Parsons in New Delhi on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

New Delhi, Oct. 30: Time Warner and ABP Pvt Ltd, which publishes The Telegraph, have reached an understanding to launch the Indian edition of Fortune, the world’s leading business magazine.

Fortune India is expected to have a mix of global content and locally sourced news to reflect the integration of a newly reforming India with the world.

Vivek Shah, president of the Fortune/Money group, announced the new publication at a lunch hosted today by Aveek Sarkar, chief editor of ABP Group. Dick Parsons, chairman of the AOL Time Warner group, was present.

Parsons, responsible for the financial turnaround of the Time Warner conglomerate in the four years since he came to the top job, said he was proud to be associated with the new venture.

The ABP Group, Parsons said, is the Indian equivalent of the Time Warner group in the US.

Fortune India, which is likely to be launched next spring, is the third country-specific edition after Fortune China that has been around for 10 years and Fortune Turkey, launched last month.

The Fortune magazine was founded in 1930 in the US. With a circulation of one million copies, it is acknowledged as a touchstone of the rich and powerful worldwide.

“Why now?’’ asked Shah, at the announcement of the launch of the Indian edition on the sidelines of the magazine’s annual global conclave in the capital.

He answered the question himself: “India has become a major player in today’s business landscape. The Indian market has risen to the top of every CEO’s agenda and is therefore the perfect venue for the leading global business magazine.”

ABP’s CEO D.D. Purkayastha echoed him. “India has the need for a high-quality, internationally renowned publication. Our market is quickly progressing and we are confident that Fortune’s innovative and forward-thinking content will successfully guide our business leaders.”

Fortune India, a monthly, will compete with Businessworld, the business weekly that is one of 11 publications from the ABP stable.

The group, which started with a four-page evening daily in 1922, also owns three 24-hour TV news channels, two leading book-publishing businesses as well as mobile and Internet properties.