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Technology Stocks : China.com Corp-(CHINA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: $Mogul who wrote (40)	7/11/1999 8:49:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 504

IPO VIEW-China.com may spark more int'l IPOs By Reshma Kapadia NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - A deal from Far East Internet portal operator China.com Corp. is expected to captivate the initial public offering market, both with its cyberspace angle and its foothold in Asia's recent economic recovery. As a gateway to China, China.com operates four major Internet web sites that offer Chinese and English language content and Web-based electronic mail. America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) has a 10 percent stake and 24/7 Media Inc. (Nasdaq:TFSM - news) has a 9.5 percent stake in the Hong Kong-based firm. ''China.com is an Internet play. It's in a large untapped market -- that's where the interest is. It's almost like a novelty, but there is potential,'' said Steven Tuen, an analyst at IPO Value Monitor. The company, which has raised $42 million in private placements this year, is slated to offer 4.2 million shares in a range of $14 to $16 through lead underwriter Lehman Bros. ''From a momentum point of view, (investors) will take a hard look at this because they are seeing a recovery in the Asian economy,'' said Randall Roth, an analyst at Renaissance Capital Corp.'s IPO Plus Aftermarket Fund. ''(China) is one of the great frontiers. In terms of (Internet) penetration rate, it's a very nascent target market. Penetration rates are about 2.2 percent of 1.2 billion people,'' he added. Although the company is expected to soar at its debut, many are wary of its long-term prospects. Sceptics note that the company is unproven, and has some battles ahead, like censorship. ''It's not that great. That is why it's bringing the deal to the U.S. where '.com' deals are more acceptable,'' said one Asian ADR trader, who asked not to be named. ''But it will still create tremendous demand and will do well. Relative to other emerging markets like Latin America and Europe, Asia is till the top choice to go into. As long as it's flavor of the month, it will attract money.'' If China.com, which is 20 percent-owned by New World Infrastructure Ltd. , shines as expected, it could bring other international companies to market sooner than planned. Many such deals are in the pipeline already. ''With China.com going public, all the international flavors will appear. If they don't go public, they'll miss out,'' said Steve Harmon of Internet.com. ''They need the capital to grow and compete... Investors are starting to think they can get in early on the next Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO - news),'' he added. In the past week, another international firm, Ireland's Telecom Eireann (NYSE:EIR - news), went public, raising $3.76 billion in an offering that was heavily oversubscribed. Amid the success of online network StarMedia Network Inc. (Nasdaq:STRM - news), which shot up 77 percent shortly after its debut in late May, other overseas companies have started the IPO process, especially firms targeting Latin American or Spanish-speaking audiences. El Sitio International Corp., which owns Spanish and Portuguese language Web sites, said in June that it plans to go public ''as quickly as possible.'' It recently received a $44 million investment from Bear Stearns. From2.com, owned by the privately-held Lion Group, plans to go public toward the end of this year. It will initially focus on Latin America, one of the fastest-growing markets for the Internet. ''It's on the drawing board. (Right now) '.com' is a positive, and we believe this is the next step. Domestic companies have been going public and now international companies are beginning to,'' said Gary Goldfarb, chief information officer of From2.com. The Miami-based company provides solutions that enable e-commerce companies to close international transactions online. This week's IPO calendar also offers a handful of domestic deals that are expected to do well, such as software makers RAVISENT Technologies Inc. and TIBCO Software Inc., which is majority-owned by Reuters Group Plc. (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: RTR.L) Digital subscriber line equipment providers Efficient Networks Inc. and Paradyne Corp. are also expected to draw strong interest from investors. Companies offering digital subscriber line technology have been received warmly by investors. The market for equipment that boosts a common phone line's ability to move data quickly will increase sevenfold by 2003, according to International Data Corp.