Rumors: eBay likely to shutdown Chinese site

Market sources are claiming that online ecommerce giants eBay is going to close their primary China Web site.

And the company would then form a partnership with Li Ka-shing as they are increasingly losing users to rivals in this market.

Rumors in the market say that eBay would pay about $40 million for a 49 percent stake in the venture with Li’s Beijing- based Tom Online Inc.

Mark Canizares, an analyst with CitisecOnline in Manila commented on these reports: “EBay is another example of how hard it is for foreign companies to be successful in China. The Internet in China and the U.S. is culturally very different so a local Chinese company like Tom Online has a better chance at being successful.”

EBay is however likely to continue running a service which would allow Chinese sellers to do business with buyers outside the country.