 In 2003, it formed an international alliance with Agence France-Presse (AFP) Finance.Xinhua Financial Network Ltd. purchased the news agencies of AFP Asian Finance in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore and eight other Asian countries and regions, which expanded the coverage of Xinhua News Agency's international network.In July 2006, Mergent, a subsidiary of Xinhua Finance, purchased the business of Praedea Solutions, Inc., a developer of enterprise software for automated data extraction.