NTT DoCoMo, KG Telecom's deal

NTT DoCoMo, KG Telecom's deal

TOKYO (AP): NTT DoCoMo is planning to invest about 6.9 billion
yen (US$56 million) to increase its stake in Taiwan cell phone
operator KG Telecommunications Co., Japan's top mobile carrier
said on Monday.

If the deal goes through, NTT DoCoMo will raise its stake in
KG Telecom to up to 21.43 percent from the current 20 percent.

NTT DoCoMo hopes to acquire newly issued shares through the
two subsidiaries it set up in Taiwan when it bought KG Telecom
stocks in November.

But other shareholders in KG Telecom have the option of buying
the new issues first, so NTT DoCoMo's stake may end up lower than
21.43 percent, said company spokesman Norio Hasegawa.

NTT DoCoMo has been on a buying spree of minority stakes in
partners in Asia, the United States and Europe, with hopes to
expand its business globally through its Net-linking cell phone
service, i-mode, that has proved a hit in Japan.

The company is also eying a future global market for its
third-generation cell phone service, slated to start in the Tokyo
area in October. The 3G technology can transmit information at up
to 40 times faster than current mobile phones.