Entrepreneur Denis O'Brien is planning to take a €10 million punt on the world's fastest-growing economy.

Mr O'Brien revealed yesterday that he has bought a Shanghai-based online recruitment company, Shjobs.com, as part of the first step in extending his IrishJobs.ie website business to China.

He and his business partner, Leslie Buckley, made the move through their combined venture, Keyland Group, the ultimate parent of IrishJobs. Mr O'Brien owns 75 per cent of the business while Mr Buckley owns 25 per cent.

He did not say what investment he made in the acquisition, but it is understood that Keyland intends to spend €10 million on developing its business in China.

It has signed memorandums of agreement with similar online recruiters in Shanghai, Beijing and Quangdon province.

Four years ago Keyland acquired two companies, now branded as NIjobs.com and ScottishJobs.com. Its accounts show that it spent in the region of €150,000 on both of these operations.

Keyland's acquisition was announced in the course of the three-day trade mission to China undertaken by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin and Enterprise Ireland, which ended yesterday.

Shanghai-based Brian Jang set up Shjobs in 2003. It advertises more than 15,000 jobs from 4,000 companies and is visited by more than 350,000 job-hunters seeking work in the city.

Mr Buckley is listed in company returns as a director of Keyland Group, but Mr O'Brien is not. The same returns name its other board members as Ciarán McCooey, who was appointed in 2005, and Maria Mahon and Paul Connolly, who have both worked with Mr O'Brien on other projects and are directors of other businesses in which he is involved.

Accounts for 2004 show that at December 31st that year, its balance sheet had a deficit of €396,000. It owed its creditors €3.2 million. Its tax and social welfare liability was €293,573, and there was a loan from an unnamed director of €209,000. The accounts said this was subordinated in favour of Bank of Ireland.

Trade and other credits were its biggest debt at €2.3 million. On the credit side, NIjobs owed Keyland €252,000 and ScottishJobs owed it €575,000.

Mr O'Brien is currently developing mobile networks in the Caribbean through his Digicel business. His Communicorp group has a number of interests in the Republic, including radio stations. He holds a 3.8 per cent stake in Independent News & Media, the Republic's biggest media company.

In 2000 he sold the Esat Telecom Group to BT for £2.5 billion Irish punts.