Netease set to make return
( 2001-11-09 09:38 ) (1 )

Netease, the Chinese Internet portal suspended from Nasdaq's listing after allegedly falsely reporting its financial results, claims it may soon resume trading on the US stock market.

"We will see if we can return to normal trading in several weeks and release our financial reports for three quarters of the year," said Ted Sun, Netease's acting CEO.

The Chinese Internet business has been suspended on the Nasdaq since July 27 for the delay of its 2000 financial report and alleged incorrect revenue statistics.

Sun said on Thursday Netease's future businesses will centre in three areas: online media, paid services, and online entertainment. Online gaming and paid services are expected to make significant progress in the coming months.

"Domestic online game developers are still at a primitive stage, and we will become the No 1 in the market with our efforts," said William Ding, Netease's chief architect and founder.

The company signed a contract with the Hong Kong actor Stephen Chiau as a representative for its new game -- "The Legend of Monkey King."

"China has an online gaming population of about 1 million people and their average expense every month is about 30 yuan (US$3.6), which will be a huge market," Ding said.

Netease has set its market goal of the new game at 1 million copies.

It also said it will soon begin to launch its paid e-mail service, which it expects to become another major revenue source.

Local analysts expressed moderate welcome of Netease's return to the public after a three-month silence following the suspension.

"It is good that Netease launched its new services and it shows the company is recovering from the negative impacts of the suspension and financial problems," said a Beijing-based Internet analyst Lu.

However, he pointed out that, even if Netease returns to the US stock market successfully, it still has to deal with the legal suits from some investors in the United States.

Meanwhile, Netease has lagged behind its major competitors Sina.com in the past several months, and it will be a long process to catch up, according to the analyst.