ChinaNet Launches Business Direct 3.0 in Cooperation With Baidu

ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc.

("ChinaNet" or the "Company"), a leading B2B (business to business) Internet technology company providing online-to-offline (O2O) sales channel expansion services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial management and networking services for entrepreneurs in the People's Republic of China, today announced the launch of "Business Direct 3.0" in cooperation with Baidu Direct Reach of Baidu, the leading Chinese language online search provider. Business Direct 3.0 is a technically marked-up service based on the Baidu Direct Reach mobile platform for traditional service enterprises, which is centered on mobile search, accounts, maps, personalized recommendations and other ways for customers to direct Reach Marketing services. The introduction of Business Direct 3.0 provides an opportunity for the traditional service industry to transit to the mobile Internet, helping companies and their sublets attain new users, and providing users with a better service experience. The service will also provide mobile enterprise solutions, allowing users direct access to businesses in the mobile terminal service, making online users into offline customers. ChinaNet expects this underdeveloped market will reach a potential market size of USD $12 billion or more. Additionally, very few competitors are engaged in this market, and the Company believes none have the penetration that ChinaNet holds in SME sectors. Business Direct 3.0 will complete a full information cycle from B2b2c, making businesses marketing more direct, effective and easier. "ChinaNet is growing from a business opportunities platform to a comprehensive 1:1 digital advertising and marketing service provider with a total solution for the B2b2c ecosystem, helping businesses expand sales and customers through mobile and Internet," explained George Chu, ChinaNet Online's Chief Operating Officer. "With the advent of the mobile Internet era, the innovation of user needs and applications have become the main trend of the Internet, including online payments, location-based services, online and offline interaction and more. ChinaNet, together with Baidu, have embraced this trend by jointly launching Baidu Direct Reach with Business Direct 3.0 to open the mobile Internet's 'direct era' for business. With this joint product and service, we will be able to attract more SMEs to utilize mobile and Internet advertising as SMEs have limited budgets and often find this limitation does not give enough or any visible result by advertising and marketing on mobile and Internet. As a result, our cooperation should bring additional sizeable revenue streams to both companies as this market grows and expands in the future. Through Q3 2015 we will be launching with selected clients to ensure faster penetration in the future." The new service was announced January 25th, 2015 at a ChinaNet New Product Release Conference & SMEs Industry Developments & Trends Forum in Beijing at the Xiangshan Yihe Hotel. Representatives of Baidu and ChinaNet were in attendance, along with several hundred of the two company's top enterprise customers.