Telecom firms getting into online wealth management products(2)

Missing the best timing

"There may have been a chance to make these above-mentioned projections come true, if the telecom carriers had rolled out monetary fund management platforms last July or August, but now it is too late," Ma said.

He explained that the newly launched online finance vehicles from the two telecom operators don't feature distinctive benefits compared to existing ones, therefore they cannot rapidly win favor from Web users who have already calmed down after rounds of hype for the online wealth management services introduced by Internet companies like Alibaba since last June.

Both Tianyibao and Wobaifu enable real-name registered users to invest spare cash in a monetary fund as well as check and withdraw yields anytime via PC and mobile applications, which are similar to other available products including Alibaba's Yu'ebao and Tencent's Licaitong.

For Rona Xiao, a white-collar worker in Beijing, choosing from among a rising number of offerings coming into the market is not difficult. The only criteria to determine her choice of buying are the returns from the financial products, she told the Global Times Thursday.

"I downloaded an app that offers a listing of all available [online finance] products and opted for the one with the highest yield [on the day]," the young woman said.

She stated that other than the return rates she does not feel any strong preference for any particular product.

As of Friday, while other products' yields were around 5 percent, Wobaifu offered a seven-day annualized yield of 6.0430 percent.

Chen Ge, general manager of Fullgoal, explained at a press conference on June 6 that most deposits in Wobaifu are locked in, meaning the money can only be withdrawn at the end of the fund term period, which is beneficial for the operation of the funds and ensures a high yield. Analysts said this is inconvenient for users.

Xiao shows no intention of investing in Wobaifu, despite a higher yield.

"It is more risky to invest in Wobaifu, as I cannot withdraw the deposits during a long period of time if I find the yields are dropping, but others allow me to do so," Xiao said.

According to the press release, users of Wobaifu are required to invest certain amounts of money, ranging from 999 yuan to 4,999 yuan, for a period of two years for the purchase of monetary funds, and in return, they can also get a new phone free with a service contract.

Xiao thinks that there is nothing particularly appealing about the additional benefits that are very similar to signing up to a phone contract that gets buyers discounted prices on new phones.

She won't be buying the telecom carriers' products unless they offer some real extra rewards, she noted.