May 19 (Bloomberg) -- EBay Inc., which first expanded outside the U.S. six years ago, said China will be one of its biggest markets in five years, as first-quarter online trades rose to $100 million in the world's most populous nation.

Sales may reach as much as $400 million in China in 2005, the online auction company's Chief Executive Meg Whitman said, without giving last year's figures. That would be 1 percent of EBay's trades last year. EBay is doubling its China online trades every year, adding 20,000 customers a day and now has 11.6 million users in China, she said.

``My prediction is China will be one of our biggest markets in five to 10 years,'' Whitman, 48, said in an interview at the Fortune Global Forum in Beijing yesterday. ``We plan to invest $100 million into operating costs in China, primarily into product development, advertising and customer support.''

The company's total online sales reached $40 billion in 2004 and international sales may account for more than half of that by the end of 2005, as use of the French and Italian sites surges and investments in China begin to pay off, she said.

Still, China may not be profitable for at least five years, Whitman said.

``We're in no hurry to make money in China,'' Whitman said. ``EBay China is a very small sliver of a very large and very profitable company.''

EBay, the world's largest Web marketplace, said on April 20 that first-quarter profit increased 28 percent, beating analysts' estimates, as more trades were done on its international sites. U.S. revenue growth is declining, contributing to a 36 percent plunge in the stock price during the quarter.

Acquisitions

EBay first expanded internationally in June 1999 with an acquisition in Germany. Last year it bought a site in India as well as opening sites in the Philippines and Malaysia. In 2005 it will invest $300 million to increase sales internationally, in the U.S. and to expand its PayPal payments service.

EBay competes in China with privately held Taobao.com and 1Pai.com, a venture between Yahoo! Inc. and Sina Corp.

Shares of EBay fell 10 cents to close at $35.83 yesterday in New York, down 39 percent year to date on investor concern about slowing growth and increased spending.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allen T. Cheng in Beijing at Acheng13@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 18, 2005 20:52 EDT