China online advertising spending to surge

BEIJING - Investment in China's Internet advertising is predicted to grow by 32.1 percent annually over the next five years, according to a Tuesday report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Total spending on online advertising is expected to hit $31 billion by 2016, the global consulting firm's report said.

PwC made the forecast based on China's fast economic growth, as well as improved access to the Internet via mobile phones.

China currently has more than 500 million Internet users, with more than 300 million accessing the Internet with their mobile phones. Government data showed that the number of mobile phone users hit a record high of 1.03 billion at the end of April.

The report also predicted rapid spending growth in the entertainment and media industries during the next five years. It said total spending in these industries will hit $192.5 billion by 2016.

The report said China became the world's third-largest entertainment and media market in terms of spending in 2011, with investment that year hitting $109 billion.