Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    A LAUNCH ceremony was held at the Civic Center in Futian District on Thursday afternoon to mark the inauguration of Shenzhen News Metro Media Co. Ltd., which was jointly launched by Shenzhen Press Group and Shenzhen Metro Group.

    The company will be the operator of advertising for six Metro lines in Shenzhen, namely Metro Lines 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 and 11. Shenzhen Press Group holds a 51 percent share in the company, while Shenzhen Metro Group holds 49 percent.

    Chen Yin, head of Shenzhen Press Group, said that the launch of the new company marked a milestone of cross-boundary cooperation between Shenzhen Press Group and Shenzhen Metro Group, which will pave the way for the group to explore new patterns for media development.

    Founded in 2002, Shenzhen Press Group has become one of the largest media groups in China. The group has one publishing company, five magazines and 10 newspapers, such as the Shenzhen Daily, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, the Shenzhen Economic Daily, the Shenzhen Evening News and the Daily Sunshine. Its annual revenue is around 2 billion yuan (US$290 million), with 50 to 60 percent of the revenue coming from advertisements.

    Shenzhen Metro Group was founded in 1998, as a large-scale and fully State-owned enterprise, to construct and operate urban rail projects. As of 2014, the group’s registered capital had reached 24 billion yuan, with total assets of 156.7 billion yuan and net assets of 70.7 billion yuan.

    Lin Maode, chairman of Shenzhen Metro Group, said that subways in Shenzhen carry over 4 million passengers per day, making Metro trains and stations the perfect places for companies to advertise. Lin hopes that the new company will go public in the near future and expand its business overseas.