TOKYO—NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile carrier in Japan, said it terminated its talks with SK Telecom over a business alliance including an investment.
The carriers have carried out the bilateral talks, aimed at providing joint mobile service at the World Cup Soccer Games to be held from May to June in Japan and Korea, during the past six months. However, NTT DoCoMo on 19 December announced termination of the talks because both sides failed to reach an agreement “due to current market conditions and various other factors.”
Keiji Tachikawa, president of NTT DoCoMo, had repeatedly said the firm would like to set up financial relations with Asian carriers this year. Among the Asian countries, he especially wanted to reach an agreement with the South Korean carrier due to the World Cup Games. However, due to the collapse of the talks, NTT DoCoMo seems to be forced to reconsider its Asian strategies.
NTT DoCoMo has invested a total of 1.8 trillion yen (US$13.8 billion) into five carriers in five countries. Partly due to the recent gloomy market, market values of these invested firms have significantly declined, which forced NTT DoCoMo to report a special loss in September.
