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Overview of 58.com
58.com was founded in December 2005 and was listed on the NYSE on October 31, 2013. Its subscription-based paying members grew by 1600% from 2011 (120,400) to 2016 (2,069,700). 58.com’s revenue grew by 2500% from 2011 ($41,534,000) to 2016 ($1,094,439,000). The company acquired Anjuke and Ganji in 2015. On April 17, 2017, 58.com announced that Tencent would invest $200 million in Zhuan Zhuan, a used goods trading platform incubated by 58.com. Below, I will provide an overview of 58.com, including its usage, revenue, growth, recent news, and developments.
OVERVIEW
58.com was founded in December 2005 and was listed on the NYSE on October 31, 2013. As the company is expected to publish its latest annual report on February 26, 2018, complete data for usage and revenue is available from 2011 to 2016 only. As of the third-quarter of 2017, the company has 2,611,000 subscription-based paying members. This figure includes members for 58.com, Ganji.com, and Anjuke.com. The company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) or business goals are not provided in its annual reports. However, in the press release for the third quarter 2017 unaudited financial results, Michael Yao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated that the company will continue to “drive traffic growth and expand user engagement by deploying new and innovative technologies” and “invest further to grow our [58.com] platforms while improving operational efficiency.”
USAGE FROM 2011 TO 2016
Usage for 58.com platforms is defined as subscription-based paying members. The company achieved massive growth each year, with a spike in 2015 after acquiring Ganji and Anjuke. From 2011 to 2016, paying members grew by approximately 1600%.
2016: 2,069,700 (Include membership for Ganji and Anjuke, the breakdown for 58.com members only is not available)
REVENUE FROM 2011 TO 2016
58.com’s annual reports have provided the company’s revenue in US$ currency. Similar to its paying members’ data, the company achieved massive growth each year, with a spike in 2015. From 2011 to 2016, revenue grew by approximately 2500%.
RECENT NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS
The majority of recent news posted on 58.com’s website are announcements related to financial performance. Below, I will provide news from 2015 onwards when it acquired two companies and three other recent news that are related to management changes and investments.
On March 1, 2015, 58.com announced that it had acquired Anjuke for $267,010,000. Shanghai-based Anjuke is an online real estate listing platform that provides “potential home buyers and renters an efficient and user-friendly experience to search for primary and secondary real estate.”
On April 17, 2015, 58.com announced that it had acquired an approximately 43.2% fully diluted equity stake in Ganji for $446.2 million. Beijing-based Ganji is an online local services marketplace that provides users “a wide range of location-based services from millions of active merchants, in areas such as jobs, housing, second-hand products and local services information.” In the same press release, it was also announced that Tencent Holdings had provided 58.com with an approximately $400 million additional investment.
On March 31, 2016, 58.com announced that it had appointed Hongyu Xing as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He joined 58.com as a Senior Vice President in 2015 and prior to joining 58.com, he has held senior positions at Tencent and IBM China's Research Center.
On November 29, 2016, 58.com announced that Executive Vice President Chuan Zhang had tendered his resignation. Chief Technology Officer Hongyu Xing, Executive Vice President Jiandong Zhuang, Senior Vice President Mingke He, and other vice presidents took over his responsibilities.
On April 17, 2017, 58.com announced that Tencent would invest $200 million in cash and additional business resources in Zhuan Zhuan for a minority equity ownership. Zhuan Zhuan is a used goods trading platform incubated by 58.com.