INTERVIEW-El Sitio's Vivo bets on being in top 10
Reuters Story - December 10, 1999 16:04
By Reshma Kapadia
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - El Sitio Inc. Chairman Roberto Vivo said Friday the
newly-public Argentine Internet company is going to be among the top ten players in the Latin
American Internet market.
"Because the market is so attractive, and Latin America is the fastest growing region in terms of
the Internet, a number of players will look at this as an opportunity," Vivo said in an interview.
"But in the long-run, as in the U.S., the top ten players will retain a vast majority of the revenue
driven from the market. And you can bet El Sitio is going to be one of the top 10."
El Sitio raised $131.2 million after offering 8.2 million shares at $16. Its shares were up 15-7/8
to 31-7/8, benefiting from interest in Internet development abroad.
The company also benefited from recent success of other Internet firms targeting the same
market, such as StarMedia Networks Inc. and Terra Networks SA .
"The main reason holding Internet growth back was that there was no original, country-specific
content (in the region)," Vivo said. "We develop content (locally) to address the different
preferences within the countries."
Some analysts noted concern about a shift in the company's strategy by its decision to add
dial-up services, but Vivo said Internet access is not a core business.
"It is a strategic tool because it positions our brand in terms of new adapters, provides us with
strategic data such as names, addresses, credit card numbers and (helps it) create a successful,
full Internet strategy," he explained. |
