2015 Asia-Pacific Gold Winner - NetEase

Company: NetEase, Hangzhou, China
Category:  Company of the Year - Internet/New Media or Media & Entertainment

Entry Title: NetEase

Founded in 1997, NetEase, Inc. is a leading China-based Internet technology company that pioneered the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China.

NetEase’s online communities and personalized premium services have established a large and stable user base for the NetEase websites, which are operated by its affiliates.

- NetEase’s 163.com is one of China’s most popular web portals, with strong user diversity, reach and stickiness
- NetEase’s Industry leading Mobile News App was Ranked the #1 mobile news application by time spent (iResearch)
- NetEase is the No. 1 e-mail service provider in China since 1997 with over 740 million registered email users

NetEase provides online game services to Internet users. It offers massively multiplayer online role-playing games for in-house developed games such as Fantasy Westward Journey, Westward Journey Online II, Westward Journey Online III, Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty, Datang, Ghost, Soul of the Fighter and Kung Fu Master, as well as the licensed Blizzard Entertainment games World of Warcraft® and StarCraft® II.

- In 2014, Netease announced an agreement to license Blizzard Entertainment's Heroes of the Storm™ to a NetEase, Inc. affiliate in mainland China for a term of three years, marking the fourth Blizzard game brought to China by both companies since 2008

- NetEase launched several mobile games during FY2014, which contributed about 14% of Q4 game revenues, helping drive that segment, but also began monetizing some mobile apps, helping to boost the advertising business.

NetEase offers online advertising services that include banner advertising, channel sponsorships, direct e-mail, interactive media-rich sites, sponsored special events, games, contests, and other activities; e-mail services to individual and corporate users; and wireless value-added services, as well as e-commerce-related services, such as online payment platforms and personalized photo-based products.

- In 2014, NetEase’s online payment platform, Wangyibao, secured a license from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to provide payment and settlement services for wealth management products

- In 2015, NetEase launched its new cross-border e-commerce initiative, Kaola, to compete with the likes of Alibaba.

NetEase also provides internet users with Chinese language-based online content channels that provide news, information, and online entertainment; community and communication services, including micro-blogging, blogging, photo album, instant messaging, online personal advertisements, open courses, mobile news applications, e-reading, matchmaking, community forums; and various search functions, such as dictionary and cloud note-taking application.

- NetEase is focused on enriching mobile platform services such as open education courses, e-reader, cloud music service, online dictionary and cloud note-taking service. In 2013, NetEase announced a partnership with online course platform Coursera to extend Coursera’s resources to NetEase users in China.

- YiChat is a - Social instant messaging app developed with China Telecom. A recent New 3.0 version introduced a Free Call feature and plans are in the works for an enterprise version

US Expansion Going Foward

The company is setting up a division in the U.S. led by David Ting, who will act as general manager of NetEase North America. This new Western initiative will build a lineup of mobile games specifically for Western audiences. The company already has several new releases in the works that it plans to launch on iOS and Android in American and European markets this year. That includes its first mobile game, Speedy Ninja, which is an endless runner.

Results

In 2014 NetEase made exciting strides across its three business lines. With considerable advancements among our traditional online and mobile games portfolios, and portal and e-commerce offerings, total revenues for 2014 grew by 27.7% year-over-year.  

With continued investments, international expansion, partnerships and innovations, Netease is wel positioned to continue as a global market leader in gaming, advertising, ecommerce, and internet media for years to come.

Supporting Materials:

http://ir.netease.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=122303&p=irol-homeProfile

http://ir.netease.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=122303&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2015025

https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/netease-com#sthash.wGFoQYL3.dpuf