简体中文
Micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo now has more users than its western counterpart Twitter, according to figures from the Chinese company's first quarter results.
Sina Weibo says it had 340 million monthly active users as of the end of March 2017, moving past the 328 million active monthly users of the US-based Twitter platform.
Of the 154 million people using the Sina Weibo social media platform every day, 91% access the service via mobile.
"Our relentless focus to build the best social media experience in China is reflected in Weibo's strong performance," said Gaofei Wang, Weibo chief executive, in a statement.
An annual financial report released by Weibo in February stated that the platform had attracted 77 million new monthly active users and created revenue of US$650 million across 2016, up by 45 percent from 2015.
Weibo also posted a 180 percent leap net profit last year, and also became more valuable than Twitter for the first time, with a valuation of $11.3 billion compared to $11.2 billion.
The BBC states that Sina Weibo has been challenged by the success mobile messenger WeChat - China's answer to WhatsApp - in recent years, but has remained competitive by adding a host of new functions, many of which go even beyond those of Twitter, which is blocked in China.
Advertising revenues for Weibo reached 1.17 billion yuan (170m US dollars) in the first quarter, increasing 80 percent year-on-year, China Daily notes.
(CHINA DAILY)
