SAIF was the sole investor in Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd before the online game operator's initial public offering in 2005. The firm later achieved a 14-fold return from the NASDAQ listing of Shanda, China's largest online gaming provider.

Officials from SAIF were unavailable for comment.

A slew of local gaming operators are gearing up for overseas share offers this year to help them carve a niche in China's fledgling online gaming sector.

Shanghai-based online game company Zhengtu Games is preparing for a listing in the second half of the year. The company said its "Zhengtu Online" had drawn more than 600,000 players during peak time. Meanwhile, Zhengtu Games will launch its second online game "Ju Ren" this year.

China's online games market has experienced a boom in the past few years and an increasing number of local operators are trying to tap the nation's massive player population.

China's online games market expanded 73.5 percent to 6.54 billion yuan in 2006, according to an annual report by market researcher IDC.

(China Daily 02/28/2007 page14)

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