Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Dating Apps Prove Popular in China During Covid-19 Outbreak

CHINA DAILY - Apr 17 - Industry experts said the "cloud matchmaking" method, which includes livestreaming and short videos, is gaining traction among singles. According to Tantan, the average time people spent on the app in early- and mid-February increased by ~30%. The number of users surged 60% during the peak hour which often runs from midnight to 1am. During the outbreak, those born after the period around 1995 and after 2000 have become the top users of Tantan. They recorded a 20% increase in messages sent and daily matches. Zhenai.com said its active users reached 10M during the Chinese New Year holiday on Jan 24 to Feb 2, an increase of 39% compared with the same period of last year. ~10K people found highly compatible matches on the app. Baihe Jiayuan Network Group's CEO Wu Linguang said video and livestreaming dating services have been launched to lure customers during the epidemic. The time users spend on video dating rose 30% during the Spring Festival holiday YOY.

See full article at The Star

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Marriage Rate in China in Decline

ECNS - Aug 8 - According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics and Ministry of Civil Affairs, the marriage rate in China has been in decline for five consecutive years. In 2013, ~10 people got married for every 1K people, while last year the rate fell to ~7 people. The key age group for marriage is also changing. In a report released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, people aged 20 - 24 accounted for the highest marriage registrations before 2012, but in 2017 that group had changed to people 25 - 29. This group made up 37% of all registered couples. In a 2018 survey by Zhenai, matchmaking site, ~60% of those classified as single had not dated for three years. It also found that 70% of single people who live in cities feel anxious about how to get into a relationship. The three biggest service providers are Jiayuan, founded in 2003, which claims to have 190M users; Zhenai, founded in 2005 with 170M users; and Baihe founded in 2005 with 100M. users.

See full article at ECNS

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Mixing Chatroulette With Tinder - the Future of Online Dating?

GIZMODO - Apr 26 - Dating platforms in China are starting to experiment with livestream. China's biggest Internet dating site Jiayuan first started offering video streaming in January. First, a user would start a streaming session with a set topic, then wait for a second user to join. Then if someone wanted to talk to that host, they would request to join. If the request was accepted, then the two could video chat. That conversation would then broadcast live for other users to watch and comment. There were a lot of empty rooms. So the company added third party emcees to serve as matchmaker hosts. It also created a karaoke feature. Since then, two other major dating platforms - Baihehunlian and Zhenai - also added livestream features. Americans have been swiping left and right for more than five years now and are collectively ready for a different online dating experience.

by Jennings Brown
See full article at Gizmondo

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Chinese Dating Site Sues Catfishing User

SIXTH TONE - Feb 26 - Chinese dating site Jiayuan.com is suing a user who lied in her profile to attract suitors and extort them for expensive gifts. According to Jiayuan, ~190M users are registered on the platform. In September 2017, the company faced intense scrutiny following the high-profile death of a former customer - a tech entrepreneur who wrote in his suicide note that his ex-wife, whom he'd met through Jiayuan, had driven him to despair. The same month, the Communist Youth League, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued a joint directive requiring real-name registration on dating sites. Jiayuan said that it is working with a third party to establish a social credit system for its users, and that in the meantime it had assembled a team specifically tasked with reviewing and verifying personal information.

by Fu Danni
See full article at Sixth Tone

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China's Tinder Embraces AI

SCMP - July 11 - AI will be a key focus for Tantan this year, said CEO Yu Wang. The technology will be used to help the company accurately identify new users, boost the accuracy of advertising, as well as contributing to growth in terms of user numbers and revenues, he said. Mobile dating is a popular trend in China where the number of smartphones outstripped the country's 1.4B population. Even WeChat, the country's most popular messaging app owned by Tencent, whose active monthly users have topped nearly 1B, offers apps such as Shake and Drifting Bottle that give its users more opportunities to get in touch with potential dates. Momo, another popular location-based hook-up app in China, acquired Tantan in February for $760M. Unlike Momo and Tantan, which are mostly favoured by younger users who are more inclined to have casual dates, a number of Chinese apps, such as Jiayuan and Baihe, specifically target those looking for a life-long partner. Revenue generated by China's online dating industry reached 4B yuan ($603M) in 2017, according to iResearch.

by Li Tao & Iris Deng
See full article at SCMP

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Fosun Buys Matchmaking Service Provider From Chairman For $603M

DEAL STREET ASIA - July 5 - Fosun International Ltd said it would buy 69% of match-making and dating service provider Baihe Jiayuan Network Group from Chairman Guo Guangchang for 4B yuan ($603.4M) cash. Baihe Jiayuan has ~310M registered users and ~200 offline service centres covering 75 Chinese cities. In May, Fosun's tourism arm said it was hunting for more overseas deals to grow its leisure vacation business.

by Donny Kwok
See full article at Deal Street Asia

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Chinese Singles Economy

THE STAR - June 29 - ~200M Chinese, or 14% of China's population, are single, representing a huge market for online dating apps and matchmaking services. Baihe and its sister company Jiayuan face stiff competition from apps such as Zhenai. Together, the three apps boast market shares of ~65%. They became market leaders through innovation. They enable young singles to connect via live streaming, games, anonymous telephone chats and instant messaging widgets. White-collar professionals in first- and second-tier cities make up ~90% of dating app consumers, according to a latest report by iResearch. An industry report predicted that the total market revenue of online dating services will exceed RM28B ($4.2B) by 2025.

by Cheng Yu
See full article at The Star

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China's 21st Richest Person To Purchase 70% Of Baihe

