EachNet was founded in Shanghai in August 1999 by two
US-educated Chinese entrepreneurs, Bo Shao and Haiyin Tan. Today,
it has 3.5 million registered users who trade a wide variety of
items from clothing and antique calligraphy to computers and real
estate. Ebay has around 42 million registered users and carries
around 7.2 million items for sale on its site at any given
time.
“Our relationship with EachNet is an important step forward in
eBay's strategy to build a truly global marketplace,” said Meg
Whitman, president and CEO of eBay. “Over the next three to four
years, China's e-commerce revenue is projected to grow nearly
twelve-fold to more than $16 billion. Together with EachNet, eBay
will be well positioned to help develop this emerging market and
benefit from its growth long term.”
China has more than 27 million consumers on-line, making it the
world's fifth largest internet population behind the US, Japan,
Germany and the United Kingdom. China is the fourth largest
e-commerce market in Asia and eleventh in the world, and its
on-line commerce is expected to nearly double every year for the
next four years, according to figures from researchers IDC.
In conjunction with its investment, eBay will receive the right
to expand its ownership at a later date.
