NTT DoCoMo, Baidu team for Chinese mobile content venture

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, will collaborate with Chinese search giant Baidu to distribute mobile content targeting the Chinese subscriber market. Baidu will assume an 80 percent stake in the joint venture, set to kick off next month--NTT DoCoMo will control the remaining 20 percent, investing about 2 billion yen ($24.7 million), according to Nikkei Business Daily. Baidu declined to specify its investment, but back-of-the-envelope math indicates it will contribute about 8 million yen, or $197.6 million.

DoCoMo and Baidu plan to partner with Japanese content providers to develop mobile games, animated video and comic books targeting smartphone users. DoCoMo will supply expertise in building content distribution systems optimized for the mobile channel.

The Chinese mobile subscriber market passed the 900 million mark in May 2011 according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Smartphones presently make up about 28 percent of all Chinese mobile device sales. Baidu generates 75.8 percent of Chinese online search revenues, ahead of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) at 19.2 percent.

For more:
- read this Reuters article

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