SAR-listed 21CN CyberNet plans to take a stake in one of the mainland's most popular Internet portals, 21cn.com, following mainland entry to the World Trade Organisation.
Parent company 21CN Cayman, which holds a 76 per cent stake in 21CN CyberNet, has been granted an exclusive option to invest in the portal, said executive director Timothy Chen.
'The parent company can inject the option to our company as long as the timing is right,' Mr Chen said.
He said the option could be exercised when the Internet sector was opened to foreign investors after the mainland's WTO entry.
The percentage of such an investment was not stated and would depend on what the regulations allowed, Mr Chen said.
Under a WTO entry deal with the United States sealed in November, foreign companies will be allowed to hold 49 per cent equity stakes in telecommunication firms once Beijing joins the WTO.