Marubeni Corp. said Thursday it has obtained Beijing's approval to take a 10 percent stake in Shanghai Dragon Head Zhangjiang Business & Network, an information technology firm that operates an Internet portal site for textile companies.
The major Japanese trading house said it is the first non-Chinese firm to invest in a Chinese Internet portal site operator for textiles companies.
Marubeni said it will take the stake with the purchase of new shares worth 4 million yuan (about $483,000) to be issued by the Chinese firm at the end of March, a company spokesman said.
Marubeni said it hopes the move will give it a foothold in e-commerce in China and lead to more opportunities in the country's textile industry.
Shanghai Dragon Head was set up in March 2000 by Shanghai Textile Holding Group Corp., a major holding company of textile firms in Shanghai, and Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park Development Corp.
The company, which also sells computer software, operates a market on its site that counts nearly 1,000 major Chinese textile companies as members.
Marubeni plans to increase the number of members and upgrade the site's value through the efforts of its overseas outlets, it said.