The latest Hong Kong dotcom start-up to feel the heat is online travel Web site ebookit.com, which is looking for a buyer.
The news came as a surprise as chief executive Ken Chad had said the company would achieve profitability by the end of the year.
A source in the travel industry said ebookit ran out of funding and its offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore had stopped offering air tickets, hotel accommodation and car rental over the Web. Officers at corporate restructuring firm Baker Tilly had been appointed as provisional liquidators to find a buyer to restart the business as soon as possible.
Baker Tilly managing director Rupert Purser said: 'This is not a standard liquidation or burial of a company. The liquidation process is being used in the context of a business rescue, while protecting both creditors' and shareholders' interests.'
He said Baker Tilly also was acting as liquidator for former travel and education broadcaster Alive Networks, which nearly completed an extensive travel site before being shut down.