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

<p>HONG KONG: Internet portal Tom.com has invested more than NTdollars </p><p>1.3 million (USdollars 39.7 million) in a Taiwanese publishing venture, </p><p>which according to senior executives at the company, is to be spun off </p><p>in Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agreement between Tom.com, PC HomeCite Publishing and Messrs will </p><p>form Newco, giving the portal entry into Taiwan's book and magazine </p><p>publishing and distribution business for the development of "China's </p><p>largest media platform". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The move follows media tycoon Jimmy Lai's recent plans to launch a title </p><p>similar to Next Magazine, a popular Hong Kong weekly, in Taiwan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Taiwan has some 5,000 publishers, and its market is valued at USdollars </p><p>2 billion. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Although mainland China only has 500 publishers, its market value at </p><p>USdollars 3.45 billion dwarfs the Taiwanese market. With a literate </p><p>population of 1.03 billion people, China could be worth as much as </p><p>USdollars 12 billion. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Tom.com's chief executive officer and executive director, </p><p>Sing Wang, the new venture will be listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong </p><p>Kong, giving shares of Tom.com a boost and increasing the offering of an </p><p>open platform for potential partners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The investment is reportedly the "most significant investment of Tom.com </p><p>since its listing". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com's IPO in March last year sparked a stampede amongst local </p><p>investors hoping to get rich quick with internet stocks. However, since </p><p>then the company has shifted its focus from internet ventures to </p><p>traditional media as its stock price plummeted. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It has made several acquisitions into cross-media ventures, including </p><p>China-based outdoor advertising company Kunming French Star, in an </p><p>effort to offer advertisers a broader range of services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com executives added the agreement would help lay the foundation for </p><p>expansion into Chinese media through further acquisitions in the </p><p>mainland and other parts of the Greater China region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>PC Home, one of Taiwan's largest magazine publishers, owns more than 16 </p><p>publications, including PC Home, Smart and Business Next. Four of its </p><p>magazines are circulated in mainland China, including PC Home which the </p><p>publisher reports has a circulation of 360,000 copies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Total circulation of its magazines and periodicals stands at 16 million </p><p>copies based on last year's estimates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cite, a book publisher in Taiwan, printed more than six million copies </p><p>last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com expects to generate in more revenue through its cross-media </p><p>business. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It earlier reported that its net loss for the first three months of this </p><p>year widened to HKdollars 70.33 million from HKdollars 45.37 million the </p><p>previous year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the loss was narrower than the previous quarter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Tom.com is backed by Li Ka Shing's flagship conglomerate Hutchison </p><p>Whampoa and developer Cheung Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>