A week in Japanese tech
Telecommunications
- NTT's two regional telephone companies will provide a low-cost Internet access service using wireless local area network technology. NTT East Corp. plans to launch a test service with a monthly fee of under Y500 in late May, while NTT West Corp. will start a commercial service at around Y1,000 per month in June.
- Power companies preparing to gradually integrate their telecommunications businesses. The companies have a combined fiber-optic network totaling more than 200,000km, rivaling that of NTT's combined 240,000km, and surpassing that of KDDI and Japan Telecom. Tokyo Telecommunication Network will first integrate its business with Poweredcom as early as the spring of 2003.
IT Services
- Itochu and Hitachi to partner in information systems development and building. Linking the Itochu group's 30,000 systems clients with Hitachi's approximately 50,000 R&D staff, the partners will set up seven to eight joint systems business groups in communications, finance, biotechnology and nano-technology, among others.
Internet
- Softbank firms to provide Yahoo broadband internet services at Mister Donut outlets via local area network stations for Internet telephony and other high-speed Net services. The number of Mister Donut shops equipped with the latest ADSL-based Internet terminals will be increased to 1,300. Mister Donut outlets are popular hangouts for high school and college students, who are considered prospective customers for Yahoo Japan's low-rate Yahoo BB ADSL services.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
- Sony Computer Entertainment to begin a broadband service based on its PlayStation 2 game console. Consumers wishing to use the service will have to buy a separate unit from a Net-access company, and the variety of game software that can be used will likely be limited in the near term. Initial shipments of the machine are projected at 150,000-200,000 units.
- Sony to strengthen collaboration among consumer electronics, game consoles and media content divisions. The firm will also accelerate the networking of four core products: televisions, personal computers, game consoles and cellular phones. It will gradually release PCs, TVs and audio equipment that can transmit music and video to other devices wirelessly.
Biotechnology
- Matsushita Electric Industrial has developed a process in which a biochip is used to evaluate candidate substances for new drugs. The new method can evaluate 100,000 substances a day, similar to the performance of tests done using a traditional approach. Matsushita plans to start joint demonstration testing with pharmaceuticals manufacturers in June of next year and aims to put the technique to practical use within two years.
Semiconductors
- Seven Japanese semiconductor firms to collaborate on next-generation steppers, a key part for chip fabrication. The firms, including Nikon, Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC, recently set up the EPL Forum with about 40 domestic and foreign materials and parts makers. They plan to share technology data for mass production by 2005.
- NEC separating its $5 billion semiconductor business into a subsidiary. NEC will cleave off the unit û which has 25,000 employees and had sales of $5.1 billion in the year ended March 31 û in November and take it public "as soon as possible," according to NEC President Koji Nishigaki.
Mobile / Wireless
- NTT DoCoMo will introduce a new billing system for "i-mode" subscribers to pay their monthly mobile bills at convenience stores using a bar code displayed on the screens of their mobile. The new system can be used at about 1,400 am/pm Japan stores nationwide by early July, several convenience stores operated by Lawson Inc. by mid-July, and at some 700 Lawson stores in Tokyo and Nagoya in September.
A week in Korean tech
Telecommunications
- LG Electronics will buy a 3% stake in KT Corp. for about $414.5 million, becoming the first corporate investor to declare its intention to buy part of the government's stake in the telecommunication company. LG will buy 1% of the government's KT shares and another 2% stake in bonds that are exchangeable for KT shares. Separately, the Samsung group and SK Telecom also plan to buy stakes in KT. Samsung's two financial arms, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Investment and Trust Management, would each buy 2.6 percent and 0.6 percent stakes of KT. SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier, is expected to buy around a five percent stake in KT.
Internet
- Hanaro and Digital Telecommunications to provide broadband Internet services and facilities in the Philippines. In a memorandum of understanding, Hanaro has agreed to provide management consulting on broadband Internet businesses, co-development of Internet-related services, including voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), wireless local loop (WLL) and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) to Digital, the second-largest telephone company in the Philippines.
A week in China tech
Hardware
- Apple Computer to expand its retail outlets in Hong Kong and China. In Hong Kong, the firm has four Apple Centers - areas within shops run by resellers carrying the company's full range of products. A fifth Apple Center would be added next month. In Beijing, the firm has only one Apple Center but locations are being considered for the new centers, to be run by resellers with some financial backing from Apple.
