Merrill Lynch sees more Nasdaq Chinese Internet listings
HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch said on Wednesday it expected to see about five Internet-related firms from the greater China region seek listings on the Nasdaq exchange before the end of 1999.
"You are now seeing a consumer portal listing of China.com. You will see other mainland or (greater China) regional portals list," Merrill Lynch's regional Internet analyst Matel Mihalca told a news conference.
"I would say five by the end of this year," he said, adding there would be more after that.
Mihalca said investment opportunities in Asia, excluding Japan, in the Internet sector were relatively few and there would be a dramatic growth in listed equities over the next two years.
Many companies were in need of financing to accelerate expansion and to see global valuations, and investors were expected to turn to Asia in search of investments premised on high Internet growth as online user growth rates in the United States began to slow, he said.
"We are very bullish on the Internet in Asia," Mihalca said.
In the greater China region, China leads in consumers, Taiwan leads in content and marketing skill, and Hong Kong and Singapore lead in infrastructure, he said.
He expected to see increasing numbers of joint ventures that united the content and marketing skills of Taiwan Internet firms with Chinese firms, such as portals, that could offer access to mainland customers.
There are four main players in China's consumer portal space, including SINA, SOHU, NetEase and Zhaodaola.
More merger among Internet firms was expected in future with the aim of increasing subscriber base and market share.
"Delivery via television is likely to develop faster in Asia than via PC, as PC penetration is generally low while television penetration is significantly higher," he said. Satellite would be a good Internet multimedia tool in the region.
Mihalca said Internet delivery by cable and television appeared to be attractive alternatives for the China market.
The PC penetration in Singapore was 21.3 percent, Hong Kong was 14.6 percent, Taiwan 8.7 percent, and China 0.3 percent.
The advertising market was small and the population largely bilingual in Hong Kong and that would limit home-grown content, despite a good PC penetration rate, he said. |
