Customers in Indonesia will soon have a faster, easier and much more entertaining open market experience thanks to SK Planet, Korea’s leading online and mobile service platform provider.

On Wednesday, the company announced the launch of its much-awaited open market Elevenia (www.elevenia.co.id) to make a foray into one of the fastest-growing countries in Southeast Asia.

Elevenia was created in partnership with Indonesia’s second-largest telecom operator, XL Axiata.

The name was coined from the words “eleven” and “dunia.” “Dunia” means “globe” in Indonesian, and the name reflects SK Planet’s hopes to open up a world where sellers and buyers are individually connected, the Seoul-based company said.

Elevenia was tailored on 11street, a popular online marketplace in Korea operated by SK Planet. The site garners an average 17 million visitors a month.

SK Planet signed a deal with XL Axiata in May 2013 and set up the joint venture XL Planet a couple of months later in preparation for launching Elevenia. The two partners each hold a 50 percent stake.

XL Planet started out with 45 billion won ($42 million) in initial capital and around 100 employees.

“SK Planet tapped into Indonesia’s e-commerce market early because of its high market potential and fast-growing Internet penetration. We will provide e-commerce services based on our 11street’s business expertise in mobile and online shopping,” said Lee Joon-sung, CEO of XL Planet.

SK Planet went on to say that Elevenia would allow consumers to buy goods on the Web as well as with their mobile phones. By partnering with local mobile carriers, it will enable users to shop on smartphones without data charges.

Further, for the first time in Indonesia, Elevenia will provide 24-hour customer services to offer the utmost convenience for users, the Korean company said.

A total of 550,000 products including fashion, cosmetics, kids’ products, electronic devices, household items, music and books will be offered on Elevenia.

Sellers will also benefit from a free training package offered from three venues in Jakarta ― Kuningan, Tanah Abang and Mangga Dua. The package includes consulting on marketing, how to sell products on the open market and free photography services.

Indonesia is viewed as a lucrative market for online commerce firms as the country’s Internet penetration reached 31 percent as of 2013. Mobile phone users accounted for more than two-thirds of the population.

Consequently, the nation’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to $25 billion in 2016 from $8 billion in 2013, according to Indonesian e-Commerce provider Vela Asia.

SK Planet was established in October 2011 as a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, the nation’s largest mobile carrier. Apart from 11street, it also boasts a strong reputation as a digital content provider. Its T Store, the nation’s largest mobile content market with 22 million subscribers, offers digital contents such as apps, games, films, TV programs and e-books.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)