Japanese SoftBank and Bharti Enterprises announced the formation of an Indian mobile internet joint venture. The 50:50 JV, called Bharti Softbank Holdings (BSB), will focus on the three key areas social media, gaming and e-commerce.
BSB will actively…
Japanese SoftBank and Bharti Enterprises announced the formation of an Indian mobile internet joint venture. The 50:50 JV, called Bharti Softbank Holdings (BSB), will focus on the three key areas social media, gaming and e-commerce.
BSB will actively participate in the mobile internet ecosystem’s growth in India, according to a statement by Bharti and Softbank. The new JV aims to accelerate the pace of development of India’s mobile internet market, which had over 850 million mobile subscribers as of July, 2011, the companies said with reference to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Kavin Bharti Mittal, BSB’s head of strategy & new product development, said: “With a fast growing economy, a large youth population and access to cheaper and faster data, there is a unique opportunity to build services ground up for mobile, especially in a country where the first screen for most is a mobile device. We are delighted to partner with SoftBank, whose vast experience in this area will help us build and invest in services for India.”
Atsushi Taira, a director of BSB, said. “This partnership represents a significant step in SoftBank’s journey towards becoming No.1 in the mobile internet industry.”
