There is a growing trend amongst Chinese companies of taking English-named corporate domain names rather than the Chinese version of their own company name. Many would assume that Chinese companies would take the domain name in Chinese, but this is often not the case. Meanwhile, in reverse, Western firms will often convert their business name into Chinese in order to help gain traction in the related Chinese market.
Western Expectations
As China expands in many diverse markets, Western companies are looking to gain a foothold. The expectation was that they should translate their name into Chinese in order to appeal to users and potential customers. What has actually happened has caught many unawares. Despite companies like Sony becoming 索尼 (Suoni) or Disney becoming 迪士尼 (Dishini), this does not appear to have either hindered or advanced their ventures into a new market.
As investors and companies seek to buy domain names from companies such as https://www.names.co.uk/domain-names, more care is being taken to look at what the English translation will be, since this is more likely to be taken, and with even the original Chinese company domain name being parked and left unused.
Eastern Success
As Chinese companies continue to invest abroad, it has become apparent that the reason for taking and maintaining the English named domains is simple: plain and straightforward English has become the key. Since so many Chinese citizens already have a simple grasp of the basics of English, there is no need to switch between translations in order to appeal to multiple nationalities. Chinese companies simply keep the English versions of their domain names, and this will appeal to all involved.
Additionally, payment is easier when a company has an English name; many banking systems, particularly in the West, do not have the ability to process Chinese or other Southeast-Asian names. Therefore, having an English name allows the process to run more smoothly.
This trend will not disappear anytime soon. As Chinese companies increase their foreign investments around the world and more Western companies look for a bigger market share, the search for English-based names and websites will continue to expand alongside it. It makes sense to for the Chinese firms, which have not seen their growth in China hindered in any way while also able to be successful abroad.