TAIPEI: A senior official of Taiwan's top online travel website, ezTravel, said the company's profile and management will remain unchanged, even though the mainland's leading travel website has acquired more than half its shares.

"EzTravel will remain Taiwan's best travel service brand and its management team will not change in the wake of the mainland's leading online travel website, Ctrip, upping its stake in our company to more than 50 percent," said ezTravel president Yu Chin-chang.

Ctrip, a NASDAQ-listed company, disclosed its position with EzTravel a day earlier. In its second-quarter financial report, Ctrip acknowledged that it had increased its stake in ezTravel to a level requiring compilation of a consolidated financial statement, under US regulations. The Ctrip acknowledged indirectly that its stake in ezTravel has exceeded 50 percent.Previously Ctrip had held a 20 percent share of the Taiwan company.

According to US accounting regulations, listed enterprises are required to produce consolidated financial statements with subsidiaries in which they own more than 50 percent of the shares.

Yu described Ctrip as a multinational company rather than a mainland company. With the approval of Taiwan's government, Ctrip began to invest in ezTravel in 2006.

"From its financial statement, Ctrip increased its stake in ezTravel to more than 50 percent in Q2 for the first time, " Yu said, adding that he did not know the company's exact shareholding ratio because ezTravel's shares are owned by divergent groups and individuals.

"The most important thing is that Ctrip has traditionally respected our management team," Yu continued. "Our brand name and management team will remain unchanged and Ctrip is not expected to post any of its staff in our company."

Moreover, Yu said, both companies will benefit from their ever-closer ties.

Bucking a general downward trend in the global travel market in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis, Yu said, both ezTravel and Ctrip posted enviable gains in business turnover and earnings in the first half of this year.

The 10-year-old Ctrip registered a 27 percent year-on-year growth in its business revenues in Q2 and a 33 percent growth in net profits during the same period, according to the company's Q2 financial statement.

In the case of ezTravel, Yu noted, the company posted its best-ever business performance in the first half of this year since the company was inaugurated in 2000.

Yu said his company had turned down prospective European and American investors and picked Ctrip as its partner mainly because it looks forward to the emergence of a world-famous Taiwan-based travel agency.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 08/07/2009 page2)