Hong Kong based PCCW lined up $110 million of investment in its internet media and entertainment business from Foxconn Ventures, Singapore’s state investor Temasek Holdings and Hony Capital.

The three companies agreed to purchase 11 million preference shares in PCCW OTT, giving them an 18 per cent interest of the enlarged capital in the venture.

PCCW OTT, currently 100 per cent owned by PCCW, provides OTT internet media and entertainment services, including video streaming services under the Viu and Vuclip brands and a music streaming service under the MOOV brand.

In a statement, PCCW, the holding company of Hong Kong’s largest mobile operator HKT, said it will use funds from the investment to enhance its core value proposition of media content, including creating original productions and deploying the latest technologies to improve the customer experience.

Expanded content
PCCW Group MD Janice Lee said bringing the partners into the business will support its current plans, and strengthen its leading position in the market with the introduction of more locally relevant and original content.

Viu, launched in October 2015, had more than 12 million monthly active users as of end-June. The service operates on a two-sided business model of an ad-supported tier of service and a premium subscription tier with more features. Viu is available in 15 markets: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and the Middle East countries of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Vuclip provides web-based and short-form content video services in 19 markets, including India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other emerging markets.