Emerging markets drive Chinese browser firm UCWeb's global expansion

China's leading mobile Internet browser company UCWeb Inc said that emerging markets, including India and Russia, are major destinations for the company's overseas expansion, the China Daily reported on Saturday. UCWeb, which recently welcomed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma as a board member, began its global expansion in 2010 and saw its overseas user numbers exceed 100 million in January, according to the newspaper report. The company has managed to achieve a market share of more than 10 percent in 10 countries worldwide, the report said. India is the overseas market where UCWeb has made the most progress. According to figures from StatCounter, UCWeb had a market share of more than 30 percent in India's mobile browser market in July, overtaking Norway's Opera Software ASA to become the top player in the South Asian country, the report said. Yu Yongfu, chief executive officer of UCWeb, said the company separates the global market into four major segments: China, Europe and North America, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and developing countries. UCWeb is targeting developing countries as major fields for expansion. It also plans steady investment in Europe and North America in the long run, Yu said. Globally, UCWeb has more than 400 million users. The Beijing-based company also aims for an initial public offering in the U.S., according to the report.