Skype, the instant messaging and online voice-and-video-call service owned by Microsoft, will be relaunched in China under a new joint venture, following the end of a long-standing alliance in the market with Tom Group. Tom informed Skype users that Microsoft took over the online business with effect from November 24. “In China, Skype software is made available through a partnership to comply with established procedures to meet obligations under local laws,” Judd Harcombe, Manager of global market development at Skype said. “We are committed to making the transition seamless for our users and look forward to Tom’s continued assistance,” she added. Microsoft acquired Skype for USD8.5 billion on May 2011 and initially ran the service as a separate division. A sweeping reorganization by Microsoft in July has since put Skype under the company’s applications and services group, led by Shanghai-born Executive Vice President Lu Qi. Ricky Lai, Research Analyst at Guotai Junan International, said Skype under a new joint venture “would still find it tough to compete on the mainland against Tencent’s popular platforms QQ and WeChat and those of other local players”. Efforts by Skype to expand its online voice-and-video-call service in China have been hampered by tight industry regulation.