Internet
ò Rakuten Inc announced its plans to launch virtual shopping malls for the US, European and Chinese markets by the spring of 2008. The company said it will set up a U.S. unit in Boston shortly to develop systems and localise them for different regions. Rakuten said it will also boost its staffing levels at its subsidiaries in the UK as well as in other foreign countries.
Mobile/Wireless
ò NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile announced that they will launch the "emergency call position notification" system in April 2007. The system can automatically notify an emergency agent of information on the position of the caller when the phone number of the agency is dialed from a mobile phone. With the service, it will be mandatory that an operator notify the position of the caller when an emergency call is made from a mobile phone starting April 2007. The position is pinpointed with the use of GPS and the mobile phone network. The companies said they will begin the service from a limited number of areas and then increase the service areas.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Nintendo disclosed that it has raised its fiscal year group net profit outlook by 20 billion ($166.1 million) to 120 billion yen ($997 million), ascribing the change to the growing sales worldwide of its portable game player Nintendo DS. Nintendo said it looking for sales of 900 billion yen ($7.4 billion) for the year, up from a previous forecast 740 billion yen ($6.1 billion). For this fiscal year, the company raised it sales outlook for two models of the hand-held game machine, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite, to 23 million units from 20 million units. The company also maintained its projection of selling 6 million Wii consoles by the end of March, even as it raised its Wii software sales from 17 million to 21 million units.
Hardware
ò Matsushita Electric Industrial announced its decision to invest some 280 billion yen ($2.3 billion) to build the world's largest plasma display TV factory in western Japan. The company leads the global market for plasma display televisions with a 33 percent share. It announced that it would also go online in May 2009 and is expected to have a monthly output capacity of one million units. According to DisplaySearch, global shipments for flat televisions are expected to almost triple in 2010 from last year, to 146.9 million units. Plasma televisions account for about 20 percent of the global flat television market which is still dominated by LCD technology. Matsushita said it is looking to its flat television business to help raise revenues overseas and generate a 10 trillion yen ($83 billion) revenue target in the year to March 2010.
ò Canon announced its decision to make a new type of ultra-thin flat-panel TV on its own, a decision that goes with its acquisition of Toshiba Corp.'s stake in their joint venture to resolve a patent dispute. Industry sources said that Canon and Toshiba would issue a statement on their joint venture, SED Inc. The firms have been working on developing surface conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TVs, with production due to begin at the end of 2007. SED TVs are thinner and consume less energy than liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma TVs. Due to a patent dispute with Nano-Proprietary Inc., Canon and Toshiba had been considering delaying or scrapping their plan to build a US$1.7 billion plant. U.S. - based Nano-Proprietary filed a lawsuit against Canon in 2005, claiming that its license agreement with Canon covering its patented flat-panel technology did not extend to the venture with Toshiba.
Korea
Internet
ò Google and Samsung announced a partnership that will allow users easier access to the search engine's internet services from the South Korean electronic giant's mobile telephones. Under the offering, Samsung mobile telephones equipped with Google software applications will enable users worldwide to search the Internet, check email, and map routes. Google said the mobile telephones will be designed with a Google icon on the option menu to allow single click connection to Google search, G-mail, and maps.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Gravity announced that it is going to commence open beta testing for the French version of Ragnarok Online in French-speaking countries in Europe, including France this month. For this purpose, the company has put up Gravity EU SASU, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company for the purpose of providing online game services in anticipation and consideration of the potential growth of this region. France has been recognized over the years as the center of animation and the video game industry in Europe. Gravity also announced that it is planning to commence commercial service of Ragnarok Online in The Commonwealth of Independent States (or CIS) by the first quarter of 2007. The Company believes that this region, with a population of nearly 300 million in total, is well positioned for significant growth in the future. Gravity has acquired the company which offered the open beta testing of Ragnarok Online in Russia since July 2005, and is now GravityÆs subsidiary, with the company being renamed Gravity CIS, Inc. Based in Korea, Gravity is a developer and distributor of online games.
Hardware
ò According to Lehman Brothers, LG.Philips LCD should consider a partnership with Matsushita Electric Industrial by April as one of four options for the companyÆs fundraising. An analyst said that the tie-up would enable LG.Philips, the world's second-largest LCD maker, to compete against larger rival Samsung Electronics. Lehman said that the firm should do this as Royal Philips Electronics prepared to sell its 33 percent stake as early as July. Another option is for LG Philips to sell the stake held by Philips, valued at 3.3 trillion won to Toshiba Corp and Hitachi.
