One of Shanda’s subsidiary is changing its business from online game to C2C e-commerce and the parent company is going to invest Rmb 200 millions into the venture, together with 2 other investors.
The new venture is headed by Ge Binbin, whose online game company was sold to Shanda in early 2010. Market analysts are not optimistic about the new venture, as Alibaba’s Taobao is far too strong a competitor. Baidu has scaled down its C2C venture, Yuoa, after failing to gain significant market share. It focuses more on developing its B2C platform, which it cooperates with Japan’s Rakuten.
But Shanda might do so, just to help its online payment solution, Shengpay. Right now, Shengpay are mostly just for selling point cards for Shanda. With a C2C market, its use can be more widely spread.