HEADLINES: Tom.com strikes first JV with state-owned publisher

Hong Kong-based Tom.com has acquired a 49 per cent stake in a joint-venture with mainland China-based SDX Joint Publishing Company (Sanlian). According to Tom.com, the move marks the first China-foreign cooperative joint-venture involving a state-owned publisher and follows the mainland's accession to the World Trade Organisation. Sanlian comes under the China Publishing Group, and publishes a range of national titles, covering the humanities and social science.