Sina Weibo to be listed in Nasdaq

Sina Weibo, China's number-one micro-blogging platform, reported a first-quarter net-loss that was more than twice of the first-quarter losses they reported last year. The Chinese version of Twitter said its net-loss was 47-million U.S. dollars during the first three months. The amount was 19 million around the same period last year. Last week, Hong Kong-based newspaper, South China Morning Post, reported that Sina Weibo might have 300-million "skeleton," or inactive accounts among 500-million registered in total.

Li Ruyan has a Weibo account, but she says she doesn't use Weibo as much as before.

"I used to use Weibo a lot, but not anymore. Now, I use WeChat, but I think Weibo and WeChat are different media. If I want to acquire information based on my interests and my needs, I'll use Weibo. If I need to share my personal life or read my friends' posts, pictures and threads, I just use WeChat."

With the IPO listing of Sina Weibo approaching, the discussion on whether Weibo is losing its value is becoming more intense. Some even say the listing is just a swansong.

However, Zheng Baowei, director of Renmin University of China's Research Center of Journalism and Social Development, says Weibo will still be an important part of Chinese people's lives.

"There is a noticeable decline in the amount of active Weibo users, but in general, Weibo will remain a very influential medium, especially in China. It's a significant way for ordinary people to express their opinions, and get information. And the governments at different levels have also realized its importance, for example, using Weibo as an anti-corruption tool. Of course, the listing will bring Sina Weibo more opportunities in expanding its brand value and competitiveness. But there will also be more challenges from the market-it depends."

Cheng Manli, Vice-Dean of Peking University's School of Journalism and Communication, adds Weibo differs from WeChat because the microblogging platform not only functions as an information sharing and commercial activity platform, it is also playing an important role in diplomatic relationship.

"There is a trend in which many overseas countries value Weibo's function in the diplomatic field. It's necessary for public diplomacy in the new media era. Many influential people in the U.S., Europe and Australia opened Weibo accounts before they visited China. They hope to present a closer and more vivid image of themselves to the Chinese people."

According to Sina, some 200 world leaders have opened Weibo accounts. Sina says more than 70 percent of active users have logged on at least once a month on mobile devices, indicating a strong shift to the mobile Internet market.Sina Weibo says it expects to garner up to 500-million dollars in the IPO.