TOKYO, Jan. 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)-Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. said Tuesday it has acquired a 14.9 percent equity stake in Qiwi Ltd., a provider of electronic payment services in Russia and 15 other countries.

Qiwi, based in Cyprus, is the largest online settlement service provider in Russia. It also operates in 15 other countries including China and Vietnam.

Mitsui said it expects Qiwi to expand services in emerging countries where other payment infrastructure such as debit and credit cards are not widely used.