Zapak Digital plans Brazil foray, set to cover BRIC countries

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Mumbai, May 1: Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd, a Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) venture, is planning to enter the Brazilian market by launching portals in the local language under its online gaming portal, Zapak.com. The company is in talks with local players for a joint venture route.

The company, which is in the mode of expanding operations into BRIC countries, is learnt to be in talks with local players in China and Russia apart from Brazil as part of entering into JVs in each countries. There are about 43 million internet users in Brazil.

Studies say that BRIC countries will witness a remarkable growth in the global entertainment and media industry in the next five years. According to a joint report by FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), BRIC will account for 24% of the growth in global entertainment and media during the next five years. The entertainment and media industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 13% in China, 8.3% in Russia and 7.7% in Brazil.

Rajesh Sawhney, president, Reliance Big Entertainment (RBEL), said, "BRIC countries will play a key role in the global entertainment and media industry in the coming future. Also, there is a tremendous increase in the number of internet users in BRIC countries. We are looking to exploit opportunities in those markets by launching gaming portals in local languages. The joint ventures are expected to be set up in the next six months." However, he refused to divulge further details. There are about 200 million internet users in China, and 40-50 million in Russia.