INTERVIEW-NTT DoCoMo eyes tie-ups with overseas carriers-CEO
*Will seek capital alliances with overseas carriers
*Aims for e-money business to be profitable in 2-3 years
*Will closely watch iPhone sales in Japan
By Sachi Izumi and Noriyuki Hirata
TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T), Japan's top mobile phone operator, will seek capital tie-ups with content providers and overseas carriers as it targets growth outside a mature domestic market, its new chief said on Thursday.
Ryuji Yamada, who took over as president and chief executive last month, also told Reuters in an interview that the company aims to turn a profit from its electronic money payment business in the next two to three years by increasing the number of users.
As the number of cellphone subscribers in Japan approaches 108 million, or 85 percent of the population, DoCoMo and rivals KDDI Corp (9433.T) and Softbank Corp (9984.T) have been looking for other ways to expand besides adding subscribers.
"Our No. 1 priority is the Asia-Pacific region, then the Middle East and Africa," Yamada said, when asked about DoCoMo's acquisition plans. He added that carriers in Russia and Central Asia as well as content providers could also be targets.
"Deals involve other parties, and we can't immediately buy them just because we want to," he said. "We will actively wait so that we can move promptly when chances arise."
DoCoMo last month announced its latest overseas acquisition, that it will take a 30 percent stake in the Aktel brand mobile phone operator, Bangladesh's No. 3 carrier. That followed its investments in Malaysia's U Mobile and a stake increase in Philippine Long Distance Telephone (TEL.PS) last business year.
IPHONE
DoCoMo was once Japan's dominant mobile carrier but has been losing ground to rivals, and its market share has fallen below 50 percent.
In an effort to stop defections to other carriers, DoCoMo revamped its corporate logo and shifted its strategy to focus more on existing customers, cutting monthly fees to match rivals and beefing up its services and content.
It also absorbed its regional units this month to make its group operations more efficient.
Yamada also stressed the importance of an energetic workforce.
"The people at DoCoMo have big potential. My major task is to keep their passion along the way," he said.
Another threat for DoCoMo is Softbank's launch of Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone on July 11 as the much-hyped device is expected to attract many users to the third-ranked carrier. DoCoMo has also been in talks with Apple to sell iPhones and says it has not given up on the possibility.
Yamada noted the iPhone's lack of some functions such as TV-viewing and electronic money payment that many Japanese handsets offer, and said DoCoMo would closely watch sales of the iPhone.
DoCoMo has been offering a so-called "wallet" cellphone with the help of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) (8316.T) but the business has been in the red.
DoCoMo expects the number of subscribers to the service to jump 60 percent to 9 million by March 2009, and Yamada said the business will be profitable once that number reaches around 15 million.
Yamada had worked at fixed-line parent Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (9432.T) before becoming DoCoMo's vice president in charge of its corporate business in 2007.
(Reporting by Sachi Izumi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
((sachi.izumi@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1809; Reuters Messaging: sachi.izumi.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: DOCOMO/
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