Daype Classifieds

Telstra will float its booming Chinese real estate classifieds business, SouFun, but will then sell down its stake.

It made the surprise announcement last night, giving scant detail except to say the process of preparing the business for an initial public offering was under way.

A Telstra spokesman said the company could not comment further, as it was uncertain where SouFun would be listed.

Earlier plans to float SouFun were abandoned last year due to the global financial crisis.

SouFun, which covers 100 Chinese cities and was bought in August 2006 for $US254 million, falls under Telstra’s Sensis division. Sensis also owns the Yellow and White Pages business.

It has been touted by successive chief executives as a success story, and last year delivered a 55.9 per cent increase in earnings. Earnings from Telstra’s Chinese online businesses, including SouFun, climbed 128.4 per cent to $201.2 million.

Other Telstra-owned Chinese businesses include classified websites for cars, real estate, electronics and other consumer goods, and businesses offering value-added services for mobile phones.

By Dan Oakes
December 2, 2009
source: smh.com.au