South China Morning Post

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Frederick Yeung in Hong Kong

Mainland digital outdoor media specialist Touchmedia has completed a new round of financing, raising about 100 million yuan (HK$113.59 million) to expand its business, sources said.

The financing was led by CDIB Capital, with investors from previous rounds - TLC Capital, Qiming Ventures, and Mustang Ventures - and founder Micky Fung and his affiliate companies.

Touchmedia, established in 2003, is the largest in-taxi interactive media company. It took almost seven years and more than US$8 million for the development of its patented interactive liquid crystal display panel and to build its taxi fleet network.

Advertisers pay Touchmedia a monthly fee for playing interactive content and television commercials on the digital panel network. Touchmedia, in turn, pays taxi fleets a lease fee per taxi per month.

The company operates in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, where it has more than 100,000 taxis under contract, or 85 per cent of the vehicles in service.

The company would continue to extend its network to other cities this year and would also look at overseas expansion, said Mr Fung.

“People find the system fun and useful. They like to be able to select what they want to watch and to play or seek information,” he said.

Touchmedia forecast revenue could reach 200 million yuan this year and will double the investment to tab the market.

The company has attracted a number of big brands such as HSBC Holdings, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Shiseido, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble and Cathay Pacific Airways.

“With revenue growth accelerating, bucking the advertising industry’s global malaise, Touchmedia’s gatekeeper status uniquely positions it as China’s only nationwide in-taxi advertising channel,” said CDIB vice president Adam Bornstein.