Although China’s online dating services are still quite new, this market segment has huge potential according to Richard Lim, a managing director for China-focused GSR Ventures. GSR Ventures and U.S. fund Mayfield jointly invested $2 million in “Baihe” (”Lily” in English) in late 2005. Lim said his company so far has no intention to sell its stake in Baihe.com, which has over 6.5 million users.

China’s online dating market is expected to reach 653 million yuan (about 81 million U.S. dollars) this year. With 64 million singles residing in the nation, the online dating market will double in size compared to 2007. The reason for this growth is simple - Internet has become an important channel for bachelors to seek spouses as there are more men than women in China’s 1.3-billion population.

Most Chinese dating websites sites help users find partners for free. This makes the business model for online dating a challenge. This is changing though, Baihe now charges 1,980 yuan per person for its high-end “Golden” service, with the promise of a “stable love relationship” within six months for most users.

EFriendsNet claims to be the market leader in online dating in both membership numbers and revenue, with its CEO Marine Ma as “China’s King of Online Dating”. The company also hooked up with Meetic of France to expand it revenue streams.

Funny enough, Meetic is not the only foreign company courting Chinese dating sites. Top U.S. online dating sites such as eHarmony and Match.com are hooking up with Chinese partners to promote Web dating services, and generate new profit streams in emerging markets. Match.com, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, secured Love21CN.com, one of China’s biggest online dating service providers, for a potential purchase a stake in the Chinese company or to form a business partnership. eHarmony, Match.com’s main rival in the U.S. market, is also looking at a number of potential partners in China. But both companies lag behind French rival Meetic in China.
China.com, controlled by online software company CDC, teamed up with Meetic for business promotion. Meetic also launched a localized Chinese site called “Mi Tang” (”Sweetie” in English). A Meetic-led venture capital consortium also invested in the Beijing-based online dating Web site Yeeyoo.com.

It will be interesting to see if online dating will become as commonplace in China as it is in Europe and the USA.