China set for No 2 spot in mobile advertising spending

Driven by its fast-growing online industry and expanding smartphone user population, China is set to overtake Britain and Japan by the end of this year to become the world's second-largest mobile internet advertising market.

Spending on mobile advertising campaigns in China this year is forecast to jump about 276 per cent to US$7.11 billion from last year, according to estimates released yesterday by research company eMarketer.

China would account for 15.9 per cent of the total mobile internet advertising spending worldwide by the end of December, ranking behind the 46.6 per cent share of industry leader, the United States.

Wang Haixia, the head of forecasting at eMarketer, said: "This phenomenal growth is being driven by a handful of players in the Chinese market, with Alibaba and Baidu collectively accounting for 11.3 per cent of worldwide mobile internet ad spending and a massive 70 per cent in the domestic market."

By 2018, China would make up 22.2 per cent of the global mobile advertising expenditure, eMarketer data showed. That same year, 34 per cent of all advertising spending in the country is predicted to be on the mobile platform.

"All of the internet portal operators on the mainland have extended their presence into mobile, which has helped advertisers reach more consumers and encouraged them to expand their marketing investments," said Ricky Lai, a research analyst at Guotai Junan International Holdings.