DoCoMo's Spending Spree Continues In The Philippines

After the dismal failure of its overseas investments a few years ago, Japan's NTT DoCoMo swore off making big foreign investments -- but it's proving lately that old habits die hard. After saying it wanted to invest in a Chinese carrier, it bought a chunk of South Korea's KT Freetel, and now is reportedly planning an investment in Philippine operator PLDT. Thrown in for good measure as well was DoCoMo's earlier purchase of a majority stake in Tower Records Japan. The Japanese mobile market is one of the most mature in the world, and all these investments could signal a belief from DoCoMo that it's tapped out -- or that it's got a lot to lose from the new entrants into the market there. After it got burned so badly overseas -- and its strategy of licensing i-mode to foreign operators proved successful -- DoCoMo must see significant changes on the horizon in its home market to send its yen abroad again.