The Internet boom in China is yet to come

Chuppies surfing the Internet

Recent numbers from the well-respected BDA Research group show that China has just leapfrogged over the U.S. and now has more Internet users than any other country in the world.

China had 210 million Internet users at the end of 2007. And that figure is expected to hit an astonishing 280 million users by the end of this year because they’re adding around 200,000 new users each and every day.

There are 228 million Chinese Internet surfers right now. That translates into only a 16% penetration rate, well below the global average of 19.1% and the U.S.’s whopping 69.7%.

Further more, Chinese youth don’t watch much TV. The reason is that Chinese television is controlled by the Communist Party and its programming is more boring than watching paint dry. That probably explains why the average Chinese youth spends more time (20 hours per week) on the Internet than the typical American youth (12 hours a week). And that’s why advertisers who want to reach the free-spending Chuppies (Chinese yuppies) are using the Internet and cell phones to reach their target audience.

That, of course, has some very important implications for investors. Any businesses that are successfully tapping into this booming audience are going to make a mountain of money and enrich their shareholders

In an excellent article by Tony Sagami he is putting together the A-list of 10 “wired” Chinese companies’ shares trade in the U.S. on the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges.

Bottom Line: Mr. Sagami is absolutely convinced about one thing. There is some huge money to be made by investing in the country with the biggest pool of dedicated Internet junkies in the world: China!