MUMBAI: Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., publisher of the Times of India and The Economic Times, announced Thursday an agreement on a joint venture to publish The Wall Street Journal for India. The venture would publish the Journal five-days-a-week, edited for global Indian business readers and international business travelers, drawing on the newspaper’s global content.

Dow Jones would own 26 per cent of the new venture; Bennett, Coleman would own 74 per cent, a Dow Jones release says. The newspaper would be edited by Indian journalist Suman Dubey who is currently Dow Jones’ corporate representative in India. Further terms weren’t disclosed.
“I am thrilled that we will soon be able to offer Indian business readers access to the incomparable global business information of The Wall Street Journal on a timely basis,” Peter R Kann, chairman and CEO of Dow Jones, was quoted in the release as saying. “India is a vibrant and growing part of the global economy, and we look forward to playing an increased role in charting –and spurring– that growth. We’re especially pleased to be launching this venture in partnership with Bennett, Coleman and The Times Group, the leading Indian newspaper publishers, and one of the most distinguished players in publishing globally.”
Vineet Jain, managing director of the Times Group said: “The joint venture comes at a moment when India is poised to become a global player across a range of industries: from software outsourcing and entertainment, to pharmaceuticals, textiles and automobile components. As Indian companies, investors and consumers begin to think beyond the geographical boundaries, the need for global information and perspective will grow. We believe that the venture fits in perfectly with the emerging needs of the time. We respect Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal for the enviable standards they have set in publishing and media. We look forward to learning from each other.”
Karen Elliott House, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, added: “A Wall Street Journal for India will instantly become an important component of the global Journal network, including The Wall Street Journal in the US, The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Americas in Latin America. We look forward to serving readers and advertisers in India who need the world’s most vital business news every business day.”
Added Ravi Dhariwal, executive director of The Times Group: “The joint venture represents an opportunity to synergize and leverage on each other’s core competencies. The joint venture between the two seeks to deliver great value to the reader and the advertiser.”