NetEase.com Announces That Acquisition Talks With Third Parties End

NetEase.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES), a leading Internet technology provider in China, confirmed today that it has been having confidential discussions with several parties, including i-CABLE Communications Ltd., concerning a possible acquisition of the stock or assets of NetEase.com but that these discussions have not resulted in any agreements and have been terminated.


The company indicated that it has no current plans to engage in acquisition discussions with any other parties but that it continues to review the strategic alternatives available to it.


William Ding, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Acting Chief Operating Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated, “After careful consideration, our Board of Directors has decided that it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders if we do not currently seek an acquisition of NetEase.com.” He added, “We firmly believe that NetEase.com will be best served at this time by focusing on enhancing its management team and increasing the array of services offered to users of the NetEase.com Web sites. Although it has been a tumultuous period recently in the life of our company, I believe that NetEase.com is well poised to continue the tremendous growth in popularity of the NetEase.com Web sites and be a leader in the Chinese Internet market.”
About NetEase.com, Inc.

NetEase.com, Inc. is a leading China-based Internet technology company which has pioneered the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China. The NetEase Web sites, operated by our affiliate, organize and provide access to 2 local channels and 17 content channels through content distribution arrangements with over 150 international and domestic content providers. In addition, the NetEase Web sites contain over 1540000 personal home pages created and maintained by our users that enable users to express themselves, share items, interests and areas of expertise and to publish personal content accessible by other Chinese Internet users. The NetEase Web sites also offer online interactive community services through 1,800 community forums and over 115000 personal community forums created by registered users. At the end of March, 2004, the number of simultaneous chat room participants reached 55476 during peak hours. NetEase.com, Inc. offers auction and online mall technology services, which provide opportunities for e-commerce and traditional business customers to establish an online e-commerce presence on the NetEase Web sites.


-->This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the ``safe harbor'' provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. The accuracy of these statements may be impacted by a number of business risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including risks related to: the risk that desirable strategic opportunities will not arise in the future or that, when they arise, NetEase.com may not be in a position to take advantage of them; uncertainty as to NetEase.com's future profitability; NetEase.com's ability to develop and implement operational and financial systems to manage rapidly expanding operations; competition in NetEase.com's existing and potential markets; the risk that security, reliability and confidentiality concerns may impede broad use of the Internet; and other risks outlined in NetEase.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statement on Form F-1, as amended. NetEase.com does not undertake any obligation to update this forward-looking information, except as required under applicable law.

Contact:

Grace Zhao
NetEase.com, Inc.
IR@service.netease.com
8610-8518-0163x8208