China Mobile, Xinhua to Form Search Engine JV
China Mobile Communications Corp. and China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on Thursday signed a framework agreement to launch a media and search-engine joint venture, Xinhua reported.
Rainie Lei, a spokeswoman for China Mobile Ltd., the Hong Kong-listed unit of state-owned China Mobile Communications, confirmed the parent company had signed the agreement with Xinhua but declined to give details.
The cooperation, which is focused on building a search engine, has entered a phase of substantive operation, Xinhua said, without giving details.
A new search engine would compete with market leader Baidu Inc. (BIDU) and second-place Google Inc. (GOOG) in China, which had 420 million Internet users at the end of June, more than the entire U.S. population.
