Japan
Mobile/Wireless
- NTT DoCoMo announced its new product, a new line of 3G mobile phones equipped with a walkie-talkie feature. The new series of phones will allow users to speak simultaneously with up to 19 other people by identifying those to be included in the call, a feature that simply asks the user to press a button, rather than dialing individual telephone numbers. The service is dubbed "push-to-talk" and is priced at 1,050 yen ($9). The offering is the first of its kind in the country, although mobile operators in the US and Europe have offered the same service already. The phones are compatible with Felica smart card and Toruca technology.
- A survey made by Nihon Keizai Shimbun shows that cellular phone users are fast becoming important customers for online merchants. The study shows that sales by internet stores via cell phone exhibited a 46.6 percent surge on the year in fiscal 2004. Analyzed by the survey were a total of 231 retailers whose total sales climbed 5.1 percent to 1.6 trillion yen ($13.7 billion). Nearly 20 percent of these sales were attributed to those made online, with about 10 percent attributed to people using cell phone Internet access. Among these shoppers, the top-selling items were clothing, accessories and perfumes. The survey shows that accesses to site posted 61.4 percent growth, with sharper growth expected following the launch of digital television broadcasting for cell phones next spring.
Telecommunications
- KDDI Corp. announced a strong growth in its net profit for the July-September quarter, ascribing the growth to a sharp decline in special losses and the strength of its "au" mobile phone service operations. The second-largest telecommunications company in the country said its group net profit went up to 48.8 billion yen ($420.7 million) for the quarter from 26.1 billion yen ($225 million). KDDI said its group revenue rose to 754.5 billion yen ($6.5 billion) from 751.2 billion yen ($6.4 billion) a year earlier, while its group operating profit climbed to 78.8 billion yen ($679.4 million) from 72.8 billion yen ($627.7 million). For the year through March, the company is maintaining its earnings forecasts. It continues to expect a group net profit of 187 billion yen ($1.6 billion) on revenue of 2.9 trillion yen ($25 billion).
Hardware
- Seven-Eleven Japan Co., with about 11,000 outlets throughout Japan, announced that it will start selling iPod portable audio players of Apple Computer. The tax-inclusive prices of the products will range from 10,980 yen ($95) to 27,800 yen ($240). Under this marketing scheme, customers can look at sample products at the iPod corners in the outlets. Customers can then order an iPod at the checkout counter and wait two to three days for delivery at the outlet. Seven-Eleven will also be selling prepaid cards for the iTunes Music Store, Apple's online music downloading service.
- Oki Data announced its establishment of a printer sales company in South Korea, the world's 10th largest market for business-use printers. The new company is capitalized at W1 billion ($943,000) and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oki Data. It will aim for sales of W15 billion ($14.1 million). Oki Data said it plans to boost its Chinese operations in business-use printers. The company put up a software development firm in Dalian and said it will open a sales company in Beijing this coming spring. The company revealed its program to develop software for monochrome LED printers to be sold in China and other places. It has also plans to develop software for color printers and multifunction units for marketing in Asia and the Pacific region.
Software
- Sony disclosed its plans to tap India's technology resources and skills to develop more software for products and at the same time use its popular content to expand its Indian market share. The company has a software center in Bangalore that develops technologies for home networks, digital media platforms and Internet-enabled consumer electronic devices. Sony also operates India's No. 2 cable network, Sony Entertainment Television, which broadcasts three channels in Hindi-language entertainment. At present, Sony is observed as lagging behind its Korean rivals, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, and Chinese Haier, which have made heavy investments in manufacturing and research and development facilities in India.
- Nippon Telegraph and Telegraph Corp. announced the development of program production software designed to facilitate server-type TV broadcasting. The next-generation system, to be released for commercial use in 2007, will allow an accumulation in number of programs in a receiver, which would enable viewers to retrieve a particular scene of any program anytime. The system is capable of showing text, video images and other related information. Retrieval of any scene is automated by the software. NTT is currently testing the performance of the software with different broadcasters.
Korea
Internet
- KT announced the launch of testbed for portable internet, with the offering demonstrated before officials of the country's Ministry of Information and Communication and Samsung Electronics. In the demo, KT showcased customized multimedia contents for users, video conferencing, Live TV and location information service using 3D maps. In a separate report, KTF announced its entry into a strategic alliance with Sony Computer Entertainment Korea (SCEK), with the aim of selling PSP (Play Station Portable) in its sales network and offering its music portal service, Dosirak, for PSP users. The two companies look to the strategic partnership as bringing about synergy for both of them in the areas of next-generation wireless entertainment service, joint marketing and distribution. KTF and SCEK are developing are reported to be jointly developing technologies to provide Dosirak service on PSP.
