BEIJING, Dec. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SINA Corporation ("SINA")
(Nasdaq:SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the
global Chinese communities, and AutoNavi Holdings Limited ("AutoNavi")
(Nasdaq:AMAP), a leading provider of digital map content and navigation
and location-based solutions in China, today jointly announced a
strategic partnership to integrate and enhance each other’s social,
location and mobile ("SoLoMo") offerings.
As a result of this partnership, AMAP, AutoNavi’s mobile map
application, users will be able to sign on using Weibo Connect and
access content directly from SINA Weibo. SINA Weibo users will also
have access to the content and functionality of AMAP. The companies
expect such content and product integration will enhance the social
networking and navigational aspects of each other’s mobile offerings.
"Over 70% of SINA Weibo users access the social media platform at least
partially via mobile devices," said Gaofei Wang, Vice President and
General Manager of SINA Mobile. "LBS (location based services) and
mapping services will play a key role in Weibo’s mobile strategy, and
we are excited to be partnering with AutoNavi to leverage their
expertise in these areas."
"In teaming up with SINA, we are proud to provide our mapping and
location-based services to over 400 million SINA Weibo users, while at
the same time integrating SINA Weibo’s social content and SNS features
into AMAP," said Mr. Congwu Cheng, chief executive officer of AutoNavi.
"We believe our collaboration with SINA Weibo will benefit both of our
users and we look forward to future cooperation between our two
companies as we continue to bring new features and functionalities to
our users."
About SINA
We are an online media company serving China and the global Chinese
communities. Our digital media network of SINA.com (portal), SINA.cn
(mobile portal) and Weibo.com (social media) enable Internet users to
access professional media and user generated content in multi-media
formats from the web and mobile devices and share their interests to
friends and acquaintances.
SINA.com offers distinct and targeted professional content on each of
its region specific websites and a range of complementary offerings.
SINA.cn provides information and entertainment content from SINA portal
customized for WAP users. Based on an open-platform architecture to
host organically developed and third-party applications, Weibo.com is a
form of social media, featuring microblogging services and social
networking services that allow users to connect and share information
anywhere, anytime and with anyone on our platform.
Through these businesses and properties and other business lines, we
offer an array of services including mobile value added services
("MVAS"), online video, music streaming, online games, photo sharing,
blog, email, classified listings, fee-based services, e-commerce and
enterprise services. We generate the majority of our revenues from
online brand advertising, MVAS and fee-based services.
About AutoNavi
AutoNavi Holdings Limited (Nasdaq:AMAP) is a leading provider of
digital map content and navigation and location-based solutions in
China. At the core of its business is a comprehensive nationwide
digital map database that covers approximately 3.6 million kilometers
of roadway and over 20 million points of interest across China. Through
its digital map database and proprietary technology platform, AutoNavi
provides comprehensive, integrated navigation and location-based
solutions optimized for the Chinese market and users, including
automotive navigation solutions, mobile location-based solutions and
Internet location-based solutions, and public sector and enterprise
applications. For more information on AutoNavi, please visit
http://www.autonavi.com.
The AutoNavi Holdings Limited logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=16204