14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Norwegian software company Opera announced an agreement with Telling Telecom Development Co., a premier mobile phone distributor in China, for the creation of a joint venture aimed at the development of a browser aimed specifically for the Chinese market. The duo notes that the new agreement would offer both companies the possibility to accelerate their growth in users in the Chinese market, though putting together the browser technology from Opera with local content, operations, and Telling’s distribution network within China.
The joint venture would enjoy a registered capital of 135 million RMB. Opera will own around 40 percent of the company through an investment over 3 years. The company would receive a minimum amount revenue from the joint venture.
Opera's two mobile browsers, namely Opera Mini and Opera Mobile, enjoy over 100 million users each month at the moment. Telling Telecom Development Co, a subsidiary of Telling Telecom Holding Co., accounts for 18 percent of the mobile-phone distribution industry in China.
“China represents the largest mobile web opportunity on the planet. To reach the vast majority of that market, we are creating an entirely new product that suits the needs of Chinese consumers,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.
“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.”
Mr. Huang Shaowen, CEO of Telling Telecom, explains that the company is committed to put the new browser in all of the phones it distributes, and that it would mobilize all of its resources for that.
“The combining of Telling’s overwhelming mobile-phone distribution channel and Opera’s superior product for mobile Internet will bring mobile Internet users with a wonderful and easy browsing experience,” he says.
Telling Telecom ships a number of over 30 million mobile phones every year. Thus, the deal would prove of great help for Opera, while also offering Chinese users, who are already familiar with the company's mobile browsers, the possibility to enjoy a better experience from them.