MEDIA-I: Tom.com in dollars 39.7m Taiwan print venture

HONG KONG: Internet portal Tom.com has invested more than NTdollars

1.3 million (USdollars 39.7 million) in a Taiwanese publishing venture,

which according to senior executives at the company, is to be spun off

in Hong Kong.

The agreement between Tom.com, PC HomeCite Publishing and Messrs will

form Newco, giving the portal entry into Taiwan's book and magazine

publishing and distribution business for the development of "China's

largest media platform".

The move follows media tycoon Jimmy Lai's recent plans to launch a title

similar to Next Magazine, a popular Hong Kong weekly, in Taiwan.

Taiwan has some 5,000 publishers, and its market is valued at USdollars

2 billion.

Although mainland China only has 500 publishers, its market value at

USdollars 3.45 billion dwarfs the Taiwanese market. With a literate

population of 1.03 billion people, China could be worth as much as

USdollars 12 billion.

According to Tom.com's chief executive officer and executive director,

Sing Wang, the new venture will be listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong

Kong, giving shares of Tom.com a boost and increasing the offering of an

open platform for potential partners.

The investment is reportedly the "most significant investment of Tom.com

since its listing".

Tom.com's IPO in March last year sparked a stampede amongst local

investors hoping to get rich quick with internet stocks. However, since

then the company has shifted its focus from internet ventures to

traditional media as its stock price plummeted.

It has made several acquisitions into cross-media ventures, including

China-based outdoor advertising company Kunming French Star, in an

effort to offer advertisers a broader range of services.

Tom.com executives added the agreement would help lay the foundation for

expansion into Chinese media through further acquisitions in the

mainland and other parts of the Greater China region.

PC Home, one of Taiwan's largest magazine publishers, owns more than 16

publications, including PC Home, Smart and Business Next. Four of its

magazines are circulated in mainland China, including PC Home which the

publisher reports has a circulation of 360,000 copies.

Total circulation of its magazines and periodicals stands at 16 million

copies based on last year's estimates.

Cite, a book publisher in Taiwan, printed more than six million copies

last year.

Tom.com expects to generate in more revenue through its cross-media

business.

It earlier reported that its net loss for the first three months of this

year widened to HKdollars 70.33 million from HKdollars 45.37 million the

previous year.

However, the loss was narrower than the previous quarter.

Tom.com is backed by Li Ka Shing's flagship conglomerate Hutchison

Whampoa and developer Cheung Kong.