Chinadotcom is teaming up with United States-based Web solutions provider ClickThings.com to target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hoping to move on-line and tap an expected boom in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce transactions. Chinadotcom has invested US$5 million for an undisclosed stake in ClickThings and subsidiary ClickThings China, which provide free services that enable firms to build Web sites and conduct e-commerce. ClickThings president John Underwood said his company had a 'nine-figure' valuation, but did not provide an exact figure or a method by which the company was valued. 'We have [US billionaires] David Rockefeller and Henry Kravis among our investors,' Mr Underwood said in response to a question about the valuation of Internet companies. 'If you think they're not interested in making money you're dreaming.' ClickThings is hoping to first build a large customer base of SMEs by offering free tools to create and manage their own Web sites and develop the capability to conduct e-commerce. ClickThings would make money by charging companies who use their service fees on transactions done over the Internet and by providing one-to-one marketing services based on data pooled from their customer companies. The company would also generate income through advertising and Web hosting. Mr Underwood expected ClickThings to become profitable within the first two years, but said the 'real potential' lay in the years ahead. The joint venture with Chinadotcom is aimed at helping the firm target companies in the Greater China region. TECHNOLOGY
