Media mogul Kerry Packer's internet flagship ecorp has signed a deal with US-based online recruitment company Monster.com to launch a Hong Kong version of Monster's employment site.
The deal follows the alliance the companies struck in February this year, which saw Monster.com become the exclusive job search and career content provider to ecorp's Ninemsn portal.
While the two companies will split the local offering fifty-fifty, Monster.com will take a 65 per cent share of the Hong Kong business, with ecorp owning the rest.
Ecorp was extremely pleased with the pace at which the alliance had begun its expansion into Asia, said Daniel Petre, ecorp's executive chairman. "We see substantial opportunities for growth in Hong Kong and the other Asian markets. Monster.com is well positioned to be a successful player in this region," he said.
Ecorp and Monster.com, the flagship brand of the Nasdaq-listed recruitment company TMP Worldwide, want to take advantage of Hong Kong's "tech-savvy" population and emerging Asian job markets, according to Monster.com's CEO, Jeff Taylor.
He said Hong Kong was an ideal location for Monster because it supported many of the company's global clients, internet penetration was high, and there was a strong labour market. "This means that there is a ready pool of both job seekers and employers who will benefit from our site and services," Taylor said.