Guoguang Buys China.com

Perhaps as a sign of the sinking values of Chinese Internet businesses, CDC Corporation, a portal website operator, media and exhibition organizer, has sold its Internet portal business China.com to Guoguang Global Media Holdings Limited for a paltry HKD90.8 million.

According to public files, CDC Corporation’s major online business is a portal website named China.com in mainland China, which provides various Internet products and services. In addition, CDC Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary Singapore-based TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd is engaged in business travel publishing and travel-trade exhibition. It was listed at HKEx GEM in March 2000.

China.com was the darling of the Chinese Internet world in the late 1990s, especially since it launched the first major website initial public offering by a Chinese firm more than 13 years ago in the United States. However, the China.com website never gained much traction as it went up against more popular websites like Sohu.com and Sina.com. The company also had management problems, as well as poor relationships with some of its content partners, including Asia Media Network which now owns ChinaTechNews.com

CDC Corporation stated that the Internet portal business has been losing money; therefore, the board of directors believed that dumping the unprofitable business would allow the company to better allocate the resources to other businesses.

Guoguang Global Media Holdings Limited, the buyer of China.com, is engaged in investment development and operating management of media resource integration and media service businesses. It owns a full media business operating resources, including radio, television, publishing, network, and new media.