Taiwan’s MediaTek to buy 10 % of Spice Digtal for Rs88.4 crore

Taiwan's MediaTek Inc, the world's second largest chip designer for mobile phones yesterday agreed to buy a 10-per cent stake in Spice Digtal Ltd for Rs88.4 crore ($20 million), valuing the Noida-based mobile value-added services (MVAS) company at Rs883 crore ($200 million).

This is the latest move by MediaTek, which already has presence in India, to expand into the fast growing economy and its booming telecom market.

Through this investment, MediaTek said it is hoping to capitalise on its market potential and reinforce its strong operator relationship and leading position in India, SEA, Africa and Middle East.

India is estimated to have more than 700 million mobile subscribers, and MediaTek cited a recent study by Standard Chartered that said India's MVAS market will see over 100-per cent growth over five years and will constitute about 10 per cent of total telecom revenue for Indian operators.

Ming-Kai Tsai, chairman of MediaTek said, ''The mobile internet presents a wealth of opportunity for MediaTek and we believe India's IVR and mVAS market, where Spice Digital's core business lies, will continue to grow.''

''India is already one of the fastest growing large economies in the world and has the potential to become the world's largest economy," said Dr Bhupendra Kumar Modi, chairman of Spice Global.