▲ This image provided by Tencent Music Entertainment (STE) shows Zhoumi, its CEO and a member of K-pop boy group Super Junior-M. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- SM Entertainment said Thursday it has established a joint venture called STE with Tencent Music Entertainment Group.

 

SM established STE in Beijing and appointed Zhoumi, who has been active as a member of Super Junior-M, the Chinese unit of Super Junior, as its CEO.

 

"Following the memorandum of understanding signed by SM and TME in May and their agreement to establish a cooperation system, we set up the joint venture," SM said. "We will accelerate efforts to expand our influence in the Chinese entertainment market."

STE will oversee a project to develop a new Chinese idol group, with a goal of debuting the group within two to three years. It will also lead auditions for artist casting and local management after the group's debut in China.

 

The joint venture will also support activities by SM-affiliated Chinese-speaking artists, including NCT Dream's Renjun and WayV members YangYang and Xiaojun.

 

"We will combine SM's unparalleled strengths in intellectual property and content production with the characteristics of the Chinese-speaking market to present differentiated content and create meaningful results as a bridge between the two companies," Zhoumi said.

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