Dick Costolo, chief-executive officer of microblogging site Twitter, speaks at a conference. (Photo : www.businessinsider.com.au)
Global social media company Twitter has announced the opening of a small office in Hong Kong to show and enhance its presence in China as well as tap revenue from potential advertisers in the region.
The Financial Times reported that Twitter is interested in numerous Chinese firms which have been selling products and services overseas as potential advertisers. These include major Chinese companies such as Huawei Technologies and the state-owned Xinhua News Agency, which use Twitter to build connection with their global clients.
"There are a number of these Chinese companies that are really aiming to be global now," Peter Greenberger, head of the social media company's emerging markets operations based in Singapore, told the Financial Times.
"The opportunity, we think, is huge. We know there's demand. We've had some experience with Chinese companies already that are seeking to reach audiences overseas," Greenberger stressed.
The article said that Twitter's plan to move into Hong Kong is part of the company's strategy to look for more revenue as analysts say the company recorded a slow growth. In addition to this, Twitter had just recorded a strong fourth-quarter performance in the stock market, which is good news to any investors.
The microblogging site has earlier announced that it needed to increase international revenue, and getting into China's big market can help make that difference. Two-thirds of the company's revenue was generated by its U.S. clients, while more than three quarters are from outside the U.S.
Dick Costolo, Twitter Chief Executive Officer, visited China last year. Since 2009, the company's service has been blocked in mainland China after anti-government protesters used the social media network in their protest action.
