Singtel has teamed up with its Thai associate AIS and South Korea's SK Telecom to invest in a new gaming venture for Asia.
The new venture will be launched later this year, said Singtel in a media release today.
The three companies will have equal shares in the joint venture, according to a report yesterday by Yonhap News Agency. The amount of their investment was not disclosed.
Singtel said the Series A investment in the joint venture will reinforce the companies' presence in the sector and develop new gaming-related revenue streams.
The joint venture will tie up with leading international game developers and leverage the partners' Korean and South-east Asian gaming and entertainment content offering. Its gaming platform services may include broadcasting e-sports competitions using virtual reality technology and making video content of professional e-sports players, according to the Yonhap report.
The joint venture aims to provide a global social network of gamers and operate businesses related to e-sports and media content, Yonhap added.
Singtel said the joint venture will benefit from its deep regional knowledge, digital and telco assets, SK Telecom's expertise in Korean entertainment and gaming, and AIS' experience in e-sports and digital content.
The investment also marks the next step in the partnership inked between Singtel and SK Telecom in February last year to develop the region's gaming and e-sports ecosystem. This came after Singtel launched its PVP Esports platform in 2018 to host a regional tournament and connect with Generation Z and millennial audiences.
Mr Arthur Lang, chief executive of Singtel's international group, said: "Gaming is growing in popularity as digital entertainment for our customers in the region. There are some 200 million gamers in our markets, and the numbers continue to grow.
"We've built a team of technology and gaming veterans to lead the charge as we take our next big step. By combining our strengths with SK Telecom and AIS, both pioneers in entertainment, e-sports and gaming, we can contribute significantly to the gaming scene - from offering local community engagement solutions to content and payment channels, which are often regarded by game developers as challenges to enter Asian markets."
According to Yonhap, the joint venture agreement was signed remotely by the company chief executives last Thursday following a video conference linking Seoul, Singapore and Bangkok, apparently due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Charles Huh, SK Telecom's vice-president and head of private placement group, said the company's gaming experience includes the establishment of T1, a global e-sports joint venture with Comcast Spectacor, and its mobile game distribution in South Korea.
"SK Telecom will help create a new level of gaming experience by providing popular Korean gaming content throughout the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
AIS said it has been a pioneer in the Thai e-sports space, hosting several successful tournaments.
"The games market in Thailand is showing remarkable growth. There are over 27 million active gamers across all platforms, with revenue in 2019 exceeding 23 billion baht, and expected to increase to 27 billion baht in 2020," said AIS managing director of new business Alistair David Johnston.
