58.com to invest in domestic real estate broker for minority stake

BEIJING - China's real estate service platform operator 58.com will invest in domestic housing market broker 5i5j Holding Group Co Ltd, the company announced Friday.

58.com will invest a total of 1.068 billion yuan ($164.2 million) in 5i5j, for 8.28 percent of the company. 5i5j will continue to operate independently.

Yao Jinbo, CEO of 58.com, said the two companies enjoy complementary advantages in the real estate service industrial chain and will work more closely to promote the development of a sustainable property brokerage sector.

"We hope to promote the development of an authentic housing listing mechanism as well as a housing listing information sharing platform," Yao said.

58.com will also partner with other real estate market players to set up a fund to invest in promising brokers, high-tech firms and other housing market service providers.