SPH and China's ZBJ Network in joint venture to develop first B2B bilingual portal for SMEs

Singapore - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) today signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with ZBJ Network, China's largest online creative services platform.

Under the JVA, both companies will develop the first of its kind B2B (Business to Business) bilingual online creative services platform targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of South East Asia.

The JVA was signed by Mr Anthony Tan, Deputy CEO of SPH and Mr Wang Nan, President of ZBJ Network, Inc. in Beijing, China. Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister of Prime Minister's Office, Singapore and Mr Zhang Guo Qing, Mayor of Chong Qing City, witnessed the signing ceremony which was held before the Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) Meeting in Beijing.

ZBJ Network, lnc. operates zbj.com - an online marketplace providing creative services like logo design, translation, website design and development for businesses. Established in 2006, today it has over six million registered users and 13 million service providers, with a market share of over 80 per cent and transacted value was 7.5 billion RMB.

For the collaboration, SPH will leverage its SME networks in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region, as well as provide sales and marketing expertise, advertising and publicity on its print and digital platforms, and competitive digital bundling. ZBJ Network, Inc. will provide operational expertise and training, and product and technology development.

Mr Tan said: "With this partnership, SPH will provide a one-stop holistic package for local SMEs which are searching for comparable creative services here and from China. Similarly, the businesses in China could also reach out to our service providers here. This is a significant move for both companies, which will in turn forge closer ties between China and Singapore."

Mr Wang said: "ZBJ aims to replicate our online services in the global market, providing professional corporate solutions to SMEs. Our users come from 25 countries and regions. In this partnership with SPH, ZBJ will leverage our extensive data, creative services, corporate clients and supply chain, to provide design, marketing and business development services to the businesses in Singapore and Malaysia."

The name and contents of the new platform will be announced in late 2017.