eBay spreads e-commerce to Thailand

Asia - eBay has partnered with Thailand based online portal Sanook! to launch an e-commerce site enabling individuals and businesses in the country to engage in local trade as well as cross border trade through the soon to be launched co-branded site.

Under this revenue-sharing agreement, Sanook! eBay will be managed and operated under a newly formed Sanook! subsidiary.

The Thai-language local site is expected to launch in approximately five to seven months.

According to research firm IDC, Thailand currently has more than 16 million Internet users - a figure expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent through 2009.

"The e-commerce community in Thailand is among the most active we've seen anywhere. Through this agreement, we are combining our core competency in cross border trade with Sanook's local market expertise to deliver the best e-commerce experience for Thai users, enabling them to not only engage in domestic trade but also to buy from and sell to the world," Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay international marketplaces said.

 "As Thai Internet users become more comfortable doing transactions online, there is a tremendous opportunity to leverage the eBay global online marketplace via the local co-branded site created especially for Thai users. We expect that the Sanook! eBay Web site will quickly become a popular place for people to buy and sell a wide variety of items both within Thailand as well as internationally," Torboon Puangmaha, chief executive officer, Sanook Online said.