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Twitter ignores China ban to target ad dollars with new exec appointment

Saqib Shah
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Twitter isn’t going to let a paltry ban on its platform stop it from chasing down lucrative advertising revenue in China.

The microblogging network’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, has made official the appointment of a greater China managing director, a key executive position within the company. Hong Kong-based tech industry veteran Kathy Chen has been assigned the role, which in her words will see her “create more value for Chinese enterprises, creators, partners, and developers.” That in turn will offer more dollars for Twitter, so everyone’s happy. Check out a video below, in which Chen herself talks of her new role.

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Thank you for your support as we connect Greater China to the world! A video by @kathychen2016 , MD of @TwitterGCN pic.twitter.com/aX9GzZe2sc

— Twitter GCN (@TwitterGCN) April 15, 2016

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Twitter VP for Asia Pacific, Shailesh Rao, stated, “We’ve seen a 340 percent growth in the number of advertisers [using Twitter], and the types of advertisers are diverse.” Those Chinese companies looking to promote their products to Twitter’s 320 million user base include tech brands Lenovo Group, and Huawei Technologies, as well as domestic media outlets like the state-owned Xinhua news agency, and People’s Daily.

Chen brings with her years of experience within the information technology industry. She previously held exec positions at Microsoft — where she oversaw the company’s cloud and enterprise products partnerships — and Cisco Systems. Chen takes over the role from Peter Greenberger, who will now assume the position of Asia-Pacific head of global brands and agencies at Twitter.

Twitter will reportedly be targeting China through its enterprise offerings, including its data analytics program and Fabric mobile platform, which allows developers to build apps.

Strict Web censorship laws have not stopped Western social media companies from actively pursuing China. Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg mounted a PR onslaught on his trip to Beijing to attend the China Development Forum.

Much like its counterpart LinkedIn, Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world for Twitter in terms of active user growth. Despite being blocked in China since 2009, it is clear to see why Twitter still values the country as a “critical component” within the region.

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Saqib Shah
Saqib Shah
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
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