Fortune Capital and China's National Small and Medium-size Enterprises Development Fund has made a RMB120 million (US$17 million) investment in Meiya, an online flight ticket search and business travel management platform.
"With the rapid development of the outbound travel market, the demand for international flight tickets is increasing significantly," said Jia Wei, a partner at the National SMEs Development Fund, a government policy investment vehicle tasked to support small and medium-sized enterprises in China.
"In 2016, only 7% Chinese companies use business travel management system, which is much lower than 40% in western countries. With Meiya's resource and featured products, business travel management sector will become the main revenue resource for Meiya," Wei added.
"The business travel management is a RMB200 billion market in China, and it is segmented. Compared with international markets, the sector in China is facing consolidation and further expansion," said Hu Weidong, founder of Zuoyu Capital, which is the financial advisor of the deal.
Founded in 1997, Guangzhou-headquartered Meiya currently has offices in a number of cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It provides flight tickets, business travel management, and tourism services.
It serves as a flight and travel agent for many international airlines' tour operations, including Emirates Holidays, United Airline Holidays and Singapore Airlines Holidays.
Meiya appointed Yi Wei, a former executive at Ctrip.com International, Ltd., as its chief executive earlier this month.
The company plans to use the proceeds to develop its technology and brand, as well as grow its market share.