Japan's Softbank to take big stake in Chinese web firm
TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's Softbank Corp. said on Wednesday it plans to take a stake of up to 40 percent in major Chinese Internet firm Oak Pacific Interactive (OPI) for about 40 billion yen (385 million dollars).
The Japanese Internet and telecom conglomorate bought a share of about 14 percent in the company for 10 billion yen in early April and also has the right to raise the stake further, a Softbank spokesman said.
"If all the rights are exercised, our stake will be 40 percent," he said.
Beijing-based OPI offers social networking services for students and has about 22 million members.
Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile telephone operator, already owns some 30 percent of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.
"We have now taken on social networking services as well as online commerce" in China, said the spokesman.
The business empire built by Masayoshi Son, one of Japan's richest entrepreneurs, launched a Japanese version of the popular US networking website MySpace in 2006 as a joint venture with media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
