Japanese online mall operator Rakuten said on Wednesday it has agreed to set up a joint venture with China's top search engine Baidu to launch a virtual shopping mall targeting the world's largest online population, reported Reuters.
Rakuten, which has been trying to expand its operations overseas, said the joint venture would aim for the No. 1 spot among China's online shopping malls.
Baidu already has its own e-commerce platform called Youa, which competes with China's largest online retailer Taobao.
Rakuten said it would take a 51 percent stake in the venture, with Baidu to hold the rest. Total investment in the venture would be about 4.3 billion yen ($48.2 million) over three years, it said in a statement.
The Japanese company said the joint venture plans to start the service sometime late this year, pending approval from local authorities. The name of the service has not been decided.
Japanese bricks-and-mortar retailers like Seven & I Holdings, Aeon Co Ltd and Uniqlo are aggressively opening stores in China.
