Amid price hikes of other commodities and services, online ads are also expected to witness a price jump in 2008.

Shares for the website portal Sina surged 7.96 percent last Friday after the news came out that it will increase its website advertising fees up to 30 percent.

Besides Sina, other new media companies have also announced price hikes for ads. Focus Media has already raised their prices by 10 to 15 percent in January and it plans another hike in July. Network companies like Tencent and Thunder are also mulling over similar moves.

According to the investment bank Morgan Stanley, China's ads market will experience peak growth in 2008 and reach 245 billion yuan, driven by the Olympic Games. The leading global media investment management company GroupM also predicted that China's ads prices will soar by 25 to 30 percent in 2008.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese (http://www.morningpost.com.cn/bjcb/html/2008-01/07/content_46134.htm).

(China.org.cn January 7, 2007)