A wealth of internet businesses with Chinese characteristics
The spoils have been substantial. In 2012 China had more than 200m online
shoppers who spent going on $200 billion (not counting food and travel), ten
times as much as in 2008. This market is dominated by Taobao, which is
responsible for almost 60% of the parcels delivered by courier in China. More
than 370m people watch online video, a medium that has special appeal, even with
censorship, because the rules are looser than for traditional TV and cinema.
Youku Tudou, which may turn profitable next year, has a market capitalisation of
$2.8 billion. Baidu owns more than 70% of search in China and has a market
capitalisation of $30 billion (compared with Google’s $267 billion).
