Oak Pacific Interactive sets up shop in Japan
Shanghai. June 11. INTERFAX-CHINA - Oak Pacific Interactive Corp., the operator of social networking service (SNS) site Renren.com, has established a wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary, domestic media reported on June 11.
The Japan unit will develop social games and operate a SNS site called Gummy for the local market, Web portal NetEase.com Inc. reported, quoting Oak Pacific's chief executive officer (CEO) Chen Yizhou.
Oak Pacific plans to introduce its existing social and Web games, which are currently operated on Renren, to the Japanese market through partnerships with local SNS platforms like Mixi.jp, Chen said.
Oak Pacific acquired Renren in October 2006.
Japan's Softbank Corp. invested $430 million in the company in April 2008 and now holds an approximate 35 percent stake in the company.
According to a December Interfax report, Renren had 120 million registered users, of which 30 million were active daily users. The site held 32.4 percent share in the domestic SNS market, ranking second after Kaixin001.com at that time.
-YXY