South Korea’s GS Home Shopping said Wednesday that it had teamed up with Russia’s state-run Rostelecom to launch a new home shopping channel in Russia.

The two sides inked a $20 million deal in Moscow on Tuesday to launch the joint home shopping firm Big Universal Mall LCC. GS will invest 40 percent of the necessary capital while Rostelecom will provide the remaining funds.

By cooperating with Russia’s biggest national telecommunications company, GS Home Shopping said it was expecting to make a smooth entry into the Russian home shopping market, currently dominated by firms including Top Shop and Shopping Live. 

Rostelecom, the biggest nationalized telecommunications company in Europe, services more than 34 million households in Russia. The company is a leader in the country’s broadband and paid television market, with more than 8 million cable TV and IPTV subscribers.

Big Universal Mall LCC will focus on developing the necessary infrastructure -- including setting up the channel, payment system, call center and sourcing system -- and launch the channel by early 2016, according to GS Home Shopping.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)