Low-risk Chinese expansion for eBay

Article Excerpt

EBAY INC. $49 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $63.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) aims to profit from rising demand for online shopping in China through a new alliance with Xiu.com, a leading Chinese seller of luxury goods. Under the deal, the partners will launch a new website, ebay.xiu.com, which will let certain U.S. retailers sell their goods at fixed prices. The sellers will then send the orders they receive from the site to eBay’s Dallas warehouse, which will forward the goods to China. Xiu.com will handle local shipping and customer service. eBay is a buy. …