Twitter Asia-Pacific to Help Chinese Business Expand Abroad, Invest in Live Video

It has been 11 years since Twitter established itself as a new platform for social communication. In that time, it has become one of the world’s most important websites even though it has yet to “grow up”. In doubt? Try following @realDonaldTrump.

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The company’s net loss narrowed to US $21.1 million, according to its third-quarter earnings report on October 27, and Twitter is expected to post a profit for the first time in the fourth quarter. Twitter shares have risen by nearly 30 percent this year.

The results are good, but Twitter is also watching the Chinese market. In spite of being a “404 company,” Twitter is focused on helping Chinese companies to expand abroad.

“China is one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” Maya Hari, managing director of Twitter Asia Pacific, said in a recent interview with Jiemian.com, “This is true in terms of performance, brand expansion and investment. We hope this trend will continue.”

Twitter has not established an office on the Chinese mainland. Its operations in China are mainly supported by two offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. “Although we have been thinking about a future deployment, we have no news to report in this area,” Hari said. She said Twitter’s team recruitment in greater China was “one of the fastest growing areas in the world.”

“The global vision of Chinese companies is much broader than before. For example, many of the dominant handset makers in global markets were originally from China. And China’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem is great,” she said, “So, whether big brands or young start-ups, I think these companies will become more and more global in the future.” Hari said Twitter can “provide global trends and culture, and help Chinese companies go out and get internationalized through this platform.”

For Twitter, video content and live broadcasts are regarded as important features for commercialization. In the past years, Twitter has invested a lot in live video and quality video content, mainly focusing on sports, entertainment and news, Hari said. “The video quality can be compared to TV programs,” she said.

Twitter and Bloomberg reached a cooperation in May to launch a round-the-clock TV news channel whose content would include Bloomberg’s existing TV programs and live videos made by Bloomberg’s international branches. In the Asia-Pacific region, Twitter has partnered with International Cricket Council, the Riot Games, the KBS Weekly Music Show and Buzzfeed Japan to attract more users.

As for investing, Hari said “Twitter is a very good topic platform. People born in the 1980s and 1990s post all videos. Video appears to be a shortcut to discover the latest news. Whether it’s e-sports, sports, entertainment or real-time news, live broadcast are always the way to find out what is happening in the first place. In this regard, Twitter also offers opportunities for those who are curious and passionate to discover something, she said.

Twitter users have a strong desire to explore and have a strong influence, and they want to find quality content on the platform, Hari said. Therefore, Twitter combines live broadcasts with short videos. As for enhancing brands, she stressed that brand promoted by Twitter see a 2.5 times greater return than on other platforms.

Maya said companies in the fields of e-commerce, games, science and technology, including the Jolly Chic, Valor of Arena, Onmyoji, Huawei and Lenovo, all use Twitter for promotion.

As the creator of the microblog concept, Twitter is often compared with Sina Weibo. Hari didn’t compare the differences directly. “There are quite a few Internet companies in China that are really interesting and doing very well,” she said, “Twitter, as a platform, also wants to bring opportunities to global consumers, hoping to boost the industry. We also want to have more opportunities to interact with the global audience through our platform.”