For Immediate Release
Hong Kong, November 21, 2000 - TOM.COM ("TOM.COM" or "TOM"; stock code: 8001) announced today it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two subsidiaries of Ming Pao Enterprise Corporation Limited ("Mingpao"; stock code: 0685) to acquire 50% interest of Mingpao's wholly-owned Chinese current event weekly magazine Yazhou Zhoukan. Negotiation on the final legal documentations for the investment is now underway.
With a circulation of over 100,000 copies, Yazhou Zhoukan is an authoritative Chinese current event weekly magazine. Established in 1987, it enjoys a worldwide Chinese readership and is widely read by business executives, senior government officials and opinion leaders in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and South East Asia. Apart from the printed version, the magazine also produces an online version through the website at mingpao.com.
"The addition of a prestigious print media asset is a perfect fit within our cross-media strategy. It will bring about new value creation with our existing complementary suites of both online and offline media assets," said Sing Wang, CEO and Executive Director of TOM.COM. "The investment will also strengthen TOM's print media profile and boost our advertising armoury, allowing us to offer an attractive "one-stop" package covering the entire value chain of different media platforms including online, print, outdoor, events and television."
Apart from cross media advertising benefits, TOM is looking forward to leveraging Yazhou Zhoukan's content synergy to supplement its own online content development. The magazine's rich archive of quality and diverse content covering Greater China news, international and regional news, and lifestyle will become a valuable and highly respected source of online content. Simultaneously, TOM is also looking forward to playing an active part in enhancing the business IT and other business-oriented content of the magazine's printed version. TOM, together with Mingpao, will also intend to further develop Yazhou Zhoukan's online version to make it an authoritative voice offering global multi-media news and current affairs, business IT research services, and corporate rating services.
"We are delighted to be working with TOM and shall work together with a view to potentially closing the deal in a timely manner," said Francis Tiong, Executive Director of Mingpao.
The partnership is expected to further expand the marketing and distribution functions of Yazhou Zhoukan, increasing significantly its subscription in the region, in particular, in Mainland China and ultimately expanding its revenue base.
Both parties would also like to stress the point that the editorial team and the editorial independence of Yazhou Zhoukan will remain unchanged.
"It will be our objective to make Yazhou Zhoukan more than a traditional publication. The magazine will be positioned to become a multi-media Chinese platform for Chinese around the world," said Mr Wang. "With our established online resources and Mingpao's online and offline publication businesses, we shall continue to explore collaboration opportunities on different fronts."
For press enquiries, please contact: -
Rachel Chan, TOM.COM LIMITED; Tel: 2121 7810; Fax: 2127 7576
e-mail: rachelc@hk.tom.com