Mobile/Wireless
Parrot, a provider of wireless peripherals around the mobile phone, announced that it has opened a Tokyo liaison office dedicated to supporting its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) customers in Japan. The company provides automotive connectivity solutions including Bluetooth telephony, echo-cancellation and noise reduction, USB connectivity and voice recognition to major audio equipment manufacturers. The company's Tokyo office will provide local technical support in order to facilitate the integration of Parrot technology into new audio platforms being developed in Japan.
NTT DoCoMo has agreed to sell its entire stake in Telargo, a provider of location services in the US, to its majority owner ULTRA Doo of Slovenia. Under the deal, ULTRA Doo will acquire NTT DoCoMo's 49% stake, making Telargo a wholly-owned subsidiary. NTT DoCoMo bought the stake in Telargo in 2005 to expand its business overseas. The Japanese company failed to pursue the expansion plan, however, which is the reason for deciding to sell its stake.
Internet
ADSL broadband service provider eAccess is set to form a capital and business alliance with Japan-based fibre-optic communications provider USEN Corporation, according to media sources. Two sources said they expect the partnership will allow the companies to compete more effectively with JapanÆs leading broadband operator NTT. Under the proposed deal, eAccess will advise customers wishing to switch from ADSL to fibre-optic services to use USEN, the fourth largest player in this segment. USEN has a market share of 6.1%. If the transaction is completed, eAccess will become USENÆs third biggest shareholder, behind the investment fund Unison Capital and broadcast group USEN, both of which hold nearly 40% of USEN CorpÆs shares.
Software
Square Enix, Japan's second largest game software publisher, plans to acquire companies either domestically or in countries such as India and China to accelerate profit growth. According to its president, acquisitions and alliances will be the ôcornerstone of Square EnixÆs growth strategy this year and the next.'' The company made its last acquisition in 2005 when it purchased Taito Corporation, a Japanese arcade game maker. It forecasts a 3.3% rise in net income to Ñ12 billion ($113 million) in the year ending March 31, and a 0.6% decline in sales to Ñ162.5 billion. It expects operating profit of the arcade business to hit Ñ350 billion this fiscal year, compared with a loss of Ñ351 million a year earlier. The arcade division is expected to account for half of the revenue and 17% of the operating profit. Game software, the company's biggest revenue earner, is expected to contribute 27% of sales and 43% of the operating profit.
Hardware
Sharp Corporation has reported a 5.5% rise in its quarterly operating profit to a record high of Ñ51.9 billion ($487 million) from Ñ49.2 billion a year earlier. Net profit rose 3.8% to Ñ29.6 billion on sales of Ñ921.2 billion. The company kept its outlook for the full year to March unchanged, topping market expectations. Sharp forecasts an operating profit of Ñ190 billion this fiscal year, up from Ñ186.5 billion a year earlier. At present, Sharp is building the world's largest LCD panel factory in western Japan to boost efficiency and counter weather-related price declines.
Telecommunications
KDDI Corporation has posted a 12.4% rise in net profit for the nine months to December to Ñ214.8 billion from the same period last year. Operating profit went up 17.4% to Ñ371 billion and revenues grew 7.2% to Ñ2.6 trillion. The telecom operator said it had registered almost 1.9 million new customers in the nine months to December and noted that 1.2 million additional subscribers signed up for its mainstay au cellphone service over the nine-month period, reaching a total of 29.2 million at the end of December. The company forecasts that its au subscriber base will reach 30 million by the end of March. KDDI now expects revenues of Ñ3.5 trillion. It also changed its operating profit forecast to Ñ414 billion for the year to March from Ñ390 billion previously.
Ventures/Investments
NTT plans to set up an investment fund under the name of NTT Investment Partners Fund that will target start-ups both inside and outside Japan. The fund will begin operations in March. NTT aims to contribute 99.8% of the Ñ10 billion ($93.8 million) capital, while two other unidentified firms will contribute 0.1% each. Industry observers note that this is NTTÆs first foray into investing in start-ups. The fund will take stakes in privately-held firms with cutting-edge technologies and expertise in the information and communications fields. In addition to generating investment returns, the investments will serve as a conduit for expanding the NTT group's business operations and contributing to innovation.
Korea
Internet
Google has announced an overhaul of its Korean-language search engine in a bid to broaden its appeal in South Korea. According to the managing director of Google Korea, Google has adopted universal search for its Korean-language services. Universal search combines search-engine results from a broader array of potential sources as well as data created by the search engine itself.
NHN, which operates the nation's dominant portal and search engine service Naver, said it has started offering its TV-tailored Web search services for KT, the countryÆs largest telephone and broadband Internet company. Under the offering, the company said it will not ask for profit sharing from KT in the near future. NHN also described its partnership with KT as a way of exploring the uncharted territory of Internet-TV convergence. Separately, Daum is preparing to set up a joint venture with Microsoft and Celrun next month with an aim to launch its own IPTV brand, tentatively named "Open TV". The joint venture plans to start free service this summer and paid TV service around December. The company said it also looks forward to exporting its vast database abroad with help from the Microsoft's global network.
Mobile/Wireless
Orascom Telecom has secured the right to provide 3G wireless services to North Korea through its 75%-owned subsidiary CHEO Technology. The remaining 25% is owned by North Korea's state-run Korea Post and Telecommunications. According to Orascom, the license is valid for 25 years with an exclusive period of four years. The Egypt-based firm said it plans to invest up to $400 million in network infrastructure and license fees over the first three years with the aim of rapidly deploying a network and offer mobile phone services to North Koreans. According to media sources, North Korea launched a mobile phone service in November 2002, but banned the service for ordinary citizens a year and a half later.
Hardware
MoCA and Korea Digital Cable Laboratories (KLabs) have entered into a formal liaison where both organisations will share information assuring ongoing compatibility within South Korea's cable environment. Under the agreement, both MoCA and KLabs will continue to develop specifications independently, and share published and draft specifications as well as proposed documentation. This information sharing arrangement is expected to ensure seamless integration of and interoperability with each other's technology as it is implemented by service providers. KLabs is a non-profit research institute set up by South Korea's cable industry for the development and advancement of digital cable. It is the leading authority on South Korea's cable standardisation and certification. The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) is an open initiative promoting distribution of digital video and entertainment through existing coaxial cable in the home.
Telecommunications
SK Telecom has reported a 76% decline in net profit in the fourth quarter to December 31, attributing the drop to marketing costs. The report also mentioned the effect of losses incurred by SK TelecomÆs affiliates such as US wireless joint venture Helio and mobile TV company TU Media. SK posted W66 billion ($65 million) in net profit in the fourth quarter, which was below the W259.6 billion profit forecast by Reuters Estimates and down from the W279.3 billion profit it has posted a year earlier. SK TelecomÆs revenue went up 6% to W2.9 trillion. At the end of December, SK registered an 8.4% rise in the number of subscribers to 21.9 million. Media sources indicated that the company has a 50.5% share of the mobile market.
Hanarotelecom has reported 8.4% revenue growth for its HanaTV service, voice services and corporate services in 2007. Hanaro posted total revenues of W1.8 trillion ($1.8 billion), compared to W1.7 trillion in 2006. The company said its operating profit surged 162% to W80.9 billion. Having posted a net loss of W86 billion in 2006, Hanaro bounced back with a net income of W7.2 billion last year.
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