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To: Long John who wrote (97560)	5/15/2000 9:30:00 AM
From: johnsto1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

May 15, 2000 Sina.com Moves to Expand Its Offerings Beyond News By LESLIE CHANG Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SHANGHAI, China -- Sina.com, China's leading Internet portal, is expanding its branding and services to move beyond its current position as a news provider, a senior Sina executive said. "Right now it's a news brand. We want to expand it more into a usage brand," said Daniel Mao, chief operating officer of Sina.com. "We want users, when they want to use the Internet, to think of Sina." To that end, the company plans to have between 20 and 30 "themed clubs," or special areas for users devoted to specific topics, on its site. The company has already launched online clubs devoted to sports, cars, infant care, investments and dating, among other topics. Sina is also adding to its e-mail and chat services in an effort to make itself a one-stop shop for Internet users; for example, it has built audio capability onto its chat platform. While Sina's association with news puts it in one of China's most sensitive sectors, Mr. Mao said the move to expand beyond news is driven less by politics than economics. "From the business point of view, news does not generate a lot of revenue," Mr. Mao said. Already, news content brings in only 20% of Sina's total user traffic, he said. The site's big draws include online chats with celebrities, and areas devoted to technology, finance and dating, as well as e-mail. On the heels of its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Sina is looking into acquiring other companies. Possible targets include the broadband or wireless sectors, which allow access to the Internet through television sets or mobile phones. Sina executives are considering acquisitions of firms in specialized fields like technology and finance, especially those in the bricks-and-mortar world. "We would prefer a traditional financial research company, for example, rather than an online financial site," said Mr. Mao. "We have enough outside-the-box thinking. We need some down-to-earth people who know what their business is all about." As of the end of last year, 71% of Sina's revenue came from online advertising, with e-commerce revenue a mere 1% to 2% and most of the rest from software sales. The China market already contributes 60% of Sina's total page views, and is the company's largest source of revenue. Sina also operates sites in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the U.S. Write to Leslie Chang at leslie.chang@wsj.com