IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Talks on online auto insurance

Sooboo.com.cn, a Beijing-based online auto insurance vendor, is in talks with four venture firms for a possible capital injection between $5 million and $10 million, according to China Business Post.

Established last May, Sooboo has now formed partnerships with seven major Chinese insurers, including PICC Property and Casualty Insurance Co, China Pacific Property Insurance Co and Ping An Insurance Co. The company said its total sales would be as much as 60 million yuan at the end of this year and would reach 300 million yuan in 18 months.

Chinese car owners paid 106 billion yuan for auto insurance last year. Analysts say the market will triple to 300 billion yuan in 2009, growing along with the nation's rising auto purchases.

Sooboo received its first round financing of $2 million from the United States venture capital firm Cobb Associates this March.

Internet ad capital injection

CTS Media, a Shanghai-based online video advertising network, has closed its second round of funding from Steamboat Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Walt Disney Co, according to ChinaVenture.com.

CTS was founded in 2006 to provide advertisements that are inserted in online video clips. The company is reported to have received a $2 million investment from Sequoia Capital in 2006, which considers it "an agent between Internet video content providers and traditional advertisement agents", the venture firm said on its website. Steamboat also has invested in video sharing sites such as 56.com and Internet television company UUSee.com.

Achievo plans for NASDAQ

Achievo Corp, a software and information outsourcing company, said it would start preparing for a NASDAQ listing in a few months, the company's CEO Robert Lee was quoted as saying.

Headquartered in the Silicon Valley, Achievo has offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, China and Japan. The company now has more than 2,000 employees, with its major development teams in China. In recent years, Achievo has acquired a range of companies to fuel its expansion, including Germany-based IT service providers Inproware GmbH and ICS Software AG. Achievo raised $24 million in its second round financing with institutional and private investors, the company said on its website, without giving details.

Investment in chicken company

Beijing Deqingyuan Agricultural Technology Co Ltd, a Chinese egg producer, has received hundreds of million yuan in venture investment from Capital Today and Global Environment Fund.

Located in the suburbs of Beijing, Deqingyuan produces more than 2 million chickens every year and sells more than 1.5 million eggs each day, the company said on its website. After receiving an "organic food product" certificate for its products, the company has been chosen as the supplier for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Capital Today has also invested in a local video-sharing website Toodou.com and Kungfu Catering Management Co Ltd, a local fast food chain.

SAIF Partners raises $1.1 billion

SAIF Partners, a Hong Kong-headquartered private equity firm, has closed new fund of $1.1 billion, according to the Economic Observer.

SAIF Partners will use most of the new fund for investments in China, India and South Korea, with about 75 percent earmarked for China, according to Andy Yan, managing partner of the firm. Yan said investment in new deals could be as much as $100 million each, given the size of the new fund. SAIF Partners is recognized as one of the most successful venture firms in China, with its early investments in now NASDAQ-listed Shanda Interactive Entertainment Corp and Acorn International. SAIF has more than $2 billion under management.

More online investments

Cubcn.com, a Shenzhen-based online retailer of do-it-yourself products, has secured $1.5 million investment from Legend Capital, according to National Business Daily.

The website was founded in 2006 and sells products such as T-shirts and calendars that allow its customers to choose the style and design for themselves. The website will use most of the money for marketing campaigns to attract more young consumers. Legend Capital, a sister company of China's Lenovo Group, invested in online shopping company Joyo.com, which was later acquired by US e-commerce giant Amazon.com.

Eastmoney.com planning IPO

Eastmoney.com, China's largest financial information portal, said it is aiming for a NASDAQ listing within six to nine months, according to Guangzhou Daily.

The Shanghai-based website plans to raise $500 million through an initial public offering, according to the report. Company officials say the website attracts more than 150 million visitors each day and its revenue is expected to hit $11 million to $13 million in 2007. The website also formed a cooperative agreement with Chinese flat screen advertising company Focus Media on May 29. Reports say Focus Media will use financial information from Eastmoney for its network of LCD screens.

(China Daily 06/11/2007 page4)