China's Ctrip.com targets foreign markets

New York-listed, Shanghai-based Ctrip.com International, China’s largest online travel agency, announced on Monday that it had formed a partnership with US private equity house General Atlantic that will target onshore and global travel businesses, the Financial Times reports.  The $400m fund, called Ocean Link and involving by two former Carlyle Group dealmakers, will join a fiercely competitive market where some of China’s most acquisitive groups have vied for high-profile tourism assets. About 130m Chinese people are expected to travel abroad this year alone – credit cards in hand. The cohort spent $215bn outside mainland China in 2015, according to figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council, a 53% jump from the $140bn spent the year before.