When the first internet boom came around in the late 1990’s, this caused many investors in internet service providers to make a great deal of money. However, this bubble burst, and now it is not as carefree of a process to go about investing in internet service providers. This area of the investment market is considered to be fairly stable, but some caution is still necessary, as it is with any investment in the current global economic downturn. More and more investors are looking at opportunities abroad to make their money in this field.
Countries in Asia, for example, such as China, India, and Indonesia are experiencing a higher demand for consumer products and internet services than ever before. Those who wish to go about investing in internet service providers might want to look at these markets, rather than the existing providers at home. At the moment, China and India both already have almost 500 million internet users, and that number is growing rapidly as more and more of the continent adds internet access to homes and businesses.
It’s estimated that there will be up to 700 million users in these two countries by 2015, and there is a similar rate of growth projected throughout the rest of the Asian continent, including Malaysia and South Korea. Online retail sales are growing, so in addition to investing in internet service providers, savvy investors might want to think about investing in those companies that have expanded their services to offer online shopping. Social networking, downloading, and business usage of the internet has grown as well.
By looking at these trends of internet use in each country, you can determine whether or not investing in internet service providers in Asia or at home is a good idea for the near future. There are many ways that you can invest in this internet growth, from online retailers to social networking companies, as well as content providers and graphic design firms that will be designing websites. You can look at individual businesses throughout Asia, or look at mutual funds to get started investing. Before you start investing in this area, however, it’s best to work closely with your broker to follow the latest internet trends. At the moment, even in a harsh economic climate, internet services are expected to be one of the strongest long-term growth industries to invest in, making this a fairly safe opportunity according to market research.