Mop, the Internet community service of NYSE-listed Renren Inc. announced lately that it would move it’s headquarter from Beijing to Nanning, the provincial capital of China’s southern Guangxi province. According to mop, all it’s staff could choose to either a) relocate to Nanning, or b) stay in Beijing and work with Renren.com. This will not involve any downsizing in its team, and mop would still keep a few people in Beijing.
Local report says that Renren Inc. (formerly China InterActive Corp.) was attracted to the provincial capital by local government’s favorable terms. The relocation could also help the company reduce labor costs.
Mop was acquired by the Beijing-based company in 2004 and then got spun off as an independent operation in 2010. Renren Inc. once claimed that the BBS service would be listed in mainland China or Hong Kong by 2012 or 2013. Given Mop’s plummet in traffic and popularity, it seems highly unlikely now.
Mop along with Tianya.cn is one of the most popular BBS services in China several years ago, however, with the rapid growth of new social networking service like Renren.com and Weibo.com, the old-fashioned BBS are losing its ground to the new comers.
The piece was written by Charlie Sheng, a nerd born in the 90s with interests in tech, innovation and art.