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.