TECHNODE - May 4 - Fosun International chairman and business magnate Guo Guangchang plans to purchase a majority stake in marriage and dating site Baihe.com for just under RMB 4B ($630M). Baihe.com's shareholders entered into an agreement with Yuanhong Investment to sell 869M shares at a price of RMB 4.6 ($0.72) per share. Guo controls 100% of Yuanhong, which will make him a controlling shareholder of Baihe.com when the deal goes through. There has been no indication as to when the purchase will be concluded. In Dec 2015 Baihe acquired rival dating and marriage platform Jiayuan for $250M. The company then reorganized to become the Baihe Jiayaun Network Group in September 2017.

by Christopher Udemans
See full article at Technode

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Technology Is Changing How China's Youth Find Love

TECHNODE.COM - Apr 11 - From Tinder-like Tantan to Momo, to marriage-focussed Baihe, tech companies are taking advantage of increasingly independent young adults. Just under half of China's 1.4B people fall between the ages of 25 and 54 years old. Most are men. Within this total, 200M are unmarried. One study shows that 54M people made use of online dating services in 2016, a number that is expected to increase by 24M, or 45%, by 2022. Baihe was founded in 2005 and claims to have ~100M users. Baihe-owned Jiayuan.com also focuses on marriage-related services. It claims to have ~170M users and operates offline stores in 71 cities. Tantan and Momo are designed for more casual dating. In 2013, the total revenue for the sector was RMB 1.93B. This more than doubled to RMB 4B at the end of 2017 and is expected to reach RMB 5B by 2020. According to researchers, online dating can also have a profound effect on marriage diversity. According to the Center for China and Globalization, the number of foreigners increased by 50% between 2000 and 2013. Additionally, over 1500 foreigners were granted green cards in 2016, a 160% YOY increase. In the same year, the number of cross-cultural marriages swelled by 2.5% in Shanghai.

by Christopher Udemans
See full article at Technode

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PAG Buys Controlling Stake In Zhenai.com

SCMP - Nov 21 - PAG Asia Capital, one of Asia's largest investment firms, has closed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Zhenai.com, China's largest online matchmaking and dating service provider. The transaction size was not disclosed. Founded in 2005 by Li Song, a former Morgan Stanley executive director, Zhenai.com now boasts ~140M registered users. It is expected to generate revenues of ~1.6B yuan and a net profit of ~200M yuan ($30M) in 2017, according to the company. This compared to the 51.4M yuan ($7.7M) in 2015 net profit of Jiayuan.com, a major rival of Zhenai. Jiayuan was bought by Baihe.com, another matchmaking website last year, resulting in the country's matchmaking business being mainly split among the three companies.

by Jane Li
See full article at SCMP

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Chinese Government Tells Dating Websites To Vet Users

SIXTH TONE - Sep 19 - The Communist Youth League, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued a joint directive on Monday requiring dating sites to keep a record of their users' real identities. The regulation came nearly two weeks after Jiayuan.com fell under scrutiny for the suicide of tech entrepreneur Su Xiangmao. The 37-year-old founder of the Skype-like app WePhone jumped to his death from his Beijing apartment building earlier this month. In a suicide note he posted online, Su accused his ex-wife, Zhai Xinxin, whom he met through Jiayuan.com, of driving him to despair and desperation.

by Chen Na
See full article at Sixth Tone

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Baihe's Shares Fall After WePhone Founder's Suicide

SCMP - Sep 13 - The death of Su Xiangmao, 37, sparked online debate about whether dating sites are accountable for verifying users' personal data. Shares of Baihe.com plunged by almost half after its dating site Jiayuan.com was accused of failing to verify personal information about a woman who allegedly drove her ex-husband, a successful technology entrepreneur, to suicide. The stock traded as low as 3.6 yuan, down 48%, on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, China's over-the-counter stock market for start-ups. It later recovered some ground, closing 19% lower at 5.68 yuan.

by Laura He
See full article at SCMP

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Entrepreneur's Death Highlights Flaws Of China's Dating Site Jiayuan.com

ECNS - Sep 13 - Su Xiangmao killed himself Thursday in Beijing after receiving repeated threats from his ex-wife, Zhai Xinxin, who was allegedly demanding from him ~$1.5M and properties from their one-month marriage. The couple met on March 30 on jiayuan.com, got married on June 7 and got a divorce on July 18. Su was the founder of WePhone, an international long-distance call app. It is about to stop operation, a pop-up news on the app reads. People are questioning whether the dating site should be somehow liable for the tragedy. The site said it will cooperate in an ongoing investigation by police.

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Jiayuan.com Shareholders Approved Merger With Baihe Subsidiaries

PR NEWSWIRE - Dec 28 - Jiayuan.com shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the merger with LoveWorld and FutureWorld. Of the 56.7% of ordinary shares voted, 97.5% backed the deal, expected to close in Q1.

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Heng Ren Investments Urges Jiayuan.com To Reveal All Bids To Shareholders

STREET INSIDER - Dec 9 - On Dec 7, an agreement was announced between Baihe and Jiayuan.com to buy out shareholders at $7.56 per share, an increase from the previous bid of $7.20 from Vast Profit of Hong Kong. Heng Ren Investments believes this is a positive step in the right direction, but the bid is still 50% below full and fair value of $11.74 per share. Jiayuan.com has admitted it has received multiple buyout bids. Heng Ren urges Jiayuan to disclose to shareholders all the bids it has received.

The full article was originally published at Street Insider, but is no longer available.

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