Shanda Group among first in China's Free Trade Zone

Chinese online game operator Shanda Games has announced that its parent company, Shanda Interactive Entertainment, has been given an approved permit to create a new subsidiary in China's Pilot Free Trade Zone. Shanda is boasting that its the only privately-owned Internet company among the first 36 companies to enter the Free Trade Zone in Shanghai. The new subsidiary will be called Shanda International.

"We are glad that Shanda Group was permitted to enter the free trade zone and we believe that this will further enhance our overseas businesses," said Xiangdong Zhang, CEO of Shanda Games. "As part of our ongoing effort to achieve growth globally, we have been proactively marketing online game content derived from Chinese culture to markets around the world."

"In the first half of 2013, revenues from our overseas businesses accounted for approximately 17% of our total revenues. We hope that the new policies of the free trade zone will give us more leeway to reduce operating and transactional costs and thus allow us to transact our international businesses in a more efficient way. We also wish to benefit from the overall growth of Shanda Group as Shanda Group benefits from these promising initiatives."

"Shanghai, as well as China, is witnessing a surge of new opportunities and we are lucky to be part of it," said Shanda Interactive president Robert Chiu. "We are also deeply honored to be among the first ones given this unprecedented opportunity to share the future of the free trade zone. We are enthusiastic about the initiatives of the free trade zone as well as the great potential they may bring to the industry and to our businesses. We plan to take advantages of the new regulations in finance, foreign exchange and other areas to develop new businesses and further solidify our leading position in China'sInternet industry through various innovations."

The opening ceremonies for the Free Trade Zone are expected to happen in Shanghai on September 29, 2013.