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China – Internet recruiter to set up global talent development centre

17 April 2014

Chinese internet-based recruitment service provider, Liepin.com, plans to set up a global talent development centre with a base of 20 million professionals by the end of 2014, its CEO told China Daily.

The company also announced that it received financing totalling USD 70 million from equity investment companies Warburg Pincus and Matrix Partners China, which equates to the largest investment in the sector for the past five years. Liepin.com previously received financing totalling about $10 million from Matrix Partners China.

In addition to using the new funding to set up a global talent development centre, it will also be used to promote the company's brand, Chief Executive Officer Dai Kebin told China Daily.

Mr Dai said the company has already signed up 11 million professionals, and the candidate base will reach 20 million by year-end. He said Liepin.com has more than 100,000 enterprise clients, and each pays the company more than CNY 10,000 (USD 1,600) annually.

"Our profits mainly come from enterprise clients and employees," said Mr Dai, adding that the fees for enterprise clients are very competitive compared with those charged by traditional recruiters.

"Liepin.com will promote the healthy development of the Chinese recruitment services market because we solve the problem of information asymmetry," Mr Dai added, saying that headhunters who can only provide employees' CVs will be less competitive.

Julian Cheng, a Managing Director of Warburg Pincus, commented: "[We have] been following the internet-based recruitment sector closely in recent years and [were] impressed with Liepin's unique business model and the changes Liepin has brought to the recruitment sector.”

Ms Cheng said traditional internet-based recruitment agencies basically operate as advertisement platforms for employers, but Liepin.com has created an online model that is built around the needs of professionals and members.

David Zhang, a founding managing partner of Matrix Partners China, added: "After witnessing the rapid growth of Liepin.com in the past three years, Matrix Partners China is more and more convinced that Liepin's business model is shaking up the current Internet-based recruitment sector and has singled itself out as the one to win.”