Leading digital ad firm to expand in Chengdu

China's leading digital ad network hdtMEDIA is looking to expand its business in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, according to Clarence Zheng, CEO of hdtMEDIA.

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The company plans to enlarge its Chengdu branch and set up a research and development center at the Tianfu Software Park in Chengdu High-Tech Zone, Zheng said. HdtMEDIA is China's earliest digital ad network platform and it claims a market share of more than 60 percent in the country's rich media ads.

"As one of the major cities in western China, Chengdu has seen strong growth in Internet industry and has great market potential in Internet advertising," Zheng said at a meeting the company recently held in the city.

A report released by China Internet Network Information Center in April shows that the city has 8.1 million Internet users and 6.6 million mobile Internet users. The Internet penetration rate is 57 percent, 11.3 percent higher than the national average.

Most of the company's current customers in Chengdu and Sichuan are large Baijiu companies. The province is a major production area of Baijiu, China's native alcohol. But there is a growing trend of foreign companies starting and expanding business in Chengdu. The city is already home to 253 Fortune top 500 companies.

Zheng said the company is putting more focus on Chengdu as more and more international companies settle down there, for most of its customers are Fortune top 500 companies, including L'Oreal Group, Unilever, BMW Group and China Mobile.

The large talent pool in the field of Internet and the support of local government also add the city's attraction to the company, Zheng said.