iQiyi appoints Kelvin Yau to head Thailand development

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Chinese streaming giant iQiyi has appointed former BBC Studios executive Kelvin Yau as vice president of international business department and general manager of iQiyi Thailand. 

Yau will oversee iQiyi’s strategic growth, operations and overall development in Thailand, starting in early 2020. He was previously BBC Studios’ senior vice president and general manager of Greater China. Prior to that, he held posts at the Economist Group and Euromoney Publications, among other companies. 

“Kelvin is a pioneer with innovative spirit and global experience. His deep management skills in business and brand building, localizing customers and users services will bring more international experience and creativity to iQiyi and accelerate the pace of our international market business development together,” said Yang Xianghua, president of iQiyi’s Membership and Overseas Business Group.

iQiyi already has a presence in Malaysia through a partnership with local pay-TV giant Astro as well as a joint venture in Taiwan. The streamer has also launched an international app that has user interfaces in several Asian languages including Thai, Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese. 

Tencent Video has also launched a streaming service WeTV in Thailand, offering Chinese film and TV content subbed and dubbed in Thai. However, China’s third biggest streaming giant, Alibaba-owned Youku, has not so far made any moves to expand into Southeast Asia.