Update: China Mobile to Integrate Fetion, Fei Liao
Netease Tech, 3/25/13
According to a recently leaked internal document from China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK), the company has reached a decision to integrate its two IM platforms, Fetion and Fei Liao, and will launch a tender for technical support services of the combined platform from multiple providers. This indicates that Fetion will no longer receive technical support solely from Beijing-based IT solutions provider Ultrapower Software (300002.SZ).
The document also showed that, as of the end of 2012, Fetion had an active user base of 99.32 mln, and had reached a high of 5.31 mln peak concurrent users. During the same period, the user base for Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat (Weixin) mobile messaging application reached 300 mln, and had a monthly active user (MAU) count exceeding 120 mln. In 2012, expenditures for WeChat were over RMB 3 bln, of which RMB 800 mln were operating expenses. In contrast, expenditures for Fei Liao were less than RMB 5 mln.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "Rumor: China Mobile to Integrate Fetion, Fei Liao" MD 3/22/13 issue.
Keywords: bidding China Mobile wireless Tencent Fetion CHL 0700.HK 0941.HK Ultrapower 300002.SZ Fei Liao WeChat mobile IM