How Asia could fix Twitter’s disastrous growth problem

Twitter’s user growth is rapidly slowing, a revelation that has sent its share price tumbling in recent months.

But the social network’s best hope for growth could lie in Asia, according to a report today.

While the number of Twitter users in the US is expected to grow by just 12 per cent this year, its user growth in Asia could grow by 34 per cent, led by booming markets such as India and Indonesia, according to research from eMarketer.

(Source: Twitter's financial filings, eMarketer)

Large growth rates frequently reflect a small installed base, but not in the cases of these two countries: India and Indonesia will rise to have the third- and fourth-largest Twitter populations in the world in 2014, with 18.1m and 15.3m users, respectively—both surpassing the UK for the first time this year for the number of users.

If the growth story turns out to be true, it’ll be a relief to Twitter’s shareholders and employees – its share price has fallen over 50 per cent from its January high of $69, to just $30.5 yesterday.

(Source: eMarketer)