Profile of Wang
Leilei
* Born in 1973 in
Beijing
* Graduated from Tsinghua University in electronics
engineering.
* Worked at China Great Wall Computer Software Co Ltd in
1996.
* Acted as big account manager with a futures agency from
1996-98.
* Created and ran an information technology system
intergration company in Beijing from 1998-99.
* Joined Tom.com, which
later changed its name to Tom Group, and was appointed as managing
director for its Internet business in the Chinese mainland, now called Tom
Online.
* Appointed CEO and executive director of Tom Online, which was
listed in Hong Kong and New York in March
2004. |
Qinhuangdao, a coastal resort city 320
kilometres from Beijing, is the destination for Wang Leilei and his colleagues
every summer.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of one of the largest Internet operations
in China is currently planning this year's expedition from the capital for his
workers.
Since 2000, the bike ride has become an annual team-building exercise, and a
test of stamina and determination two qualities Wang has displayed in helping to
turn Tom Online into the success it is today.
This year, the exercise may also provide Wang a welcome break from recent
media attention.
In the past month it has been said Wang would take over the leadership of
eBay's Eachnet, the Chinese arm of the US online auction giant, and that Tom
Group would buy stakes in the leading Chinese Internet portal Sina Corp and take
control.
Wang, in leading the Internet operation of Hong Kong-based media conglomerate
Tom Group, is often the focus of media reports because of the company's success.
In March 2004, Tom Online listed on the Growth Enterprise Market in Hong Kong
and the NASDAQ stock market in New York. It reported revenue of US$48.12 million
in the fourth quarter of 2005, 40 per cent higher than the same period of 2004,
beating its forecast of US$46.75-47.75 million.
With the figure, Tom Online ranks fourth among all 14 listed Chinese Internet
companies, coming after only online game operator NetEase, instant messaging
service provider Tencent, and the top Chinese Internet portal Sina in terms of
revenue size.
"We have had to work hard with our own focuses and do things persistently,"
says Wang in an interview with China Business Weekly.
Tom Online started as an Internet portal business in 1999, acquiring scores
of Internet websites since then, and becoming an Internet service provider,
selling dial-up cards to users, after the dotcom bubble burst in late 2000.
However, that business was not sustainable because more and more people began
to endorse broadband Internet, and telecom operators were taking the lead.
Despite the short trial on the Internet connection business, Wang did build a
partnership with Chinese telecom operators, so when the mobile short messaging
service (SMS) began to take off in 2001, Tom Online quickly became a leader in
the market.
The real change came in 2002, when Tom Online signed a contract with the
popular Taiwanese singer Jay Chow, who was and still is hugely popular with
young people in the Chinese mainland, for him to become its marketing
spokesperson.
It also got the rights to use Chow's songs in its wireless services, such as
ringtones and interactive voice response, which allows mobile users to dial a
number to listen to songs, jokes, and information.
At that time, few firms in the wireless value-added service business realized
the huge market potential, and few record companies knew that broadcasting songs
on mobile phones could be very profitable, so the cost of signing Chow was
relatively low at about 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million).
Wang, knowing that China Mobile was also going to sign Chow, chose to link up
with the country's dominant mobile operator, which proved to be very successful,
because when China Mobile was promoting Chow for itself, it was also promoting
for Tom Online.
After that, entertainment and focus become two catchwords for Tom Online.
When many other mobile service providers were focusing on SMS in 2002 and
early 2003, Tom Online turned most of its energy to the multimedia messaging
service (MMS), wireless application protocol (WAP), ringtone downloads, and
entertainment contents
Trying to focus whole-heartedly on wireless value-added services, Wang
resisted the temptation of online games until 2003, when the online game
operator Shanda Interactive Entertainment grew quickly in its business size.
Under pressure from its parent company Tom Group and the attraction of the
high profits of online games, Tom Online launched the shooting game Karma
Online, imported from South Korea, but Wang soon realized it was not where his
firm's strength was and decided to give up on the operation.
However, more attempts are possible in the future.
"Online gaming is one business that has tempted me most in the past year,"
says Wang.
When Tom Online was split from Tom Group and made a separate public offering
on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market and New York's NASDAQ in March 2004, the
company did not get much favour from investors and analysts because of its high
costs of marketing and content procurement.
The company licensed music contents from Sony Music, EMI, Warner Brothers,
BMG, and Universal in 2004 and formed an alliance with Warner Brothers last
year, while most wireless service providers did not realize the increasing
interest of users for entertainment, or chose not to buy legal contents from
copyright owners.
But those investments have finally paid off. Tom Online's revenue from
wireless services rose from US$300,000 in 2001 to US$162 million in 2005 and it
also turned from net losses of US$23 million to net profits of US$45 million in
the period. Its stock prices have also more than doubled in the past year to
US$23.83.
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