ò LG Electronics Inc. disclosed that it is set to achieve 4 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in global sales and plans to invest 3.1 trillion won ($3.3 billion) this year, in a bid to put itself up there with the world's top three electronics makers in terms of profit, market share and shareholder value. The company said that out of the 3.1 trillion won ($3.3 billion) the company has earmarked for investment, 1.4 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) will be allocated to facility investments and the remaining 1.7 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to research and development. For 2007, the companyÆs R&D investments will be focused on the mobile phone, flat-panel TV, navigation, air conditioning and home network sectors. LG generates about 85 percent of its profits from overseas markets, in which the United States takes the largest portion, at 25 percent. The company said it aims to earn $10 billion in the U.S. market this year with its third-generation mobile phones, liquid crystal display TVs, plasma display panel TVs and drum-type washing machines and three-door refrigerators.
ò Samsung Electronics registered an 8.5 percent decline in its fourth-quarter net profit of 2006 from a year ago because of falling flat panel prices and intense competition in mobile phones, despite a relatively good performance by its semiconductor division. Samsung said it earned 2.3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in the October-December period, down from 2.5 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in the same period a year ago. Throughout last year, its net profits topped 7.9 trillion won ($8.4 billion), even as its turnover totaled 15.7 trillion won ($16.7 billion) in that quarter, a record for a quarter. Last year, sales amounted to 59 trillion won ($62.8 billion), beating its previous record of 57.6 trillion won ($61.3 billion) in 2004. The company said it posted a 31 percent rise in its fourth quarter operating profit in the semiconductor division from a year ago to 1.7 trillion won ($1.8 billion) on the back of a 13 percent rise in personal computer shipments, while its mobile division went down by 34 percent in a year-to-year comparison. It is targeting some 8.1 trillion won ($8.3 million) in capital spending for this year, down 19 percent from 2006, with R&D investments expected to hit 6.1 trillion won ($6.5 billion), up 10 percent from last year.
Ventures/Investments
ò SkyLake Incuvest, a venture capitalist firm, led by former Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae-je, announced it has selected Olaworks for its first incubating project. The firm said it would invest $4 million into the photo-based search engine, together with other foreign partners, including Intel Capital and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR). A company official said that SkyLake will continue to look for start-ups at an infant stage with growth potential and incubate them rather than venture firms ready for an initial public offering (IPO). Chin was president of Samsung Electronics in 2001 before becoming the information and communication minister.
China
Internet
ò England's Chelsea Football Club announced the formal launching of its official Chinese website in cooperation with web portal Sina.com. Under the agreement, CFC and Sina.com will cooperate on the operation, marketing and business development of Chelsea's Chinese website, which will feature text, graphics and match details of Chelsea for Chinese football fans. With the deal, Sina.com will now be the allowed the use of the logo of CFC for its marketing activities.
ò According to the China Internet Survey Report, the number of internet bloggers in China reached 20.8 million at the end of last year. Within this figure, more than million web-users regularly post their writings. In 2006, blogs in China registered some 101 million viewers. According to the report of the China Internet Association, web logs have become a trend in Internet information communications, with public figures as well as ordinary people participating in them. At the end of last year, China had 132 million online users, up 19 percent from the previous year.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Group Company Limited, one of China's leading operators of digital media networks used in subway systems, announced the closing of its Series B round of funding from four investors, led by Oak Investment Partners and included Sierra Ventures, NIF SMBC Ventures and Gobi Partners. Gobi, NTT DoCoMo and Dentsu participated in DMG's Series A round in early 2005. DMG says it pioneered the application of IT in out-of-home media and developed a patented PIDS (Passenger Information and Direction System) that can provide service information and entertainment to enhance the overall passenger experience within subway systems. DMG at present maintains offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Chongqing. There are over 13,000 flat panel displays in DMG's network reaching more than 28 million people per week. The network is expected to double in two years with its expansion in Asian cities.
ò A subsidiary for Chinese game operator The9 announced that it has secured an agreement with game publisher Gravity for an exclusive license to operate Ragnarok Online 2, a massively multiplayer online role playing game in mainland China. The agreement stipulates a four-year contract from the date of commercial launch of the game in mainland China. The agreement also carries an additional exclusive license from Gravity to operate the Emil Chronicle Online, also an MMORPG, in mainland China for a period of three years from the commercial launch of the game.
Mobile/Wireless
ò Shanghai Unicom announced the launching of a Short Message Treasure service, an offering aimed at helping CDMA users filter unwanted short messages. With the offering, CDMA users can easily screen unwanted messages from their mobile phones through a whitelisting or blacklisting, or setting both. With the system, users can only receive messages sent by people on the whitelist and refuse messages sent by people in the blacklist. Users can also use a keyword to filter and refuse other unwanted short messages. Shanghai Unicom said the fee for this Short Message Treasure is 5 yuan (US$0.6) per month.
