NetEase Sharpens Up Messaging in Run-Up to Portal Spin-Off 网易剥离门户网站再度磨砺电邮服务

By newsdoug on July 28, 2011

IPO in the mail for NetEase? Internet stalwart NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) is prettying up its popular e-mail and other messaging services as it prepares to spin off its older portal business into a separate company, bringing focus back to these services that were once its bread and butter but later became neglected as it moved its attention to online games. Chinese media are reporting that just weeks after telling the world of its plans to spin off its portal business, most likely into a separate unit that will become publicly listed (previous post), NetEase is releasing some figures for its e-mail service, once a leader in China, that still look relatively impressive. The company says it now has more than 400 million registered e-mail users, whose accounts will be integrated with its mobile, instant messaging and other platforms. (English article) It goes on to add that the e-mail business, banking on advertising and income from other value added services, is already profitable. Old timers will remember that NetEase’s 163.com and 126.com were among China’s earliest e-mail services, and at one point were nearly synonymous with e-mail in China. Of course the same can be said of AOL, which is now a shadow of its former self. But in NetEase’s case, I think these portal and messaging products never really fell from grace quite as badly as AOL and were rather just neglected. That said, I’m quite confident NetEase can revive these products without too much effort if it tries and, if it does, create a nice “new” product to compete with old rivals Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) in an IPO that should be fairly profitable and attractive.

Bottom line: NetEase’s renewed attention to its e-mail is the latest step as it prepares its portal business for an IPO that should be quite attractive.

互联网公司网易<NTES.O>在筹备剥离门户网站、成立单独公司之际，正在装扮网易电邮与其他信息传送功能。昔日相关服务曾是网易的核心业务，但因网易後来把重点放在了网游上，这些业务被冷落。几周前网易刚刚对外公布要分拆门户业务，很可能要成立一家单独的公司，将来还可能会上市。中国媒体报导网易正公布其电邮服务相关数据，曾经电邮领域的领头羊现在表现仍算不错。公司称网易目前拥有注册电邮用户4亿人，用户的账户将与其他平台整合。而且网易还表示得益於广告与其他增值服务，电邮业务已开始盈利。老客户应该还记得，网易的163.com和126.com属中国最早的一批电邮服务，甚至一度是中国电邮的代名词。当然你也可以说美国在线(AOL)也发生过类似的事。但就网易而言，我认为，网易的门户和讯息类产品从来都没有像AOL那样跌得那麽惨，它们充其量只是被忽视了而已。可以这麽说，如果网易尝试，我相信其可以不费吹灰之力地重振这些产品，并在IPO中创建一个可以抗衡新浪<SINA.O>和搜狐<SOHU.O>的新产品。

一句话：网易重新关注其电邮服务是准备为其门户业务上市所迈出的最新一步。

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