- Toshiba to build $56 million personal computer production center in Hangzhou, China. Toshiba will manufacture its latest high-end and midrange notebook models for export to Japan, the U.S. and Europe, aiming to boost annual output capacity to 2.4 million units by 2004. Starting in April 2003, the new firm will manufacture 750,000 PCs annually, with a staff of some 1,700 workers.
- Microsoft to manufacture Xbox game console in southern China with Flextronics. Under a deal estimated to be worth $1 billion a year, Singapore-based Flextronics will build the black-and-green gaming machines in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in Hungary.
Mobile / Wireless
- The parent of China Unicom to spend up to $74.4 million on mobile phone handsets as part of its bid to boost the development of code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular services. China United Telecommunications or Unicom Group will buy 170,000 mobile handsets through Unicom Guomai Communications, which will acquire them from CDMA suppliers.
- TCL Mobile to use Microsoft's mobile software standard in cellular phones and hand-held computers. TCL Mobile is the biggest domestic player in the world's No 1 mobile-phone market. Its version of the Windows-powered smart phone, which will have a bigger screen and more data capabilities than an ordinary handset, will probably be ready in the second quarter of next 2003.
Software
- Xian to become China's largest software processing centre. The centre will employ 100,000 software engineers and generate annual sales of $2.4 billion. More than 30 software enterprises are in the Xian Software Park, and are cooperating with counterparts in Japan and Taiwan in new product development.
A week in Taiwan tech
Internet
- Yahoo-Kimo battling eBay Taiwan for online shoppers. Yahoo-Kimo launched a large-scale marketing campaign on its auction site that features more than 240,000 products up for bid. The move comes just a week after eBay teamed up with two local portals û PC Home online and Microsoft MSN Taiwan û on May 1.
Hardware
- Texas Instruments to outsource manufacturing of up to half its advanced semiconductors in an effort to limit spending on new factories and equipment. TI has picked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and United Microelectronics, both of Taiwan, to make advanced logic chips. It will continue to make all standard logic chips at its own plants, along with most of its mixed signal and analog products.
A week in Singapore tech
Telecommunications
- StarHub and Singapore Cable Vision have signed a merger agreement, under which SCV will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of StarHub when the merger is completed in late June. SCV has an island-wide high-speed cable network and the merger will allow StarHub to link in its phone system to reach a larger number of households. The merged company expects to seek public listing next year.
Biotech
- Chugai Pharmaceutical to set up a joint genome research company in Singapore with Mitsui and a Japanese medical research firm. Initially focusing on cancer and possibly high cholesterol and high blood pressure in the future, the cooperative venture aims to develop medicines with particular effectiveness among Asians. This will be the first large genome research project set up by a major Japanese drug company in an Asian country outside of Japan.
Hardware
- Flextronics to manufacture Casio products such as digital cameras, watches, cellphones, electronic organizers and musical keyboards in a deal valued at $1.5 billion. Flextronics, a Singapore contract-electronics maker, will take over the work at facilities in China, Malaysia and Japan.
A week in Hong Kong tech
Internet
- Hong Kong ranks among the world's highest audiences for Internet radio, according to a recent Nielsen//NetRatings survey. 38 per cent of Hong Kong adults said they listened to online radio programs, placing Hong Kong second among the 12 countries surveyed, which included Australia, Brazil and nine European countries.
Telecommunications
- Asia Global Crossing will meet a $27.9 million interest payment, allowing it more time to seek fresh investment following the bankruptcy of its parent company Global Crossing Ltd. The pan-Asian undersea-cable-network operator said it would pay in full the interest on its $408 million of 13.375% senior notes maturing in 2010.
- I-Cable Communications aggressively expanding its broadband subscription base to offset falling monthly user fees. The pay-TV and broadband services provider has signed up a daily average of 500 broadband customers since launching its latest sales campaign on May 1.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
- Television Broadcasts has requested more time to find an investor for its planned Galaxy pay-television service. TVB wants until Feb. 28 to come up with financing for its $641 million pay-TV project and to fulfill its promise to the Hong Kong government to reduce its stake in the venture to less than 50% from its current 100% stake.
- En-Tranz to launch massive multi-player online game Shadowbane in China on separate servers. Players in the rest of Asia will play each other through servers hosted in Hong Kong. According to En-Tranz executives, the company seeks to avoid any conflict with the country's regulators, who monitor the Internet for restricted content such as political discussions.
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