- Daum Communications announced its new offering in the form of a new CPC (Cost Per Click) search ad and service. Called Clicks Powersite, the new model will be an addition to their existing CPC model. The company also introduced its Payback System, which returns up to 40 percent of advertising costs to advertisers for ads that are clicked on often. In a separate report, Daum Communications said it would lend an additional $8 million to its affiliate Daum International to be used as working capital.
- Gravity, an online game developer and distributor, revealed an internal investigation into certain irregular activities involving the company and its licensees. The company was recently informed by EZER Inc. of Japan that certain royalty payments paid to Gravity from licensees of Ragnarok Online, the company's principal product, were not accounted for in its financial statements. EZER Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Groove Inc. that is affiliated with Softbank Corp., recently acquired majority shares of the company. The former chairman of Gravity acknowledged that approximately $6 million were diverted over the past few years. The official was reported to have voluntarily paid $7.3 million, which represents the funds said to have been diverted together with assumed interest computed at a rate of 6 percent per annum.
- CJ Internet announced the revamping of its game portal Netmarble, with the new Netmarble web site giving faster and better user interface. With the changes, the speed of CJ has improved while a "channeling system" has been set up so that similar games and contents can be grouped together, allowing hassle-free access for users. The company said the main reason for the face lift was aimed at making the portal more user-friendly and improving also online security measures.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
- Packaged video games are observed making a comeback in South Korea, with Sony's PSP seen as responsible for the rebound. Game vendors claim PSP owners tend to buy more titles than users of other game consoles. The fancy appearance and relatively high price of PSP, normally sold at W330,000 ($311) for a full set, PSP users, according to statistics, are generally older and wealthier than the average gamers. According to a survey, nearly 30 percent of PSP users said they have bought more than four game titles so far, this despite the fact that it has only been about five months since PSP was first introduced to South Korea.
- THQ, US-based game developer, said it is looking for top Korean talents that the firm can work with to develop games for the next-generation game consoles. The company official noted that THQ does not have a partner in Asia. THQ is interested in South Korean market, according to the official who was attending the "Buy Contents Korea" Conference held by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, because it has a rich experience in two-and three-dimensional game design. The THQ official disclosed that a meeting with local game developer Semologic Korea Inc. has already been made with the aim of exploring the possibility of ties between the two companies. In a separate report, THQ said the video game version of the mega-hit animation, The Incredibles, will likely be produced in Korea, with THQ sending a top official to discuss the plan with two Korean developers, Webzen and Gravity. This move is seen as a sign of the continuing interest of many US firms on the potentials of entertainment firms in South Korea.
Mobile/Wireless
- DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) phones and game phones are observed moving in the opposite direction, with the former experiencing robust sales while the former seems to demonstrate a slowing down. Samsung Electronics' S-DMB phones are reported to be selling well, with its four models selling over a total of 250,000 units. SK Teletech also sold 150,000 of its IMB1000 model, while LG Electronics registered a growth in its DMP phone sales, with 50,000 units sold. Samsung has decided to have DMB as a standard function in all of its new phones next year. It is estimated that DMB will soon be as widespread as the camera function. LG Electronics and Pantech & Curitel as expected to reflect this market trend by releasing different models of DMB phones. The slowing down of sales of game phones are seen as the reason for the delay in the release of game phones. The weak game phone sales are expected to have a negative impact on telecom operators and game providers, with game phones necessary for the growth of advanced game contents.
Hardware
- LG Electronics announced a 94.5 percent growth in its third-quarter operating profit from the previous three months to W279.9 billion ($264 million), beating the market forecasts of about W206.2 billion ($194.5 million) for the three months to September. The country's largest home appliance maker reported sales of W6 trillion ($5.6 billion), a 7.2 percent increase from the previous quarter but a 1.5 percent decline from a year earlier. Its net profit was reported up 4.2 percent quarter on quarter to W156.9 billion ($148 million), a figure that is a 48.5 percent decline year-on-year.
China
Internet
- China Telecom and China Netcom Group are said to be speeding up their calendars in conducting IPTV commercial trials in China's main cities. In its update, China Telecom said the number of cities involved as it works with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) in the commercial trials will be increased to 23. By the end of this month, China Telecom will conduct commercial trials in Sichuan and Fujian. China Netcom also disclosed that it will be cooperating with SMG to increase number of cities under IPTV trials to 20.
