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Yahoo Acquires 5% Stake in ChinaTimes.com
US-based Internet giant Yahoo Inc. is to acquire a five-percent stake in Taiwan's ChinaTimes.com in its first investment on the island, the companies said Monday in Taipei.
"Yahoo will initially purchase five percent shares in ChinaTimes.com, and its holding could increase in the future if the cooperation goes well," said Albert Yu, chairman of China Times Group which runs the website.
"We are really pleased to be working with China Times in Taiwan to leverage both of our strengths and deliver valuable programming and services to the local market," said Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo.
"And we hope to collaborate with other Taiwanese companies through such a model, particularly focusing on communications and commerce," Yang said.
Under the agreement, Yahoo will also distribute ChinaTimes.com content across its Chinese-language websites and the two partners will also work together to develop co-branded services.
"The partnership will help bring Taiwanese content providers to Internet users around the world," Yu added.
Yahoo estimates the world's online population in 2003 will reach 623 million people from 261 million last year.
It was also the first time that foreign investment was injected to the 50-year-old media conglomerate which also owns China Times, Commercial Times, China Times Express evening paper and other publications.
Capitalized at 30 million US dollars, ChinaTimes.com provides content including domestic and world news and information on business and finance, career, entertainment, sports and fashion.
Yahoo Taiwan, a subsidiary of Yahoo Inc., also announced its strategic alliance with four Taiwanese wireless service providers to distribute Yahoo's Chinese-lanaguage WAP (wireless application protocol) services on mobile phones.
The services would allow mobile phone users to access email and go online.
The four companies are KG Telecommunications, Taiwan Cellular Corporation, Chung Hwa Telecom and FarEastone Telecom.
Currently, there are nearly 14 million people with mobile phones and about five million Internet users in Taiwan.
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