Wanda, IBM sign China cloud computing deal

SHANGHAI - IBM and China’s Wanda Internet Technology Group have joined forces to bring more public cloud services to China. Through a new joint venture, announced yesterday, Chinese firms will have access to IBM cloud infrastructure and its artificial intelligence platform, Watson, as well as technologies such as blockchain and the internet of things.

China Daily reported that the venture, called Wanda Cloud Company, is slated to go live next year. It will be responsible for distributing, building and operating the IBM cloud platform in China using Wanda-owned data centres.

Details remain unclear about the profit-sharing structure or the size of the deal signed by IBM CEO, Ginni Rometty, and Wanda Group Chairman, Wang Jianlin, the report said.

It will be the first time that IBM has introduced its business AI platform Watson to China, with more Watson-based interactive services expected to follow, according to the company's statement.

The move follows the cloud service provider's earlier foray into China in partnership with 21Vianet, announced two years ago.

Wanda, known as China's property and entertainment conglomerate, has been aiming to develop big data, cloud computing and internet finance. The company invested RMB 3 billion building a cloud-computing centre in Chengdu in 2015. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).