- Alibaba.com announced the infusion of an additional Rmb1 billion ($123.6 million) into its subsidiary taobao.com. With the fund, Alibaba will provide free online auction services for taobao.com's Chinese customers for the next three years. Taobao said that the aim of providing free auction services is not only to compete with its rival eBay EachNet and to raise the bar for new entrants like dangdang.com and qq.com but also to boost its market share. At present, eBay charges fees for its online auction services and counts 68 million sellers worldwide.
- Cblinkx.tv, a Chinese multimedia search engine, was launched, with observers noting it as an indicator of a new development in the search engine market. Cblinkx.tv allows users to search for TV and radio news clips and video content on web blogs, and watch them online. Cblinkx.tv is owned by Blinkx Inc., a privately held company based in San Francisco and London. The company links to TV stations and Internet media companies globally and also is a supplier of online broadcast services.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
- Focus Media Holdings announced that it has acquired 100 percent equity of Shanghai Framedia Advertising Development Ltd. (Framedia), a move that will allow Focus Media to provide integrated outdoor advertising services to its clients. Under the agreement, Focus Media is expected to make an aggregate potential payment of $183 million, with $39.6 million in cash and $55.4 million in the form of Focus Media common stock and an additional potential future payment of up to $88 million in Focus Media common stock, depending upon Framedia achieving some earnings targets in 2006. Framedia, based in Beijing, is a leading provider of community media in China. The company has a customer base of over 300 leading international and domestic companies, such as Audi, Lenovo, Microsoft, Omega, Sony and Samsung.
Mobile/Wireless
- ZTE Corp announced the signing of a deal with Hutchison Whampoa that will allow the mainland's telecommunications equipment vendor to supply the 3G operator with as many as three models of its 3G handsets. According to a ZTE source, the agreement arrived at was for the supply of 3G handsets exclusively to Hutchison 3G Italia and 3G UK. ZTE said it is aiming to boost its handset production to between 15 million and 18 million units this year. Last year, the company had more than 10 million handsets reported. ZTE has already been supplying its 3G personal-computer data card to Hutchison 3G Italia, which disclosed already its plans to go public soon. Other plans of ZTE is to supply CDMA handsets to HTIL's Thailand and Vietnam units as well as network equipment and handsets to HTIL Ghana.
- China Mobile posted a 27.6 percent increase in its nine-month net profit to Rmb36.8 billion ($4.5 billion). The firm said its third-quarter net profit was Rmb12.8 billion ($1.5 billion).
Software
- Oracle revealed its China plan that involves the expansion in its number of offices nationwide and the setting up of huge information technology research and development infrastructure in key cities. The expansion is seen as Oracle's way of tapping the Chinese software market, considered to be one of the fastest developing sectors in the country. Oracle has more than 6,000 Chinese corporate customers; it ascribes 50 percent of its domestic revenues from sales to Chinese companies. In Shanghai, Oracle entered into an agreement with Shui On Land to adopt its software platform for the property developer's Knowledge and Innovation Community residential and office complex in Yangpu District. Part of Oracle's China plans is the building of technology solutions center for developing digital community-related technologies.
Hardware
- TCL Corp. disclosed a 22 percent increase from a year earlier in sales of its television sets in domestic and overseas markets in September. Sales at TCL Multimedia Holding Ltd. climbed to 2.5 million sets in September. The company sold more than 60,000 personal computers last month, a 17.3 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd., one of China's largest mobile-phone makers, reported a 39.7 percent decline in handset sales in China last month to 386,000 from year ago. Overseas sales saw a 1.3 percent drop to 619,000 units.
- Dell announced that its mainstream desktops and laptops will be sold together with a package of online and games and said it will provide a free game time for customers in the Chinese market. Dell has chosen NetEase.com Inc. as its sole partner in China, a partnership that explains why two of the games to be packaged are NetEase's games - Journey to the West Online II and Fantasy Journey to the West. The two games are currently ranked first and third in the Chinese online gaming market. Dell and NetEase have also agreed to provide 1,000 hours of free game time to any customer buying Dell computer in China within the next three months.
Telecommunications
- China Telecom announced a 1.5 percent decline quarter over quarter to Rmb42.7 billion ($5.2 billion) in revenue for the third-quarter. By the end of September, China Telecom's number of telephone users totaled 210 million, 4.4 million more than that of the previous quarter. The firm's PHS attracted an additional 2.6 million users, which account for 65 percent of the new subscribers.
