BEIJING, Mar. 10 (Xinhuanet)-- EBay Inc.'s Web marketplace business in China was off to a good start this year and the company¡¯s overall ability to generate healthy operating margins was ¡°completely intact¡± despite big investments, said Rajiv Dutta, eBay's chief financial officer.

¡¡¡¡Dutta repeated the U.S. company's 2005 financial targets set in January and said eBay had 10 million registered users in China. "It's been a strong start to 2005," he said.

    EBay also said in January it would increase its 2005 investments in key areas, particularly China and its online payment service known as PayPal, from US$200 million to US$300 million, and would sacrifice some short-term earnings growth to bolster long-term growth strategy.

    Of that amount, US$100 million ¡ª about 2 percent of eBay's expected global revenue ¡ª is earmarked for China, which eBay expects to be one of its biggest markets in coming years with a population of more than one billion that continues to see purchasing power rise as the economy develops.

    Dutta said operating margins, a key measure of profitability, were holding up despite the big investments.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)