Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Airtel, has floated a new joint venture with Japanese internet firm SoftBank Corp for offering mobile internet services in India.

The joint venture, called Bharti Softbank Holdings Pte. Ltd., also marks the entry into the Group's telecom business of Kavin, one of Mr Sunil Mittal's twin sons. Mr Kavin Mittal is the Head of Strategy and New Product Development of the new company and leads the 50:50 joint venture from Bharti side. Mr Mittal's other son, Shravin, had last year joined Bharti Airtel's international operations.

Bharti Softbank (BSB) will emphasise on three key areas: Social media, gaming and e-commerce.

“India, which has emerged as the second largest mobile market in the world, stands at the cusp of another revolution – mobile internet,” said Mr Kavin Mittal.

“With a fast growing economy, a large youth population and access to cheaper and faster data, there is a unique opportunity to build services, especially in a country where the first screen for most is a mobile device,” he said.

The company did not give details on investment plans or roll out strategy. “We would not be in a position to share our investment plans at this point. However, both partners are committed to invest whatever it takes to build a world-class business,” said a spokesperson.

The venture, though registered in Singapore, will focus on the Indian market for now and will be completely independent of Bharti Airtel. “Our goal is to work with all of the mobile service providers in India including Airtel. We would love the opportunity to work with the Indian mobile industry to unlock the potential of mobile internet in India,” the spokesperson added.

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