Ventures/Investments
- Sharp Corp. and its partner Panda Electronics Group Co. said Sharp will transform an audiovisual products joint venture in China's Jiangsu Province into a wholly owned company. Under the new arrangement, Panda will release its stake in Nanjing Sharp Electronics Co. and focus its business resources on its mainstay telecommunications equipment business. This arrangement will allow Sharp to gain more flexibility over its operations in China by taking full control of the firm. Sharp's stake in Nanjing Sharp Electronics was 70 percent, while Panda's reached 30 percent. The joint venture made a capital increase of US$60 million at the end of September that had Sharp buying all of the newly issued shares. The purchase boosted Sharp's interest to 91.2 percent. Sharp will be purchasing Panda's remaining 8.7 percent stake for US$10.1 million.
Taiwan
Internet
- Taiwan had 3.8 million home/business subscribers of fixed-line broadband Internet services at the end of June this year, according to the quarterly survey conducted by ACI-IDEA-Find, the Focus on Internet News & Data and Innovation Diffusion Enabler & Activator of Advanced e-Commerce Institute. At the end of June, there were 6.8 million home/business subscribers of mobile Internet services through GPRS, WAP, PHS and 3G modes. Taiwan had an estimated 9.4 million of Internet users at the end of June, which is seen as growing by 1.6 percent from a quarter earlier. The figure represents about 41 percent of the country's population.
Semiconductors
- Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. announced its plans to build four massive new factories in Taiwan over the next six years, in its bid to become one of the world's leading DRAM suppliers. The memory chip maker said more consumer electronics products will use DRAM, such as game machines and 3G mobile phones. The company already has two big plants operating in Taiwan. Even with chip factories normally costing between $2.2 billion to $3 billion, they are considered important in driving down the cost of mass-produced chips. Powerchip has already been reported looking for land for its third factory although it has not released yet any information about its construction timeline.
Hong Kong
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
- PCCW's NOW Broadband announced a new offering in the form of a single-channel monthly subscription offer of HK$5 ($0.6) as a way of drawing customers to it and away from its rivals. The promotion is different from its previous promotions as subscribers this time do need to be even signed up to the PCCW broadband service that has a HK$200 ($25.7) tag per month. With NOW securing exclusive rights to ESPN and Star Sports, consumers from other pay-television operators have complained that because of their previous commitments they were not able to join NOW. The firm has removed the mandatory bundling of NOW and its broadband service, ascribing the move to its need to bring in more users.
- I-Cable Communications, announced the setting up of its own Hollywood movie channel, a move that is seen as its way of competing against rival PCCW's NOW Broadband. i-Cable has been carrying HBO and Cinemax but is losing them by the middle of next year; NOW Broadband TV, however, has secured exclusive rights to HBO, Cinemax and Star Movies. NOW has also invested in Chinese-language movie production, which had received positive response from overseas market. Earlier this year, i-Cable disclosed that it would be investing HK$30 million ($3.8 million) in movie production.
- Television Broadcasts (TVB) announced a 5 percent increase in its standard advertising rate next year. The company disclosed that this increase would apply only to those advertisers who did not commit to advance schemes; with advertisers spending 7 percent more than this year would be subject to only a 10 percent rate increase. The company also said that for those who commit to the same level of spending this year, the rate would be up by more than 27 percent. Media analysts say the next year's rate card is unacceptable and are advising TVB to offer a retention discount. Merrill Lynch stated that the rate plan is an indication of the slowing down of the advertising market in the second half of this year.
Mobile/Wireless
- Comba Telecom System Holdings (Comba), a firm that provides the infrastructure and solutions to mobile operators, announced the opening of a sales office in India, hoping that the emerging market will contribute to its growth. The supplier of wireless enhancement solutions to China Mobile and China Unicom has also opened branches in Thailand, Sweden, the U.S. and Singapore, with the aim of selling 3G solutions. The company is expecting overseas sales to contribute a stronger second half it experienced a 67 percent decline in its net profit for the first half of this year to HK$35.9 million ($4.6 million). The company attributes the plunge to the slower capital expenditure spending by China Mobile and China Unicom.
Singapore/Malaysia/Philippines/Indonesia
Semiconductors
- Singapore-based Chartered Semiconductor, one of the world's leading dedicated semiconductor foundries, announced a net loss of $34.5 for the three months to September. The loss, however, is still seen as better than its forecast net loss of at least $42 million. The company, the No. 3 foundry in the world, says it is seeing strong chip orders for video games and music players. It expects to see a fourth-quarter profit of $5 million to $15 million, a forecast it is making after four straight quarters of being in the red.
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