Zoom Stops Signing Up Individual Users in China

ZHANG YUSHUO

(Yicai Global) May 19 — Zoom Video Communications, a US firm behind a global video conferencing platform that has become very popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, has ceased signing up new individual users in China, without giving an explanation.

“Dear Zoom users: we regret to inform you that Zoom has suspended all new user registrations,” according to reseller Donghan Communication Technology’s post that appeared on the California-headquartered company’s website. From May 1, individual users can only join a meeting, not host one, the note added.

Potential corporate clients need to present the teleconferencing firm with a business license and pay for the service by using a corporate bank account, the Nikkei reported today.

Founded in 2011, Zoom, which counts Tsinghua University, JD.Com, and Trip.Com Group as some of its Chinese clients, has grown along with the social distancing measures amid the virus epidemic. Founder Eric Yuan, a Chinese immigrant, said earlier that from last December to March, the number of daily active users multiplied by 20 times to 200 million.

Zoom’s main competitors in China are linked to the tech giants of Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. Tencent Meeting’s international version has boosted its user base by six times, serving even the United Nations, according to the parent’s first-quarter earnings report. The number of Alibaba’s DingTalk users exceeded 300 million by the end of March while enterprises on the platform surpassed 15 million, platform Chief Executive Chen Hang said on May 17.

Zoom’s shares [NASDAQ: ZM] tumbled by 5.8 percent to USD164.69 yesterday with a market cap of about USD46.4 billion.

Editor: Emmi Laine