670,000 subscribers is ChinaNet, run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. By comparison, smaller and privately run ISPs China Infohighway and China Online each has less than 70,000 subscribers. "It's all about speed of access and only ChinaNet can really address that," Mr Clark said.

	asia.internet.com Tuesday 15 June 1999
			'BDA, Strategis Forecast 33M Chinese Users By 2003' by Hans Lombardo, Managing Editor, asia.internet.com Original article on asia.internet.com [June 15, 1999--HONG KONG] BDA (China) Limited and the Strategis Group have published a new study on China's Internet market that projects China's online user total will reach 12 million by 2000 and 33 million by 2003. 'The Internet in China' study was compiled over a six month period and includes organizational profiles based on interviews with regulatory players, equipment vendors, Internet service providers (ISPs), Internet content providers (ICPs), software players and e-commerce shops in China. "'The Internet in China' is an essential business tool for companies seeking to size up or enter the China Internet market," said Duncan Clark, partner at BDA China. "Each new user that comes online creates new opportunities for Internet-related business, enabling companies to leverage technology, service or capital in one of the world's most exciting Internet markets," added Clark. Currently, foreign vendors dominate China's Internet infrastructure market which BDA forecasts to exceed US$160 million in 1999. "While domestic players gear up for this market, foreign vendors are likely to accelerate plans for local manufacturing to preserve their lead," said Alexandra Rehak, another BDA analyst. With regard to China's ISP market, BDA's study indicates that only providers with access to the "fattest pipes" (largest bandwidth), typically those funded or owned by China Telecom, have come out on top. Nevertheless, the China Internet report projects that the country's ISP market will exceed US$4 billion by 2003. BDA's study also provides an analysis of the Internet content market in China which it profiles the strong portal competition and predicts the market to grow to US$12 million in 1999. According to BDA, a critical success factor for China's ICPs will be financing from foreign private and capital interests and the movement towards IPOs in overseas stock markets.

	Financial Times Wednesday 7 April 1999
			'Beijing plans national cable network' by James Harding in Shanghai The cable network "was always the sleeping giant in terms of competition in the telecommunications industry in China", Duncan Clark at telecoms consultancy BDA said yesterday. The plans to establish a national cable company, he said, could result in the "emergence of a new network service provider".

	Reuters Friday 2 April 1999
			'China Unicom Freezes Payments To Foreign Telecom Partners' GUANGZHOU, Apr. 02, 1999 -- (Reuters) Duncan Clark, a partner of BDA China Ltd. consulting firm in Beijing, called the freeze a way to press foreign firms to settle for a buyout of their investments, so clearing the way for an eventual China Unicom initial public offering. "This is one way to get them to the table," Clark said. [...] Clark said China Unicom was underestimating the commitment of the foreign partners to stay in China, who want to keep their foot in the door ahead of the market being fully opened to competition. "Most of these companies are totally unwilling to sell their stake," he said.

	Computerworld Hong Kong Thursday 25 March 1999
			'China not ready for major e-commerce' By David Legard "There is no push from business to adopt e-commerce yet, since the large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are not market-driven, not innovative, and have long-established buying relationships," said Alexandra Rehak, a partner at Hong Kong-based consultancy BDA China Ltd. "Smaller companies have limited technical knowledge, and high-tech startups have difficulty accessing capital." [...] Another inhibitor is that the Chinese government wants to use locally-developed algorithms for encrypting Internet traffic, Rehak at BDA China said. "This is because of both national security concerns and pure nationalism," she said. "Along with restrictions on export of U.S. encryption algorithms, this is delaying adoption of e-commerce in China." Local Chinese governments are going ahead with ambitious plans to build e-commerce testbeds in a number of eastern cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dalian, Tianjin and Guangzhou, Rehak said. The central government, through the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, is setting up an EDI (electronic data interchange) center, she said. "Support from the central government is doubly important in China for e-commerce to take off," said Rehak. "This is officially the year of the Internet in China, and ministries are moving towards putting their procurement procedures online."

	Financial Times Tuesday 2 March 1999
			'Beijing acts to boost great leap online' [...] Duncan Clark ... said the sweeping price cuts would foster the growth of China's internet industry. But, he said, the measures intended to appease dissatisfaction in the market did not address the fundamental problems of the near-monopoly enjoyed by China Telecom: "Beijng is trying to introduce the results of competition in the telecoms industry without introducing the competition".

	Business Week Monday 1 February 1999
			'Beijing Sees Hope - and Danger - in the Net' [...] Beijing also has tried to control content by blocking Web sites it deems criminal, an effort analysts call futile. China's regulators "profess a policy they are unable to implement", says Duncan L J Clark of Shanghai consulting firm BDA China.

			Copyright © 1998-2000 BDA China Limited.