Opera Software and Telling Telecom Development are setting up a joint venture to develop a mobile browser for the Chinese market, according to a company press release.
The companies announced on a blog post, that the joint venture will combine browser technology from Opera with Telling Telecom’s local content, operations and Chinese distribution network.
The capital for the joint venture will be about 135 million RMB (about $ 20.5 million), according to the press release.
Opera will own up to 40 percent of the joint venture, and will get a minimum amount of revenue from the joint venture, the company said.
Opera Software makes two well-known mobile browsers, the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. Over 100 million people use the two browsers every month, the company said.
Telling Telecom Development has over 9,000 employees and is estimated to have an 18 percent market share of the Chinese mobile-phone distribution industry. It ships over 30 million mobile phones a year, and it also has 116 branch offices from 25 subsidiaries, which control more than 40,000 retail outlets across China, the companies said in a statement.
“China represents the largest mobile Web opportunity on the planet,” Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software, said in a company statement. “To reach the vast majority of that market, we are creating an entirely new product that suits the needs of Chinese consumers. The Opera Mini browser provides the technical backbone, while Telling Telecom Development Co provides a distribution network that can get a product in the hands of hundreds of millions of consumers. Together, we expect great success in China, which can be achieved only by collaborating with an industry leader such as Telling Telecom Development Co.”
In other recent news about Opera, TechZone360 reports that the company has launched a Web-based mobile app store named “the Opera Mobile Store.”
The Opera Mobile Store is available to Opera users and users of other mobile browsers on popular mobile phone platforms in over 200 countries, according to a report from TechZone360.
Ed Silverstein is a TechZone360 contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Janice McDuffee
