UCWeb to invest $483M to spur biz growth

Mobile browser developer UCWeb will be portioning out 3 billion yuan (US$483 million) over the next three years and investing it in its product development, as it looks to step up its business growth.

According to a Technode report Tuesday, CEO Yu Yongfu revealed the investment roadmap at the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) held in Beijing currently. Codenamed Project GEEK, it would also involve recruiting over 1,000 staff to meet the company's goals, it stated.

A separate report by Tech In Asia Tuesday shed more light on Project GEEK. One of the main thrust of the plan would be on global expansion, and the company will focus on Brazil, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia by opening up offices in these markets "very soon". UCWeb has over 400 million users today, of which some 100 million are from outside China, it pointed out.

Yu added to fuel its GEEK plan, the company has more than 1 billion yuan (US$160.1 million) cash in hand. Its revenue stream is strong and has doubled in the last three years and, if needed, he claimed there are plenty of investors "hungry" to invest in the company, the report noted.

On the company's initial public offering (IPO) plans, Yu said he would rather delay going public to avoid unnecessary pressure from investors, it added. The company had in August last year revealed it was considering an IPO in the United States in 2013 as it looks to increase the reach of its browser and the company's profile.