SINA.com Press Center

0415

SINA Announces the Formation of SINA Online to Focus on Access and other Fee Based and Value Added Services for Dial-up, Broadband, and Wireless
***
New Initiative Will Build on the Successes of SINA's Access Business in Taiwan and US Markets

BEIJING, April 15, 2002 - SINA (Nasdaq: SINA), a leading Chinese media and Internet services company, today announced the launch of SINA Online (SOL) to focus on access and other fee based and value added services for dial-up, broadband, and wireless. This new initiative will build on the successes of SINA's various access and fee based services that have been launched throughout the SINA network in the past year.

"Experience has shown us that access and subscription are the best means of deepening the relationship with our users. The formation of SINA Online provides a strong focus on our commitment and investments in these areas, " said Wang Yan, President of SINA. "SINA Online with its independent management will allow us to focus on rapidly expanding our partnership with various access and content providers to supply different bundled access and content services to our current users and quickly increase our subscriber base."

Coming on the heel of SINA.net, the formation of SINA Online completes the formation of three major business lines for SINA- SINA.com as the Internet media business of SINA, focusing on providing information and content to the largest possible user base with advertising as its main source of revenue; SINA.net as the technology services business of SINA, focusing on providing Internet based technology solution and services to enterprises and governments with service and licensing fees as the main source of revenue; SINA Online as the telecom access and subscription business of SINA, focusing on providing bundled access and content services to end users with subscription fees as the main source of revenue.

"A couple of quarters ago, we set out to diversify our revenue streams, today with the launch of SINA.net and SINA Online, we made a big stride in that direction," said Daniel Mao, Chief Executive Officer of SINA. "Year 2002 is the growth year for SINA with 3 core businesses from SINA.com, SINA.net and SINA Online. While these three business lines will independently grow their own revenue base, they are able to share common costs and platforms in technology, content publishing and management, marketing, branding and promotion. As such, they are able to scale more rapidly with a lower cost of operations and collectively shorten the path to profitability for all."

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. We may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in our periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange commission on forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our annual report to shareholders, in our proxy statements, in our offering circulars and prospectuses, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, SINA historical and future losses, limited operating history, uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, the Company's reliance on online advertising sales for a significant portion of its revenues, and any failure to successfully develop and introduce new products. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SINA's prospectus, 10K, 10Q and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.