CJ O Shopping to see steady growth in China

CJ O Shopping Co., a South Korean cable home shopping channel, expects to see steady growth in China, analysts said Monday, as its Chinese joint venture continues to expand its business in the world's No. 2 economy. In 2004, CJ O Shopping launched its joint venture Dongbang CJ with its Chinese partner Shanghai Media Group. KB Investment & Securities expected that Dongbang CJ will likely grow 30 percent annually in sales by 2015. "Dongbang CJ's sales will likely reach 1 trillion won (US$940 billion) this year, 2 trillion won in 2013 and 3 trillion won in 2015," said Lee So-yong, a researcher at KB Investment. Samsung Securities predicted that Dongbang CJ will post 1.1 trillion won in 2011. "A recent win of nationwide broadcast rights from the Chinese government will enable Dongbang CJ to continue its robust growth," said Nam Ok-jin, a retail analyst at Samsung Securities. The Chinese government earlier this year granted nationwide broadcast rights to the home shopping channel operator. In addition, Dongbang CJ acquired its second home shopping channel in China in July, making it able to broadcast its home shopping programs to some 10 million analog viewers plus 2.5 million digital viewers in Shanghai and its neighboring regions. Nam said that Dongbang CJ is expected to consider selling its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Chinese bourse.