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- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
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- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
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- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
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- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
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- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
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- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
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- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
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- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
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- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
Google to invest $1 bn in India's number two mobile operator
Google will invest up to $1 billion in India's second-largest mobile operator, Airtel, the companies said Friday, as the Android-maker looks to bolster its presence in the vast nation's booming telecoms market.
The global tech giant will buy a $700 million stake in billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel, giving it 1.28 percent ownership, the firms said in a joint statement.
Up to $300 million more will be invested in "mutually agreeable" commercial projects over the next five years, including exploring opportunities to "bring down the barriers of owning a smartphone" in the price-conscious market.
"We are proud to partner on a shared vision for expanding connectivity and ensuring equitable access to the internet for more Indians," Sundar Pichai, the Indian-born chief executive of Google parent Alphabet said in a statement.
Google already holds a 7.7-percent stake in Indian market leader Reliance Jio, owned by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, following a $4.5-billion investment in 2020.
The two companies collaborated on a 4G-enabled, low-cost smartphone that launched in November last year.
Jio has been locked in fierce competition with Airtel and British telecoms giant Vodafone's local unit Vi since it kicked off a price war in 2016 by offering dirt-cheap internet and free calls.
M.Davis--CPN