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Rakuten sets up Europe venture in Luxembourg

"We hope to be truly an international Internet company."

Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive and chairman of Rakuten

The largest Japanese online shopping mall operator, Rakuten Inc, said yesterday that it would launch a European hub in Luxembourg next month as its first step to expand in the region.

The firm hopes to target major markets such as Britain and France within a few years, said Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive and chairman of Rakuten.

"We hope to be truly an international Internet company, growing from a Japanese Internet firm," Mikitani told a press conference in Tokyo attended by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

The e-commerce subsidiary, Rakuten Europe, will have capital of £100 million (US$938,800).

Rakuten has been rapidly expanding its operation through mergers and acquisitions since it was established in 1997.

In the year to December 2006, the company announced sales of £203 billion.

The firm has been looking to expand in developed and emerging markets. In 2005, Rakuten bought New York-based Internet marketing agency LinkShare for US$425 million.

Rakuten has also charted a plan to expand in emerging markets in the coming years.

The Internet company boosted its name recognition in 2004 when it established the Rakuten Eagles, Japan's first new professional baseball club in 50 years.

Finance is a major industry in Luxembourg. Juncker is in Japan ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the Group of Seven industrial powers' finance chiefs.
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