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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.13

CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY NINETOWNS DIGITAL WORLD TRADE HOLDINGS
LIMITED. THIS EXHIBIT HAS BEEN REDACTED. REDACTED MATERIAL IS MARKED WITH "*"
AND HAS BEEN FILED SEPARATELY WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

PARTY A:      BEIJING NINETOWNS PORTS SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

ADDRESS:      5TH FLOOR, UNION PLAZA, 20 CHAOWAI STREET, CHAOYANG DISTRICT,
              BEIJING 100020, THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

POSTAL CODE:  100020                TEL: 010-65887788

PARTY B:      GUANGZHOU PANYU CHENGCHANG TRADE DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

ADDRESS:      21ST FLOOR, FRIENDSHIP CENTRE, NO. 1 FANHUA ROAD, SHIQIAO, PANYU
              DISTRICT, GUANGZHOU

POSTAL CODE:  511400                TEL: 020-84818122

      Pursuant to the "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China" and
related regulations and following amicable negotiations, Party A and Party B
agree that Party A shall appoint Party B to act as its distributor for sales and
related services of "iDeclare.CIQ" enterprise software (hereinafter referred to
as the "Product") in accordance with the following terms:

1)    DISTRIBUTION PRODUCT: The Product was developed independently by Party A
      and passed evaluation and testing by the State Administration for Quality
      Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine of the PRC (the "PRC Inspections
      Administration"). It includes electronic Origin Certificate processing and
      electronic declaration functions.

2)    DISTRIBUTION TERRITORY: Southern China Region.

3)    DISTRIBUTION DURATION 2 years from the date of execution of this
      agreement.

4)    UNIFIED EXTERNAL MARKET PRICE: The standard price of the Product is
      RMB3,000 per set. The first year standard service fee is RMB1,500 per
      year.

5)    OBLIGATIONS OF PARTY A

      i)    Party A warrants that the Product provided to Party B does have
            administrative authorization from the PRC Inspections
            Administration.

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CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT HAS BEEN REQUESTED AND CONFIDENTIAL TERMS HAVE BEEN
OMITTED

      ii)   Party A warrants that it shall not engage other distributors for the
            Product within the distribution territory during the term of this
            agreement.

      iii)  Party A is responsible for providing acceptable Products on time in
            accordance with Party B's ordering plan.

      iv)   Party A has the responsibility to apply for communications accounts
            for an electronic commerce platform for inspection and quarantine on
            behalf of the customers of Party B.

      v)    Party A is responsible for providing various kinds of promotion and
            training information relating to the Product.

      vi)   Party A is responsible for providing corresponding product and
            technical training to Party B.

      vii)  Telephone technical support service.

6)    OBLIGATIONS OF PARTY B

      i)    Party B is responsible for the sales, service and technical support
            with respect to Party A's Product in Southern China Region.

      ii)   Party B warrants that, in the process of selling the Product, the
            relevant state and industry laws shall be observed.

      iii)  Party B warrants that it shall not act as a distributor for any
            other product in competition with Party A's Product in Southern
            China Region during the term of this agreement.

      iv)   Party B warrants that all Products sold are original versions of
            Party B's Products and warrants that it shall not engage in any form
            of copyright piracy.

      v)    Party B warrants that it shall provide after-sales service and
            technical support to users of the Product in accordance with the
            service standards and service scope of Party A.

      vi)   Party B warrants that it shall pay for the Products by the
            stipulated deadline.

7)    PRODUCT QUOTA

      Party B warrants, within two years after the execution date of this
      agreement, that sales volume of the Product and related services shall be
      not less than RMB50 million.

8)    PRODUCT SETTLEMENT PRICE

      Specific settlement prices are as follows:

      i)    Party B collects a one-time software and service fee of ******** for
            each new customer that it develops, of which Party A receives
            software fee of ******** and Party B receives service fee of
            ********.

      ii)   If Party B continues to provide service to existing customers of
            Party A, it shall collect an annual service fee of ********, of
            which Party A and Party B shall each receive ********** of such
            service fee.

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9)    SETTLEMENT PERIOD

      Party A and Party B agree that the settlement period shall be three
months. In other words, by the 15th day of the fourth month after Products are
picked up or a customer executes a contract, the Product payment or service fee
for Products picked up during that month shall be transferred into the account
of Party A. The basis of the settlement shall be the number of Products
(determined by the "signed receipt") actually purchased from Party A during the
month in which the Products are picked up.

10)   AMENDMENT OF AGREEMENT

      When one party to the agreement requests an amendment to the agreement, it
shall inform the other party in writing. The other party should respond to the
notice within one week. Any amendment to the agreement must be in writing and
confirmed by both parties, and the amendments shall become an inseparable part
of this agreement.

