Softbank Corp said on Wednesday that it and eBay Inc unit PayPal will form a joint venture to expand Japan's e-payments market by targeting users of Apple Inc's iPhone.

Softbank, which competes with bigger KDDI Corp in supplying Apple's popular smartphone in Japan, and PayPal will each invest 1 billion yen ($12.54 million) in the joint venture, Softbank President Masayoshi Son told reporters at a news conference.

($1 = 79.7750 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa)

(Reuters)