Media, Entertainment and Gaming
Japanese game company Sega has announced a project to help build a massive game arcade in Dubai. The arcade is expected to be the largest in the world and is currently under construction. Sega, a unit of the Sega Sammy group, has signed an agreement with Emaar Malls Group of the United Arab Emirates to build the two-floor arcade inside the Dubai Mall later this year. Under the license agreement, Sega will offer development and management know-how to Emaar Malls Group, which will build and operate the facility. Sega said the arcade is designed to occupy some 7,000sqm.
Gonzo Rosso, an online game operator in the GDH media group has launched its RAN Online game in Vietnam. Beta service started in mid-January, with the full commercial launch scheduled for the end of the month. The company will offer RAN Online via its Kuala Lumpur-based subsidiary GoldSky Access, which also operates the game in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
RAN Online is a massively-multiplayer online roll-playing game (MMORPG) licensed to GoldSky for operation in Southeast Asia by Korean game developer Min Communications. GoldSky specialises in the online game licensing business including localisation/culturalisation of in-game events and billing processes. Gonzo Rosso's other areas of business include development/operation of online merchandise store. GDH. is a globally-focused Japanese media company, which produces entertainment for teenagers and young adults through its Gonzo animation brand.
Internet
eAccess is reportedly using its newly acquired stake in rival ACCA Networks to demand that Acca replace its top managers with officials from eAccess. eAccess beat NTTC to become the top shareholder with 13.1% in ACCA. The proposal specifies that a replacement be sought for ACCA President Masaharu Kimura and two other officials. The company said wants a new management that is more open to working with eAccess within ADSL broadband internet access and wireless services.
Mobile/Wireless
KDDI's mobile WiMax joint venture, Wireless Broadband Planning K.K., is near closing on its vendor choices for a $1.3 billion mobile WiMax network in Japan. The leading candidates are Fujitsu and Samsung and the final decision is expected to be out by March. The investors in Wireless Broadband Planning are KDDI, Intel Capital, East Japan Railway Company, Kyocera Corporation, Daiwa Securities Group and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The joint venture was awarded a national WiMax license at 2.5 GHz at the end of last year, with the venture committing to invest Ñ145 billion ($1.3 billion) through March 2014. The other license winner was personal handyphone system (PHS) operator Willcom, which plans to invest $1.7 billion over six years on a next-generation PHS network at 2.5 GHz.
Openwave Systems has announced a joint collaboration with Japanese internet start-up, Zero Start Communications, to launch a new mobile Mini-Blog service. The service is dubbed "chopi" in Japan. Under the agreement, Openwave's carrier-grade, standards-based converged communications platform will serve as the messaging engine powering the chopi service. The Mini-Blog service enables users to join communities, view other user's comments and communicate with friends, family members and others via their mobile device. It also offers consumers closed community portal pages along with search engine and private messaging. Headquartered in Tokyo, Zero Start provides software products and software engineering for the internet media industry as well as web services in Japan.
NEC Corporation, Japan's largest personal-computer maker, has together with Sumitomo Corporation won a contract to supply wireless communications systems to Wind Telecomunicazioni, Italy's third-largest mobile-phone operator. Based in Rome, the operator has an 18% share of Italy's 80.3 million-subscriber mobile market.
Telecommunications
According to media sources, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp will be required to open its fiber optic communications network to competitors. The countryÆs Ministry of Communications is expected to announce the new guidelines requiring the open network soon. NTT, which plans to formally launch the next-generation network in March, controils about 70% of Japan's telecommunications market. Earlier, the ministry was asked by KDDI and Softbank to open the network for wider use.
Ventures/Investments
Motorola has bought a 78% stake in Vertex Standard, a Japanese two-way radio maker. Under the tender offer, Motorola will pay an estimated Ñ12 billion ($112 million) in cash for 5.4 million shares.
Korea
Internet
The South Korean government plans to ban local internet portals from editing headlines of news stories supplied by news organisations without permission, media sources say. Local online portals such as Naver and Daum have been dominating the home market with advanced search engines and localised services. Observers note that the plan comes amid increasing worries over the misuse of online power to retain leadership in the industry. In South Korea, where 33 million out of the total population of 48 million have access to high-speed broadband internet, many issues arise out of problematic postings, especially related to rights infringements on the web.
Mobile/Wireless
South Korea's top mobile service operator SK Telecom will invest W655 billion ($700.7 million) to upgrade and expand its networks. In a filing with the Korea Exchange, SK Telecom said the spending will be made during the first half of 2008.
Software
NEO Mtel has exceeded $10 billion in cumulative royalty revenue from Qualcomm since its first supply of embedded graphic software to the CDMA chipset provider. NEO MTEL implemented its embedded software in a mobile phone with various graphic effects for the first time in 1999. Through the 2001 contract with NEO MTEL, Qualcomm obtained a license of NEOÆs patent and software for its core technology of the CDMA chip to provide projects to CDMA markets around the world. Neo MTel is a South Korea-based technological venture firm that developed the source technology for the worldÆs first video images for wireless devices.
TmaxSoft disclosed that it has set a sales target of W160 billion ($169.7 million) this year. The company plans to lay a foundation for new growth engines such as database, industry specific solutions and SaaS to achieve the sales target. The company said it also plans to strengthen the competitiveness of solution business through stronger consulting services, more systematic project implementation and better professional training.
Hardware
Samsung Electronics has announced record revenues of W17.4 trillion ($18.4 billion) for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2007. Samsung posted an operating profit of W2.5 trillion ($2.6 billion) on a consolidated basis, with the company ascribing the strong performance partly to its liquid crystal display (LCD) and digital media business, which generated annual operating profits of W2.1 trillion and W1 trillion, respectively, on a consolidated basis. All of the companyÆs business units were solidly in the black due to improved performance by the Digital Appliance Business and better than expected results from the semiconductor business.
Telecommunications
MongoliaÆs State Property Committee has released a list of state-owned businesses that it will seek to privatise in 2008. The most important of these appears to be Mongolia Telecom (MT). The Mongolian state currently owns 54% of Mongolia Telecom, while Korea Telecom holds 40% for which it paid $4.5 million in 1995. Prior to the privatisation, the government is seeking to buy back the Korea Telecom-owned shares. However, disagreement over the value of the shares could delay the sale. In August 2006 the government approved a restructuring of MT into two autonomous units called NetCo and ServCo, which are involved with the infrastructure and services operations respectively.
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