YANG Jian, a former state-owned media reporter, has ambitions for his virtual mobile phone-based community platform "Nanjing Road" to become China's No. 1 in three to five years.
The platform, accessible on www.hapigo.cn, is a medium for shop owners and consumers to do business in virtual space via mobile phones.
Yang, 42, is the president of Ufida Mobile Business Technology Co, a US$13.42 million joint venture between Beijing-based Ufida Software Co and Japan-based wireless firm NTT DoCoMo.
Ufida Mobile, which was set up three months ago, offers a service totally different from traditional consumer-oriented service providers as it serves both shop owners and ordinary users, according to Yang. "In the mobile community, we are the property developer and we welcome investors," Yang said. "The strategy is to provide investors the best environment and earn money together with them."
More than 20 companies from furniture, health care, cinema and food industries have signed up to adopt the platform to promote and sell their products since the launch of the Nanjing Road platform nationwide on April 18.
For example, users surfing online through the handsets searching for products to buy or information, will be led to the shops, which pay Ufida Mobile for keywords like "flower" or "film."
The service, which allows people go shopping anytime and anywhere, aims to tap the opportunities of the coming next-generation phone market, though China hasn't launched the third generation, or 3G, licenses yet.
"You have to position ourselves in the emerging market first because to leave it too late will not give opportunities when the market is crowded with players," Yang said.
Compared with the online business, the mobile phone-based commerce has advantages. For example, paying for mobile phone-based services is so common nowadays and it is easy to be paid.
China's mobile phone commerce market will hit 30.05 billion yuan in 2009 from 7.8 billion yuan in 2004, according to research firm CCW Research. Yang expects Ufida Mobile to be profitable by 2009.
Yang started his career as a reporter when he joined national newspaper Guangming Daily in 1987 from Tsinghua University. He spent four years in the newspaper reporting IT news and joined Ufida Software in 1990 as the president's assistant.
"The journalistic experience allows me to contact high-level executives and bring me fresh ideas," Yang said. "It is especially helpful for me to create the new business."
Yang also spent some time studying overseas before joining Nortel, a telecommunications giant. He then rejoined Ufida in 2003 and was tasked to expand the mobile business thanks to his rich experience.
Source:佚名