LOS ANGELES - EBay Inc. plans
to announce soon that it will shut down its main Web site in China and replace
it with one run by a joint venture with Beijing- based Tom Online Inc., a person
familiar with the matter said on Monday.
A spokesman for eBay said the company would not comment on speculation after
the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported the
decision.
But the person familiar with the matter told Reuters eBay could announce as
early as Tuesday that it was taking a 49 percent stake in the new site. Tom
Online, an online portal and wireless operator, would hold 51 percent.