ò China Unicom announced its purchase of 2 million low-end CDMA mobile phones, making it the largest ever purchase that the company has ever made with regard to low-end mobile phones. The seven manufacturers who sold the mobile phones are Motorola, Nokia, Samsumg, LG, Huawei, ZET and Hisense. A company spokesperson said the mobile phones will be sold at about 400 yuan (US$51) each, and will mainly target users in the rural areas and some low-income groups in the urban areas. China Unicom said that, even with the low price, the mobile phones feature strong signal reception capacity and ultra-long standby time.
Hardware
ò In a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, TCL Corp, ChinaÆs biggest TV-maker, issued an official statement indicating that the company predicted a net loss last year. The move is seen as pushing it nearer to market suspension. Regulations specify that if the group makes a full-year net loss a consecutive third year, it can be forced to de-list after an additional optional one-year grace period. TCL's first half net loss last year more than doubled to Rmb738 million ($94.6 million) from a year earlier. The statement also denied a report saying that the firm had rights to key 3G networking technologies seen as benefiting 3G development in the country. It clarified that it only possessed the capability to produce 3G technologies.
Taiwan
Mobile/Wireless
ò Alvarion Ltd. the world's leading provider of wireless broadband and WiMAX solutions, and Accton Technology Corporation, the Asian provider of networking and communications equipment, announced that they have formed Accton Wireless Broadband (AWB). The new company will be based in Taiwan to develop mass-market WiMAX consumer electronic devices in order to complement Alvarion's WiMAX offerings while facilitating the transition of WiMAX and Personal Broadband services to worldwide availability.
Hong Kong
Telecommunications
ò Hutchison Whampoa announced that it will decide to select a preferred bidder for Hutchison Essar before the Lunar New Year holiday. The company is selling a controlling stake in its Indian mobile-telephone unit that is valued at as much as $18 billion. Hutchison revealed that it has already has four interested parties so far from domestic and foreign players that have placed the value of the Indian unit, Hutchison Essar, at between $14 billion and $18 billion. Industry sources said that no formal bids have been submitted yet. Hutchison subsidiary Hutchison Telecommunications International owns 67 percent of Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-largest mobile-telephone company by subscribers. IndiaÆs Essar Group holds the remainder. Sources said that Essar was arranging debt financing of more than $10 billion that would take the form of a high-yield bond, sold in the international market, and a loan. In a separate development, Reliance Communications, the second-largest mobile-telephone operator in India, was arranging a bridge loan of about $15 billion that would then be taken out with a combined high-yield bond and loan. A separate report noted that Malaysia's Maxi Communications has dropped out of the bidding.
Internet
ò PacificNet, a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), mobile internet, e-commerce, entertainment and gaming technology in China, announced that it has been retained by Sony Corporation Hong Kong to provide e-commerce solutions. Terms and details were not released for competitive reasons. As part of the Sony Style portal, the Sony Style Studio allows members to share digital content such as images, photos and video with other members and share the experience of producing professional looking digital content. Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Limited oversees liaison activities in the Asia Pacific region and is the third overseas company established by Sony Corporation. PacificNet's clients include leading telecom companies, banks, insurance, travel, marketing and business services companies and telecom consumers in Greater China.
Singapore/Malaysia/Philippines/Indonesia
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò The Singapore government announced its plans to develop the digital media industry and said it is expected to contribute S$10 billion ($6.4 billion) to the economy and generate some 10,000 new jobs by 2015. SingaporeÆs Media Development Authority presented a scheme to support and encourage research and development in "interactive digital media services", or IDM services, by the private sector and institutions of higher learning. According to the city-stateÆs second minister for information, communication and the arts, animation, games, special effects and digital mobile broadcasting services are among some of the key research areas the government agency has identified. Singapore said it is aiming to set up a network of local and international research organizations and develop the city-state as a location to test new digital media technologies.
Mobile/Wireless
ò The Taiwan-based manufacturer Dopod International Corporation announced its move to penetrate the high-end market in the Philippines. After launching its products in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and India, Dopod hopes to penetrate the Philippine market with its local partner-distributor SiS Technologies Phils. Aside from music players, the Dopod phone 838Pro is equipped with a quadband GSM, tri-band WCDMA, high speed WiFi and has a world card mobile business management that allows you to scan, transmit and transfer documents.
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