Hong Kong Internet giant Pacific Century CyberWorks said Tuesday it was taking a stake in a Japanese firm which will provide contents to PCCW's Network of the World (NOW) broadcasting service.
Index Corp. would provide horoscopes, electronic greeting cards and listings information to the Internet television service, which is due to be launched in Japan around mid-2001, PCCW-Japan Ltd. said.
"PCCW-Japan will also purchase a small stake in Index Corp.," it said in a statement, without specifying the size of the investment.
PCCW has already announced it is taking over another Japanese firm, Jaleco Ltd., to bolster NOW's games contents. The deal is set to be finalized in November.
"This deal with Index Corp. is one of a number of steps designed to broaden Jaleco's business and further develop our content base," said PCCW-Japan chief executive Todd Bonner.
PCCW, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li, completed a 28.2-billion-dollar merger with telecommunications giant Cable and Wireless HKT in mid-August.
The mega-merger is expected to bolster PCCW's strategy of rolling out high-speed broadband Internet services across Asia.
English-only content for NOW is currently available on the Internet at www.NOW.com. — (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
