Netease, one of China's largest online service portals, joined hands Wednesday with the country's leading online real estate information provider SouFun, to advance Netease's online real estate business.

SouFun paid Netease to participate in the cooperation, which will be "strategically conducive" to both sides, said Mo Tianquan, CEO of SouFun. But he said the partnership was not an acquisition, and did not elaborate on the figures involved.

SouFun has designated a team to organize the content and management of Netease's real estate arm, according to company sources.

Hu Zhiqin, Netease's senior vice-president of sales and marketing, has great expectations for the partnership, saying it was a good move to team up with the professional websites to develop some of its specialized online sectors. Netease last year cooperated with China Finance Online to develop part of its financial services.

The coming together with China's leading online financial service provider, said Hu, has greatly increased Netease's income, online hit rate and brand recognition. But she did not reveal any numbers in the interests of business privacy.

Hu said in an interview that her company would be "willing" to cooperate with more professional online service providers across a broader range.

The NASDAQ-listed company saw its net profits increase 36.7 per cent to 441 million yuan (US$53 million) last year, to which its online gaming sector made the biggest contribution, according to its annual financial report released last month.

By the end of last year, Netease was able to boast more than 298 million registered users and an average daily hit rate of 427 million, company statistics showed.

SouFun's online real estate arm managed an annual profit jump of 50 per cent last year, its Vice-President Xiao Yong told China Daily.

China's largest online real estate provider is preparing to go public, said its CEO Mo, who expects the New York listing to be completed within the year.

The company also plans to expand into a further 100 cities across the country within three to five years by establishing local offices, according to Xiao, adding that 40 such branches will be opened this year.

SouFun also intends to explore possibilities in traditional media like newspapers and magazines through partnerships, said Xiao, but declined to offer a timetable for this.

(China Daily March 3, 2005)