TOKYO (02/01/2000) - MeetChina.com, operator of a Web site that promotes international trade with China, has completed first round financing, the company announced Monday.
The US$10.8 million round was led by Citicorp Capital Asia Ltd. and Softbank China Ventures, the company said in a statement, and also included China Resources Technology, International Data Group Inc. (IDG), Motorola Inc. and First Data Corp.
MeetChina.com was formed by a group led by US Business Network Inc. in April 1999 after the company signed a series of exclusive co-branding agreements with six Chinese government ministries. Other major investors in the company at the time included Pacific Technology Venture Fund-China Inc., a venture capital company owned by IDG, and Internet messaging technology company Critical Path Inc.
In the summer of 1999, Total Film Group Inc. said it had acquired 25 percent of the company and announced plans to provide traditional and electronic advertising and marketing services to the 30,000 companies already using the Web site.
The site aims to match domestic manufacturers with foreign buyers in each of the six markets in which the ministries are responsible. To date, the service is covering the electronics industry, which is overseen by the Ministry of Information Industry.
The company is planning to use the money to drive expansion in China and around the world.
MeetChina.com, in San Francisco, can be found online at http://www.meetchina.com/.