(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- Chinese apparel firm Semir Garment will transfer its 20 percent stake in South Korean e-commerce platform ISE Commerce for KRW20 billion (USD17.8 million), it announced on Dec. 17.

The new pushed its shares [SHE:002563] into a decline for two straight trading days, and they closed down 2.88 percent at CNY8.42 yesterday.

Semir offered no specific reasons for the transaction in its statement, saying only "This deal is made in accordance with the company's development needs."

The other party to the deal is ISE Network, ISE Commerce's largest shareholder, the Zhejiang-based firm said in the announcement.

Semir acquired 17.67 percent of ISE Commerce for CNY115 million (USD16.7 million) to become its second-largest shareholder in April 2015, an important step in the company's internationalization. Semir said this was to integrate resources with ISE to build an online platform in China and ply related businesses, per the announcement.

The business of both parties went south, however. The WIZWID website, the first in South Korea to provide cross-border e-commerce services, and the WConcept website, a fashion brand e-commerce platform for the Korean market, both operated by ISE Commerce, perpetually ran in the red.

Meanwhile Semir's own online business has also encountered new challenges with the intensifying competition among Chinese clothing companies on e-commerce platforms. The online sales of many Chinese apparel firms also began to dip in the third quarter.

Editor: Ben Armour