Tom Online, the mobile value-added service (MVAS) provider, is to pay up to US$75 million for mobile phone content supplier Infomax. The company sees the purchase as a means of counterbalancing losses incurred by the introduction of tougher rules on methods of paying mobile phone bills, the Standard of Hong Kong reported. Tom Online said that, thanks to Infomax profit contributions, its third quarter earnings would stay flat. MVAS providers rely on the likes of China Mobile to bill customers for their services and, under new rules unveiled by the telecom giant, they will have to switch from a pay-per-use to a monthly fee model. This comes after mobile users complained of overly aggressive marketing by MVAS providers.
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