SBI Holdings (06488.HK) announced that its affiliate, CSJ-SBI Financial Media Co., Ltd. (CSF), has concluded a memorandum of understanding with Joongang Media Network Co., Ltd. (JMnet), a media group in South Korea, to form a strategic alliance.

CSF is a joint venture between SBI Holdings and the China Securities Journal, a subsidiary of Xinhua News Agency. Established in 1965, JMnet is a major media group affiliated with the Samsung Group of South Korea. It has JoongAng Ilbo, South Korea's largest newspaper company with a circulation of over 1.8 million copies, and more than 20 media such as magazines and cable TV stations, under its umbrella.

Under the alliance, CSF plans to distribute Chinese financial and economic information via the website of JoongAng Ilbo, and conduct the following businesses: provision of the database of listed Chinese companies and fund database, which are held by CSF, for financial institutions and individual investors in South Korea; reporting of surveys and research and preparation of related reports in accordance with the needs of South Korea’s financial and research institutions; and sharing of international advertising clients held each by CSF and JMnet in China and South Korea.

CSF and JMnet will also consider launching a joint enterprise with the China Securities Journal and SBI Holdings, both shareholders of CSF. Furthermore, CSF will proactively strengthen tie-ups with companies in China and overseas, aiming to become a comprehensive financial media group in the East Asia area covering Japan, China and South Korea.