11)   PARTY A'S RIGHT TO UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT

      Under the following circumstances, Party A has the right to terminate this
agreement unilaterally and without assuming any liability for breach of
agreement.

      i)    When, during the term of the agreement and without the consent of
            Party A, Party B acts as a distributor for any product that is in
            competition with Party A, within the above-mentioned distribution
            region.

      ii)   When Party B fails to settle with Party A by the stipulated deadline
            and payment for the Products is overdued for more than 30 days.

      iii)  When Party B fails to achieve the sales volume quota for the period
            specified in the agreement.

      iv)   When Party B, by failing to observe the relevant state and industry
            laws, harms Party A's Product and reputation.

      v)    When Party B engages in any form of copyright piracy with respect to
            Party A's Product.

      vi)   When Party B fails to provide after-sales service and technical
            support to the customers of the Product in accordance with Party A's
            service standards and service scope, which resulted in receiving
            complaints by a large number of customers.

12)   PARTY B'S RIGHT TO UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT

      Under the following circumstances, Party B has the right to terminate this
agreement unilaterally and without assuming any liability for breach of
agreement:

      i)    When, during the term of the agreement and without consent from
            Party B, Party A engages a new distributor in Southern China Region.

      ii)   When Party A fails to provide acceptable Products in a timely manner
            to Party B in accordance with Party B's ordering plan, and the
            delivery time exceeds the agreed upon delivery time by more than 30
            days.

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      iii)  When Party A fails, in accordance with stipulations of the
            agreement, to apply promptly for inspection and quarantine
            electronic business service platform accounts for subscribers
            recruited by Party B, and it takes more than 20 days to open the
            accounts after Party B applies for same.

      iv)   When Party A refuses to provide various kinds of Product-related
            promotion and training information and corresponding product and
            technical training to Party B.

13)   TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT

      This agreement shall be terminated automatically under the following
circumstances:

      i)    The agreement expires.

      ii)   When, during the term of the agreement, both parties reach a
            consensus after negotiation.

      iii)  When one party to the agreement requests an amendment to the
            agreement, but both parties fail to reach a consensus, with the
            result that the agreement can no longer be performed.

14)   RENEWAL OF THE AGREEMENT

      Both parties hereto shall notify each other in writing 120 days prior to
the expiration of the agreement of its intention to renew. If both parties reach
a consensus, they may renew this agreement. If either party fails to notify the
other party by the deadline, such failure shall be construed as termination of
this agreement. The other party has the right to take any measures and without
assuming any liability for breach of agreement.

15)   FORCE MAJEURE

      Force Majeure: an event which neither party to the agreement could foresee
when the agreement was made, nor they can avoid its occurrence and overcome its
consequences.

      When either party to the agreement is unable to perform the agreement as a
result of force majeure, it shall promptly notify the other party of the reasons
for its inability to perform, its need for postponed performance or for partial
performance and provide legally valid documentary proof. After the negotiations
between both parties, permit postponed performance, partial performance or
non-performance of the agreement and grant partial or full exemption from
liability of breach of agreement based on the specific circumstances. A full
exemption from liability shall not be granted if force majeure occurs after the
party concerned has delayed its performance.

16)   LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF AGREEMENT

      i)    If this agreement can no longer be performed because of either party
            to the agreement, the defaulting party shall pay a corresponding
            penalty to the non-defaulting party. The amount of the penalty shall
            be 10% of the contract amount.

      ii)   If Party B fails to settle with Party A in accordance with the
            specified deadline, Party B shall pay a late penalty to Party A
            based on the bank loan interest rate during the same

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            period. The basis for the calculation shall be the amount of the
            overdue payment and the length of time.

      iii)  If Party A fails to provide acceptable Products to Party B is
            accordance with the specified deadline, Party A shall pay a late
            penalty to Party B based on the bank loan interest rate during the
            same period. The basis for the calculation shall be the settlement
            amount of the past due goods and the duration of the delay.

17)   DISPUTE RESOLUTION

      Should a dispute arise during the performance of this agreement, both
parties should negotiate amicably. If both parties fail to reach a consensus
through negotiations, they may apply for arbitration. If one party does not
accept the result of arbitration, it may appeal to a People's Court.

18)   BOTH PARTIES NEGOTIATE TO SEEK SOLUTIONS CONCERNING MATTERS NOT COVERED
      HEREUNDER. SUCH SOLUTIONS SHALL TAKE THE FORM OF ATTACHMENTS TO THE
      AGREEMENT, AND SHALL BE SIGNED AND CONFIRMED BY BOTH PARTIES. ATTACHMENTS
      ARE INSEPARABLE PART OF THIS AGREEMENT AND HAVE THE SAME LEGAL EFFECT AS
      THE AGREEMENT.

      There are four identical copies of this agreement and its attachments, of
which each of the parties hereto shall keep two copies. This agreement takes
effect after being signed and sealed by both parties.

Party A  : Beijing Ninetowns Ports Software    Party B : Guangzhou Panyu
           and Technology Co., Ltd.                      Chengchang Trade
                                                         Development Co., Ltd.

           [Seal]                                        [Seal]

Representative of Party A (Seal)               Representative of Party B (Seal):

Date:    August 15, 2003                       Date: September 3, 2003

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