Graduated from China Electronic Technology University and obtained Bachelor's Degree of Engineering. Ding is the founder of Netease Co., Ltd (www.163.com), and currently is the CTO with the Netease.
In June 1997, Ding Lei founded the Netease Corporation, which has contributed great to the development of China's Internet. Meanwhile, the Netease also developed from a private enterprise with only a dozen of staff members to a well-known web-based company which has 300 staff members and have been listed in the Nasdaq in the US.
In the first two years, Ding Lei paid major attention and capital to the R&D of Internet Application Software. In November 1997, the Netease developed China's first bilingual E-mail system, which greatly promoted the popularity and development of China's Internet undertakings and the software was adopted by many Internet companies. In March 2000, Ding resigned the post of CEO with the Netease and became CTO of the company.
Netease is a Mainland China-based provider of Chinese-language online content services. Since it was founded in mid-1997, Netease has developed a number of popular Web-based products, including China’s first free e-mail service, the first online community and the first personalized information service. In July 1999, Netease conducted the first online auction in China. In November 1999, it launched both business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer business platforms.
Under Ding’s leadership, Netease’s mission is to become the one-stop service provider for the Chinese market. According to the authoritative CNNIC’s Report on China’s Internet released in January 2000, Netease’s mailbox www.163.net is the second most visited portal in China. Currently, Netease has 1.7 million registered members and generates over 4 million page views every day. The company now employs approximately 200 people in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Ding Lei founded Netease in Guangzhou in mid 1997 after he quit his job at Sybase (China). The company was originally set up to develop software products to facilitate Internet use. Within half a year, the company, led by Ding, successfully launched a bilingual (English and Chinese) Web-based message distribution system on its site.
The system, similar to Microsoft’s Hotmail, was an immediate hit. The product was adopted by many Internet sites that offer e-mail accounts to the public. At that time, approximately 50 percent of China’s netizens used the free e-mail accounts supported by Netease’s software.
After the success of this service, Ding realized the great potential of the Internet sector. In mid-1998, Netease switched its focus from developing software to providing Internet services. Thus, in addition to offering free e-mail, the site developed and offered personalized homepages, virtual communities, chat rooms, games, and entertainment channels. Ding’s site soon became a leading online service provider in China along with another well-known site, sohu.com. Thus originated the popular saying, "The North has Sohu and the South has Netease".
In July 1999, Netease formed a portal alliance in the Greater China region. Its partners include Hong Kong Cable & Wireless’s Netvigator and Taiwan’s Kimo. The alliance enables these three companies to jointly develop the Internet market in Greater China.
In late 1999 Ding decided to expand the site’s reach to northern China. Accordingly, Netease opened an office in Shanghai in October 1999 and launched a content channel dedicated to female users.
Ding Lei has, in the past, voiced strong support for the Ministry of Information Industry’s regulations that ban foreign investment in the domestic Internet sector. He initially refused foreign investment, relying instead on the proceeds from software sales, advertisements, and sales of such products as computers and digital cameras online. Ding has softened his position in recent months and Netease now receives funding from foreign companies such as Softbank, ING Baring, Goldman Sachs, Techpacific.com and the News Corporation.
Ding was quick to deny rumors that Netease was seeking to list on the Nasdaq, which had been rumored in the February 10 Homeway Financial News, saying that his company was being confused with that of Sohu.com. He has said that "the listing of stocks is not the purpose of a company but a means to an end" and that Netease would not list its stocks in foreign stock markets. Experts dispute his comments, however, and say the company has definitely received listing approval from the Chinese government and that it is simply a matter of time before Netease lists on the Nasdaq.
Their suspicions were confirmed on March 28, 2000 when the company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The company excluded its China-based assets from the listing vehicle – necessary to sidestep a prohibition against foreign investment in China’s Internet sector – and will be offering shares of a sister company.
Before the company applied to list, Ding Lei resigned as CEO and the company appointed a group of high level managers with international experience. Analysts said this was to make the company more attractive to international investors, but Ding Lei denied this. "I want to do more technical research," he told Beijing Youth Daily.
(chinaonline August 8, 2003)
