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December 9, 2010

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Investors take liking to Chinese net firms

THE shares of both Dangdang and Youku.com were priced above indicative ranges for initial public offerings in the United States as investors showed a strong appetite for Chinese Internet companies.

China's e-commerce firm Dangdang sold 17 million shares on the New York exchange at US$16 each, higher than its offering range of US$11 to US$13. It raised US$272 million, 33 percent more than originally planned.

Youku.com, China's top online video-sharing website, announced it would sell its shares at US$12.80 each - the original range was US$9 to US$11. It raised US$203 million after planning to generate US$169 million.

Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley led the offering for China Dangdang, while Goldman Sachs managed Youku.com's sale. Both shares were scheduled to begin trading when US markets opened yesterday.

Analysts are positive about the earnings outlook in China's Internet sector because the number of web users is growing quickly and the middle class is expanding.

But IT industry experts said whether Chinese Internet firms will succeed depends on the steps they take to deal with intellectual property rights and developing unique competitiveness.

China Dangdang, which operates the Dangdang.com website, had a 56 percent increase in sales in the first nine months of 2010 from the same period a year ago, its prospectus said. The company has been profitable since 2009.

Last year, Youku.com reported a loss of US$26.7 million, according to the company. Its losses have been dropping in recent years due to lower operation costs.

This week is the US market's busiest for Chinese IPOs this year with six of nine newly listed firms from the Chinese mainland.

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