April 24, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Netmarble Games, Korea’s largest mobile game maker, has recently appointed a Chinese game veteran as one of the company’s five vice presidents amid its recent push for Chinese expansion, industry sources said on May 12.

Qian Donghai, former CEO of Korean game company Actoz Soft, will join Netmarble to take charge of Chinese and Asian operations. He also served as senior vice president for business development at Shanda Games, a Chinese game firm that bought controlling stake in Actoz in 2007. He has built his career at diverse game companies, including Shanghai-based Meiyu Information & Technology and Seoul-based Eyedentity Games. 

The Chinese executive is expected to support the Chinese launch of the company’s latest hit game “Lineage II: Revolution” among other things. The game is expected to hit the Chinese market later this year through the company’s local partner Tencent.

On May 12, Netmarble made its highly anticipated stock debut on the benchmark KOSPI. Its shares began trading at 165,000 won (US$146), 5 percent higher than its IPO subscription price. The company became the 21st largest market cap, outpacing LG Electronics.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)