THE MOTLEY FOOL – July 5 – Jiayuan, China's largest online dating platform, has been on a watchlist ever since it went public early last month. The company currently captures 44% of all online dating spending in China. The business model is focused on microtransactions – charging for messaging or "poking" other profiles – rather than on subscriptions. With ~900K active paying accounts right now, Jiayuan still has room to go in a country with 242M individuals between the ages of 20 and 34.
Category: Jiayuan.com
Turning Love Into Money in China
WSJ – July 5 – Chinese online dating market is expanding fast. According to Oppenheimer & Co., there were 19M visitors to Chinese dating sites in 2010, only a fraction of the estimated 156M single adult Internet users. That number is expected to increase to 60M by 2015. Market leader Jiayuan, which claims 44% of sector revenue, operates a fee-for-results model. Second- and third-place rivals Zhenai and Baihe require an upfront fee or provide a personality matching service. Internet consultancy iResearch projects total revenue from China's online dating will expand from $74M in 2010 to $290M in 2015.
by Tom Orlik
See full article at WSJ
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Sky-mobi Partners with Jiayuan
BENZINGA – June 9 - Under the terms of the one-year agreement, Sky-mobi will collaborate with the largest Chinese dating site Jiayuan to develop a Sky-mobi-Jiayuan dating software app to be operated on Sky-mobi's Maopao mobile social network. The program will offer a wide range of dating and social networking features.
by Allie Wickman
See full article at Benzinga
Jiayuan Announces First Quarter 2011 Financial Results
PR NEWSWIRE – June 8 - Q1 2011 Highlights:
– Net revenues were RMB 68.4M ($10.4M), 198.4% increase YOY
– Operating income was RMB 16.5M ($2.5M), compared to an operating loss of RMB 1.1M in Q1 2010.
- Jiayuan had 4.7M average monthly active user accounts during the quarter, representing an increase of 89.0% from 2.5M in Q1 2010. The number of average monthly paying user accounts was 882,471, representing an increase of 188.2% from 306,163 in Q1 2010.
– Operating income was RMB 16.5M ($2.5M), compared to an operating loss of RMB 1.1M in Q1 2010.
- Jiayuan had 4.7M average monthly active user accounts during the quarter, representing an increase of 89.0% from 2.5M in Q1 2010. The number of average monthly paying user accounts was 882,471, representing an increase of 188.2% from 306,163 in Q1 2010.
Jiayuan.com Stocks Fall In First Day Of Trading
ASSOCIATED PRESS – May 11 – Jiayuan.com International Ltd operates the largest online dating site in China. The company raised $78.1 million with its IPO, however the stock fell 48 cents, or 4.4%, during its first day of trading. The company priced its offering of 7.1 million American depositary shares at $11 each, with every two of these shares representing three ordinary shares of the company. Underwriters have the option to buy an additional 1,065,000 American depositary shares from shareholders, which would raise the IPO total to $89.8 million.
The full article was originally published at Forbes, but is no longer available.
Class Action Lawsuit May Halt Jiayuan.com‘s U.S. IPO
21CBH – Apr 27 – Jiayuan.com, China’s largest online dating site, is facing a class action lawsuit that could hamper its IPO in the U.S. Liu Qing, a user of the company’s premium service, is accusing Jiayuan.com of aiding fraudulent activity on its services. Liu said he was “swindled” by other users of Jiayuan.com because of false information on the website. Liu said the website operator ignored his complaints for a year, and has called on other victims to join him in the class action lawsuit.
The full article was originally published at 21CBH, but is no longer available.
Chinese Dating Site Jiayuan.com Files To Sell $100M In IPO
DOW JONES NEWSWIRE – Aur 21 – Chinese dating site Jiayuan.com filed to sell up to $100M of American depositary shares in an IPO. The company didn't specify how many ADSs it plans to sell or at what price. Jiayuan.com calls itself the biggest online dating platform in China. The company's revenue more than doubled last year, though its loss widened.
by Nathan Becker
The full article was originally published at WSJ, but is no longer available.
Online Dating Takes Off In China
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA – Mar 24 – With ~50% of China's Internet users between 24 and 40 years old, online dating services are taking off in a market estimated to be worth US$800M. Online dating site 'Shiji Jiayuan' was established by Ms Gong Haiyan, who set it up after she experienced trouble finding a marriage partner on other online sites. The website took off, now boasting a database of 30M singles. According to a recent study, ~24M Chinese men could find themselves without a partner by 2020 – due to a skewed gender balance caused by China's One-Child Policy and a cultural preference for boys over girls.
by Wong Yee Fong
The full article was originally published at Channel News Asia, but is no longer available.
In China, Matchmaking Means Gold Digging
BEHIND THE WALL – Feb 24 – Golden Bachelor Matchmakers is a company whose main revenue stream comes from finding female companions for wealthy men. “People misunderstand the rich guys,” said Gong Haiyan, the CEO of Jiayuan, an online dating site that occasionally hosts special events for single millionaire men. “They worry if they go out hunting girls they’d only find gold diggers.” And gold diggers seem to be everywhere. At least in China’s current pop culture, where reality TV dating shows like “If You Are the One” have attracted large numbers of viewers. When it first began airing, a female contestant, Ma Nuo, responded to an invitation by a poor young man to take a ride on his bicycle by saying, “I would rather cry in a BMW.” Her put-down generated a huge outcry among viewers, social commentators, and government officials. At a weekend marriage market in central Shanghai, where parents gather to find mates for their sons or daughters, the trait listed at the top of virtually every handwritten poster trumpeting the suitability of a single man is his income or assets.
by Adrienne Mong
The full article was originally published at Behind The Wall, but is no longer available.
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Shanghai’s Ultimate Matchmaker: Gong Haiyan
CNN GO – Feb 14 – Matchmaking has always played an important part in love and marriage here in China. But its method has changed in recent years, with online dating playing an increasingly important role. Gong Haiyan has been the person most instrumental in this revolution, founding China's first major online dating service, now called Jiayuan. Gong says her business wasn't an instant hit, but after a shaky start, Jiayuan has gone from strength to strength and retains a 50% market share in China. Last year the company was expected to top RMB 100M in revenue and according to the Jiayuan site, their customer base now includes 30M users, and 4.5M people have so far found a match. FULL ARTICLE @ CNN GO