Amazon enters China with Joyo.com buy

It has bought the company for $75m (£41.3m), including $72m (£39.6m) in cash and the assumption of employee stock options. With an audience reach of more than 80 million consumers online, China is the world’s second biggest internet market behind the US. Joyo.com operates three fulfilment centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Founded in 2000, it will be Amazon’s seventh global online retail business.
Lin Shuixing, Joyo.com president, said: "Amazon.com has always put the customer at the centre of everything it does, and we look forward to making Joyo.com even better for ours."
China has recently opened up to foreign investment in retail and distribution, but state control over content continues to restrict title availability. On the direction of the Chinese government, the four largest bookshops in the capital--Beijing Books Mansion Co, the Xinhua Bookstore, China Bookstore and Foreign Languages Bookstore--were earlier this year merged into a single operation to encourage foreign investment in the book business.
An earlier bid by Amazon for DangDang.com was rejected; DangDang.com is now aiming for an initial public offering on the US’ Nasdaq stock market. Bertelsmann bought 40% of China’s first private bookselling chain, Beijing 21st Century Book Chain Company, in late 2003.