Japan
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
- Nintendo Co. plans to develop videogames for casual users, rather than simply pursue the type of advanced technology that may satisfy hard-core game fans but turn off less experienced users. Nintendo believes the videogame industry is in a state of crisis that needs to be addressed by appealing to a broader group of consumers. Nintendo's strategy with its next-generation game console, code-named "Revolution," contrasts with that of rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp., which are incorporating powerful microprocessors into their new game machines.
Semiconductors
- Elpida Memory, the Japanese memory chipmaker jointly owned by NEC and Hitachi, planned to invest ¥500 billion ($4.5 billion) to build one of the world's largest DRAM plants. The plant would begin producing around 10,000 300-millimeter wafers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips per month starting in late 2005, with output to rise to around 60,000 by 2007.
Korea
Semiconductors
- Hynix Semiconductor, steadily building on its rescue early last year, expected to make an operating profit of more than $1 billion this year on the upturn in the global memory chip industry. The world's third-largest memory chip maker reported operating profit was expected to reach W1.4 trillion ($1.2 billion) on sales of W5.3 trillion ($4.5 billion), with a further improvement to come in 2005.
Software
- South Korea's anti-trust watchdog conducted a probe of US software giant Microsoft's local affiliate for alleged fair trade violations. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said its "on-site investigation" began at the headquarters building of Microsoft Korea in southern Seoul and would last for a five days. The probe came after Daum Communications, a leading South Korean Internet portal, filed a W10 billion ($8.6 million) lawsuit against Microsoft for allegedly violating fair trade rules in April.
Telecommunications
- KT Corp. commercialized a home networking system that provides subscribers with advanced interconnectivity between home-entertainment equipment. The company's Home N service features television/video-on-demand functions, which enable users to save and replay television broadcasts in their preferred order, and a "home viewer" function, a wireless home security system providing real-time images from inside the home via mobile phones and other portable devices.
China
Internet
- Tencent Holdings expects to retain its leadership in the mainland's instant messaging service sector, but margins would continue to fall as development and marketing expenses rise. Tencent will use 65% of the proceeds from the share sale to buy firms in the wireless and interactive gaming sectors to enhance its offerings through its QQ messaging service.
Semiconductors
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) unveiled a deal to sell chips to top Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group, its biggest break yet into a country dominated by archrival Intel Corp. Lenovo has long exclusively used central processing units (CPUs) made by Intel, the world's biggest chip manufacturer, in its PCs. AMD was largely locked out of the branded PC business in China until last year, when it began a push to enter a market that has been a stronghold for Intel.
Telecommunications
- China Telecom expects to complete a long-planned acquisition of assets from its parent company on June 30, after its shareholders approved the purchase at an extraordinary general meeting. China Telecom is the listed arm of China's largest fixed-line telecommunications service provider. The parent company is transferring 10 of its provincial operations to the listed company in exchange for a cash payment of Rmb27.8 billion ($3.4 billion). To help pay for the acquisition, the listed company last month raised $1.5 billion through a placement of shares to institutional investors.
Taiwan
Hardware
- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronics parts and products, plans to issue global depositary receipts valued at NT$40.1 billion ($1.2 billion) and list a unit overseas to strengthen its global presence. At the company's annual general meeting, shareholders voted in favor of the plan to issue GDRs equivalent to as many as 300 million common shares, and to list unit Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., most likely in Hong Kong.
Mobile / Wireless
- Taiwan Cellular Corp (TCC) expected to replace Chunghwa Telecom as the island's largest mobile phone service provider after acquiring smaller rival MoBiTai Communications. As Taiwan's second-largest operator, TCC now has 7.5 million subscribers, including those of TransAsia Telecom, which it acquired in 2001. The company signed a memorandum of understanding to buy an initial 67% stake of MoBiTai Communications for around NT$2.5 billion ($73 million) from Teco Electric Machinery. The new MoBiTai board elected after the acquisition, expected later this year, would decide whether to sell the remaining 33% shares in 12 to 16 months. The deal is expected to make TCC the new market leader with over 8.2 million users, surpassing Chunghwa Telecom's 8 million.
Semiconductors
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company boasted record monthly sales of NT$21.7 billion ($650 million) in May on the back of increased demand. May sales were up 5.3% from April and 29.2% higher from a year ago. TSMC sales in the five months to May rose 39.9% year-on-year to NT$99.9 billion ($2.9 billion). At an investor conference on April 30, TSMC chairman Morris Chang said the company expected its wafer shipments to rise close to 10% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June.
- United Microelectronics Corp reported its May sales rose 31.21% year-on-year to NT$9.7 ($288 million). Sales in April totaled $9.2 billion. For the five months to May sales rose to $44.2 billion from $32.6 billion a year earlier. At an April 28 investor conference, UMC expected its average selling price in the second quarter to June to show a sequential increase of up to 5% in US dollar terms on the back of a rise of about 10% in wafer shipments.
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) has denied a media report in Taiwan that Infineon Technologies could stop outsourcing to the contract chipmaker, saying relations with the German firm were intact. According to the report, Infineon is considering suspending orders due to problems relating to the production of 0.11 micron memory chips. Recent developments at Infineon have led to concerns that SMIC could lose the chipmaker as a key client. In March, Infineon chief executive Ulrich Schumacher suddenly resigned. Schumacher favoured an "asset light" strategy that relied on contract chipmakers, such as SMIC, rather than costly internal capacity. On April 23, Infineon announced a $1 billion plan to expand into 12-inch wafer production at its facilities in Richmond, Virginia.
Singapore / Malaysia / Philippines / Indonesia
Mobile / Wireless
- Singapore's third-largest mobile phone operator StarHub is likely to list in July, raising proceeds of up to S$700 ($411 million), according to the Business Times. The report cited unnamed sources as saying Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS, managers for the float, submitted the listing application to regulatory authorities in April. StarHub, which also owns the city-state's sole cable television service provider, had said in the past a listing was on the cards but no specific date was given.
Hong Kong
Telecommunications
- Undersea-cable operator Reach and its parent companies, PCCW and Australia's Telstra are in talks with Reach's bankers on restructuring its syndicated loans. In April of last year, Telstra and PCCW agreed to inject $286 million into the Reach joint venture, funds that were used to help cut Reach's bank debt by $300 million to $1.2 billion. Reach does not have to make further principal payments until December 31, 2010. Both Telstra and PCCW have written off their entire investments in Reach. The joint venture has been fallen victim to a sharp downturn in demand and overcapacity in fiber-optic cable systems in the past few years. Reach reported a pretax loss of $215 million in 2003 compared with a pretax profit of $189 million in 2002.
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