China's top mobile carrier, China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., has launched a revenue sharing system for its mobile messaging service partners as it tries to carve out a bigger piece of the pie for itself.

China Mobile will retain 15 percent of revenue for mobile messaging service providers that do all their own marketing and customer support, with the remainder going to service providers, under one arrangement in the new three-tiered system, according to a note released Wednesday by JP Morgan.

Such services vary widely, from ring tone downloads to online games and dating services. The 85-15 split with service providers like Sina Corp., Sohu.com Inc. and Tom Online Inc. parallels a previous system in place before an industry cleanup that began more than a year ago.

In addition to the 85-15 split, China Mobile, which commands about two-thirds of China's mobile market, has also introduced two other tiers of billing, according to the JP Morgan note, citing information given at an analysts' meeting Tuesday.

One of the other tiers will see China Mobile retain 30 percent of revenue when it provides customer service for mobile messaging services offered by third parties.

The split could go as high as 50-50 in the third tier of sharing if China Mobile also provides marketing services.

Analysts said China Mobile has probably been testing out the three-tiered system on a trial basis for several months, but the presentation this week marks a formalization of the structure.

"We are encouraged to see China Mobile ... meeting directly with investors and analysts and making its policies more transparent," JP Morgan analyst Dick Wei wrote in a note.

(Shenzhen Daily July 7, 2005)