labor - Zhaopin teams up with Australian recruiter

Zhaopin.com , one of the three largest online recruiting sites in China, has sold a 25 percent stake to Seek Ltd , the leading online recruiter in Australia and New Zealand, writes the China Tech News. Zhaopin is planning an IPO next year.

Andrew Basset, joint CEO of Seek, told local media that Seek will provide operational and strategic support to Zhaopin.com after the acquisition to help the Chinese firm increase its market share in China.

The participation comes in the middle of major changes in the HR-industry as foreign companies got last month the possibility to obtain a majority in their China operation, provided they would register their company in Pudong, Shanghai. Up to then the compolsory Chinese partner also needed to have a majority stake, putting off many of the foreign participants. Following that policy change Monster has increased this year its stake in Chinahr.com and Careerbuilder.com participated in 51jobs.com . Together with Chinahr, 51jobs, Zhaopin hold about half of the online recruitment market in China.
Earlier this month the Irish online recruiter Keyland invested in some local websites.