INTERVIEW-Chinadotcom to invest $100 mln in SKorea
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By Yoo Choon-sik
SEOUL, June 7 (Reuters) - Asian Internet firm Chinadotcom
(NASDAQ:CHINA) plans to invest $100 million in cash in forming
partnerships with South Korean companies over the next year or
so, chief executive officer Peter Yip said on Wednesday.
Yip told Reuters in a telephone interview that the planned
investment is for joint ventures or acquiring Korean companies
if needed.
"Our plan is to invest $100 million in cash," Yip said.
"The time frame is for next 12 to 18 months for the right kind
of projects."
Chinadotcom has been operating in South Korea for about a
year and holds a 60 percent stake in online advertising agency
24/7 Media Korea Co, set up last year. Daum Communications Co
<35720.KQ> holds the remaining stake.
Yip said the Hong Kong-based company was looking to form
partnerships in the broadband and wireless Internet services
and in projects to help Korean companies expand their
operations into other countries, such as China.
"Korea probably has the most broadband experience, most
mature of any Asian country," Yip said. "The second area is the
wireless, and the structure of partnerships is to make
investments as well as making joint ventures to help them
expand beyond Korea."
He declined to name any Korean company in talks for
partnerships but said the company was "open minded" in terms of
the number of partnerships and how it would select them.
Yip said Chinadotcom might consider acquiring Korean
companies involved in "core businesses" such as e-business and
mobile services with technological capabilities.
He said he thought the Nasdaq market's (INDEX:$COMPX) weakness
since March this year and a slump in Internet business this
year in general was a correction, which he said was good for
the industry's growth for the longer term.
"Looking for investment for the long term, this correction
is very healthy," he said. "When you look at the history of
Internet, they have corrected several times already."
He declined to comment on remarks by emerging markets
investment guru Mark Mobius that the Nasdaq index could drop to
2,500 points. The Nasdaq index closed Tuesday at 3,756.37.
"I must be very careful to comment because I'm not a market
specialist and my job is to focus on quality companies with
strong fundamentals," Yip said.
Mobius said in an interview with Austria's Profil magazine
published on Monday that he expected further falls in the price
of "new economy" stocks.
Chinadotcom shares closed Tuesday's session at $25- per
share, down $1-5/16 on the day, while Daum Communications stock
closed 10,400 won ($9.29) higher at 97,800 won.
seoul.newsroom@reuters.com))
Copyright 2000, Reuters News Service
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