The People's IPO: Mao meets market Plans by People's Daily Online to list a quarter of its equity confirm that Mao has truly met the market. The bastion of Chinese propaganda, with its state backing, hardly needs the cash. But it does need to be more appealing. Its 348-page draft listing prospectus notes, couched in traditional prose, that government procurement is an important source of the company's income. No kidding. But that depends on its role as a mouthpiece. As a result, People's Daily Online's following lags that of listed news behemoths Sina and Sohu as measured by unique user numbers and page views, as well as state-backed Xinhua and CCTV. Proceeds will be spent on mobile phone services and technology upgrades. It will need more than this to be the true Portal of the People.