mobile-commerce

China Reports Strong group-buying Online e-Commerce

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Chinese Group Buying RisingThe Latest China Group Buying reports indicate that total transaction value in July and August reached CNY3.03bn and CNY3.69bn respectively (up 56.2% in July and 74.9% YoY in August vs +56.4% in June), creating another new high in terms YoY growth in August, last seen in January. The number of vouchers sold in August increased by 47% YoY, compared to 15% YoY growth in the same month last year. Transaction growth in the first two months of 2H13 was driven by an increase in both the number of purchasers and average deal price.

The number of group deal buyers had been somewhat stagnant since it first reached 45 million in November 2011. Yet beginning from 2013, the number of purchasers has been

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Japanese Mobile / Internet Stocks Rise 75% YoY on Better Profits

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Japanese Internet Mobile Stocks on Fire38 leading companies in the Japanese Internet (including games) and IT services sector have climbed 71% by end-September 2013. We think the rise in valuations is in large part a reflection of the higher rate of profit growth forecast for FY13.

The Order of preference among subsectors has been e-commerce > IT services > advertising > digital content (games). It is the reflection of the improving macro environment and increasingly swift uptake for smartphones and tablets. Among users of the Internet—including smartphone users—appetite for online shopping is voracious. Advances in advertising

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WeChat Monetization – A Step Closer to Reality

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WEChat - Monetization RealityTencent, the Chinese Internet Giant released the latest version of Weixin (WeChat) on iOS platform on August 5, offering new monetizable features like a game center, sticker shop, mobile payments and bar code scanning for e-commerce transactions.

Tencent has only put one Candy Crushlike mobile puzzle game, Tian Tian Ai Xiao Chu (TTAXC), on Weixin’s game center. By clicking the link, gamers are taken to Apple’s App Store for download. Within 12 hours of its debut, TTAXC was ranked no. 1 in Apple’s iOS free app ranking for China. We believe this is due to its social features, including score sharing, ranking and invitation, among gamers’ Weixin or QQ friend circles. TTAXC adopts a free-to-play item-based model, where gamers can purchase virtual items or additional game time through Apple’s payment channel.

Tencent will soon launch several mobile games on its Weixin game center overseas, including Fruit Ninja and Temple Run 2. In our view, the strong debut of TTAXC bodes well for

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Growth of Internet on PC, SmartPhone, Tablet in Japan

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Internet-Growth-JapanThe Electronics and Gadget Savvy Japan witnessed from the second half of the 1990s through the first half of the 2000s where most people used PCs to go online. Growth in Internet use today, however, is being driven by rapid proliferation of smartphones. The number of people going online via PCs in Japan broadly plateaued in 2012 at around 97mn. In contrast, smartphone penetration at end-FY12 was only 33% so Japan is still in the midst of smartphone proliferation. The Chart on the left shows a Decade of Growth of PC Vs SmartPhone vs Tablets used to go Online.

The number of Internet-capable devices in Japan has risen by 50% compared

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Mobile remittances: Who benefits – Banks or Wireless Companies ?

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Eko believes the mobile banking business model has (1) convenience, (2) trust and (3) security—all three attributes that are sine qua non in a banking business. However, what it lacks is the “invitation to everyone”. Models like cash, and to some extent hawala, are open to all—anyone can access these systems. Therefore the process of … Read more