Ixla Goes Wild For Japanese Market

Australian-based digital photography and Internet products provider Ixla has expanded its stake in the Japanese market, after taking a 40 percent share of Japanese software publishing company Jungle with its existing cash reserves.

Jungle is already one of Ixla's Japanese distributors, with Ixla's Web Easy site design tool, branded as Home Page Seisakuou 2001 for the Japanese market, published by Jungle and launched in the market in February.

Jungle will raise more funding this year to finance the expansion of its business into areas such as e-commerce. Ixla intends to participate in this future funding.

This latest investment is a shift in Ixla's approach, which until now had focused on US markets. "Our attention this year will be on Asia and particularly Japan," said Ixla chief executive officer Soon Teh.

"The investment in Jungle will give us the ability to gain valuable market intelligence and to ensure we get maximum exposure in the retail outlets."

Ixla's move into Japan began earlier this year, when the company invested in Japan's largest independent cable ISP, Chiga Service Centre.

It followed this with the February announcement of a strategic alliance with the country's largest community of personalised Web sites, GeoCities Japan. Under the deal, GeoCities, which is a joint venture between Yahoo! and Softbank, will promote Web Easy/Home Page Seisakuou to its base of more than 350,000 subscribers.