Tuesday, August 23, 2005                                             Section: Technology / Page: 1

Chinacars raises cash for NASDAQ

Michael Logan, Technology Editor

Mainland portal Chinacars.com has raised US$5 million from venture capital investors as part of the company's plans towards an eventual listing on the Nasdaq stock market.

The company - backed by Wanxiang Group, the largest car parts maker in China with US$2 billion in sales - did not need the capital to expand but had sought outside investment to raise its profile ahead of an international listing, according to chief financial officer Eric Wen.

Chinacars.com claims to be the largest integrated car portal in China. It is targeting US$14 million in revenue this year and US$3.6 million in profit.

The company is led by John Zhang, who worked at three Nasdaq companies - ADC Telecom, California Microwave and Adaptive Broadband - before joining Chinacars. It has 350 employees and 23 branch offices.

The company's primary revenue stream has been content and services delivered to mobile phones. Other business opportunities include advertising. 

Ymer Venture Capital, a China focused early stage IT venture capital fund, is both financial advisor and investor in Chinacars.

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