Japan
Internet
- NTT Comware Corp. plans to market an information-sharing system that will make it possible for users to communicate by voice and image. The system is relatively easy to construct. A server is connected to a company's LAN and personal computers are outfitted with small cameras and headsets. Networked computers access required software via the server. Before calling a colleague, employees can confirm whether the person is at his or her computer based on operational status. In addition to videoconferencing, the system will accommodate keyboard-input real-time text exchanges. Users can share documents created in word-processing programs or spreadsheet programs.
Mobile / Wireless
- KDDI Corp. will enter negotiations to sell DDI Pocket Inc., the largest domestic PHS (personal handyphone system) operator, to Kyocera Corp. KDDI has an 80% stake in DDI Pocket, with Kyocera following at 13%. Kyocera is reportedly prepared to enter negotiations based on a plan to acquire KDDI's entire stake in DDI Pocket. The purchase price would be more than ¥170 billion ($1.4 billion). KDDI seeks to rely on cell phone income from data communications rather than voice-based calling plans. DDI Pocket's popular flat-fee unlimited data communications service threatened to encroach on KDDI's customer base.
- While wireless telecommunications rapidly spread, the shortage of available frequencies is emerging as a serious problem. The Japanese Telecommunications Council, an advisory body to the telecom minister, reported in late July that mobile phones alone will require more than five times as many frequencies in 10 years then present needed. With 80 million mobile phones currently in use, frequencies for them are already on extremely stressed. The expected introduction of super-fast fourth-generation mobile phones, which is entirely based on the internet, is certain to aggravate the situation.
Telecommunications
- Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. tripled its net profit forecast for the year, after selling ¥190 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of its shareholdings in cell-phone unit NTT DoCoMo Inc. back to the unit. NTT expects parent-only net profit to hit ¥251 billion ($2.1 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, up from the ¥74 billion ($630.4 million) it forecast earlier. NTT attributed the increase to the ¥190 billion ($1.6 billion) in special profit it expects to book from the sale of 698,000 DoCoMo shares. The sale came in response to a general share buyback offer from the cell-phone company, part of a larger DoCoMo plan to buy back as much as 2.5 million shares, or 5% of the total, to boost return on equity and lift returns to shareholders.
Korea
Hardware
- Interpion Semiconductor Co., a non-memory chip start-up, would begin mass production of Ground Fault Interrupter chips in November. The GFI chip works by monitoring the electricity flow in a circuit, protecting digital devices from serious electric shocks. Mass production of the chips is expected to contribute to its sales, given growing interest in electronic appliance power flow management.
- TriGem Computer Inc., a computer manufacturer, surged on forecasts that the personal computer industry is reviving. IDC announced that demand for notebooks has grown by almost 10% for the second straight quarter. TriGem also said it has received its highest number of orders ever from America.
Internet
- American International Group and its partner sealed a $500 million contract to take control of South Korea's Hanaro Telecom, but the deal may be challenged by Hanaro's major shareholder, LG Group. The purchase of a 39.6% stake in Hanaro by AIG and Newbridge Capital would help ease a financial crunch facing the country's second-largest broadband service provider. Shareholders have to approve the deal at an October 21 meeting, where LG, which had a 13% stake before the transaction, hopes to lead investors to vote against the transaction.
Mobile / Wireless
- LG Electronics Inc. sold a total of 13.4 million mobile handsets worldwide in the first seven months of this year, up 63% from the year-earlier period, thanks to an increase in exports to the United States and India. The company sold 2.5 million units in July alone, registering its highest-ever monthly performance. In late July, LG exported 590,000 units to India and is now in talks with its South Asian partner for additional shipments. About 1 million handset units are expected to be shipped to India in the second half of this year. Another encouraging sign is that export orders from the North American market are surging.
China
Internet
- Sohu.com, one of China's top three internet companies, appointed Legend Group's Mary Ma Xuezheng and Microsoft's Ya-Qin Zhang as directors. Ms. Ma, who is chief financial officer of Legend will join the company's audit committee. Mr. Zhang is managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, an arm of the world's biggest software maker. He was previously director of Sarnoff Corp's Multimedia Technology Laboratory.
Mobile / Wireless
- The Chinese government is considering policies to limit overproduction in its crowded mobile-phone industry, a step that could drive some domestic manufacturers out of the business and improve the fortunes of foreign makers in the world's largest cell phone market. Companies are closely watching for actions by the Ministry of Information Industry after an agency official recently told domestic cell phone makers it might restrict their ability to purchase and re-label phones from overseas companies. The practice, common among China's producers, has contributed to a massive four-month backlog of phones that has forced makers to cut prices and has squeezed profits.
Telecommunications
- China Telecom Corp. said its first-half net profit rose 9% from the year-earlier period as more subscribers signed up for its Little Smart wireless and broadband services. The firm posted net profit of Rmb9.3 billion ($1.12 billion) for the six months ended June 30, compared with Rmb8.5 billion ($1 billion) in the prior year. The company's total revenue rose 7.2% to Rmb39.5 billion ($4.8 billion) from Rmb36.9 billion ($4.5 billion).
Taiwan
Hardware
- Largan Precision Co., one of Taiwan's biggest makers of lenses for electronics gadgets, expects revenue to jump more than 24% this year, amid rapid growth in demand for digital cameras and for cellular phones that can take photographs. The company already has about 60% of the global market for lenses used in copiers and scanners, and its lenses are also used in DVD players and optical mice for computers. Eyeing especially strong demand for increasingly popular camera-equipped cell phones, Largan has set an official revenue target NT$2.3 billion ($67.4 million) this year, up from NT$1.9 billion ($54.3 million) last year.
Semiconductors
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s monthly revenues hit a record high in August as wafer shipments surged. The company also raised its guidance on third-quarter shipments. Revenue rose 35% in August to NT$18.3 billion ($536.1 million) from NT$13.5 billion ($397.1 million) in the same month last year. The company's revenue in August beat its previous monthly revenue record of NT$18.2 billion ($533.4 million), achieved in December 2000 at the height of the technology boom.
Hong Kong
Hardware
- Philips Electronics said Hong Kong was helping drive a key business revamp designed to boost its global sales. Its operations in Hong Kong were providing advanced products and technologies for the "Connected Planet" strategy it unveiled last month. The initiative involves the rollout of a wide range of broadband internet-ready audio, video and display products. The firm has put Hong Kong, the global headquarters for Philips' audio and mobile display business units, at the center of a worldwide supply chain tasked with delivering products that enable consumers to access digital audio, video and data anytime and anywhere.
Mobile / Wireless
- The battle between Hong Kong's biggest operators over the next generation of mobile data services is expected to heat up as CSL launches its 2.75G service in Asia. CSL, the international unit of Australia's Telstra Corp, will today launch EDGE(enhanced data rates for global evolution), which transmits data three times faster than general packet radio services (GPRS). The EDGE launch is important as it will test whether operators have found a more economical way of playing the third-generation (3G) game amid an uncertainty over data demand in Hong Kong. Its success - or failure - will also play a significant role in deciding the schedules of other 3G licensees in the launch their services.
- Sunday Communications posted higher than expected first-half result despite the impact of the SARS outbreak and a price war, which saw rivals selling packages for as low as HK$50 ($6.40). Hong Kong's smallest operator reported an interim profit of HK$13.4 million ($1.7 million), the first since it began six years ago. It made a loss of HK$66.5 million ($8.5 million) in the previous year. The price war in the Hong Kong mobile market has pushed down turnover for most operators this year, including Sunday, which suffered a 2.5% decline in revenue to HK$647.9 million ($83.1 million) in the first half.
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