Internet
ò The countryÆs Ministry of Information and Communication said the number of internet users in Japan accessing the web from cell phones exceeded those from personal computers in 2005. At the end of the year, the report said there were 69.2 million people using the internet from mobile devices, compared to 66 million conventional PC users. Of these two user groups, 48.6 million use both a mobile device and a conventional PC, giving Japan a total internet population of 85.3 million users. In 2005, the total mobile internet commerce market was worth Ñ724 billion ($6.3 billion), according to the report, with sales of mobiles still composing a large proportion of that. Between the two user groups, mobile internet users access the internet more frequently. About 55 percent of these users log on at least once per day, compared to 44 percent of PC-based users. Browsing the web and checking email remain the most popular uses for the internet. In March 2006 there were 8.7 million bloggers in Japan versus 7.2 million users of social networking services. As of March this year there were 10 million IP telephone lines.
Hardware
ò Sony Corp disclosed that it has secured a syndicated loan worth Ñ80 billion ($701.3 million), in a bid to diversify its sources of funds. The company said the loan is also its first bank borrowing in 10 years. Sony tapped the country's expanding syndicated loan market as it offered a cheaper source of cash while investors in corporate debt are demanding higher yields before an expected rise in Japanese interest rates this year. The three-year floating-rate loan came from more than 20 Japanese lenders, with Mizuho Financial Group arranging the loan. A company spokesperson said the fundraising turned out to be bigger than what it has initially aimed for. According to the Bank of Japan, outstanding syndicated loans in Japan registered a 30 percent growth to a record Ñ37.4 trillion ($327.8 billion) on March 31 from a year earlier. Analysts say large Japanese lenders are arranging more of this type of financing to increase fee income and boost profits.
ò Toshiba Corp. and US-based SanDisk Corp. announced their plan to jointly spend about Ñ600 billion ($5.2 billion) to build a new flash memory plant in Japan in a bid to compete with rival Samsung Electronics. Toshiba is the world's No. 2 maker of NAND-type flash memory after Samsung The two companies said they will build a NAND-type flash memory factory in Iwate prefecture in northern Japan and begin operations there in 2008/09. The company plans to double its output capacity for NAND flash memory chips by 2008/09 to further strengthen its operations. Research firm iSuppli expects the global NAND market to expand 140% to $26.1 billion by 2009.
Semiconductors
ò Rambus , one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specialising in high-speed chip interfaces, announced the signing of a new patent license agreement with Matsushita Electric Industrial. Under the five-year agreement, Matsushita is given a license to Rambus patents for SDRAM and DDR SDRAM memory controllers. Rambus will receive royalty payments based on the shipment of these memory controllers. Matsushita Electric said it has also signed a technology license agreement with Rambus in 2004 for use of its DDR2 drop-in cell as well as its XDR(TM) memory interface solution. These two interface designs enable Matsushita to deliver high-volume consumer products to the market that will span a wide range of price-performance points. Matsushita joins a growing list of semiconductor suppliers and system manufacturers who have signed patent license agreements for various products covered by Rambus patents. Other companies include AMD, Elpida, Fujitsu, Infineon, NEC, Renesas, and Toshiba. Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in the invention and design of high-speed chip interfaces.
Korea
Internet
ò KT, the country's largest fixed-line operator, and SK Telecom, the largest mobile phone service provider, announced the start of their commercial services of WiBro, a homegrown portable internet service. WiBro is said to enable users to access the internet at the speed of fixed-line connections through portable devices such as laptops or personal digital assistants. Mobile reception is reportedly seamless even when moving at speeds up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour. The company said the offering would be available only for laptops for now. Those who wish to try the service can buy a card at KT or SK Telecom offices, which can be inserted into most laptop computers. The card is W300,000 ($316) but one must also pay a monthly subscription fee, which is a flat rate of W30,000 ($31) in the case of SK Telecom; KT has various payment plans but is offering a fixed monthly rate of W16,000 ($17) until the end of this year. As to its coverage, WiBro is available for the time being only in certain areas of Seoul and Gyeonggi province.
ò Online retailer Gmarket has become the first South Korean online retailer to be listed on the US NASDAQ. It started with some 9.1 million shares offered at $15.2 per share. Established in 2000, Gmarket has grown rapidly since it started full operation in 2003, competing fiercely with trading site Auction for the market lead. The company said products worth 469 billion won ($4.1 billion) were traded on the online marketplace in the first quarter. The online company held road shows for institutional investors in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and New
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò Industry sources said that Gamevill, a mobile game company, will sign the industryÆs first official contract with Nintendo for development of Nintendo DS-only 'Nom2', a famous mobile game of Gamevill, at the end of July. The move is seen as making the domestic mobile game more popular because it is being supplied to global users using Nintendo DS. 'Nom2' reported 3,000 downloads for just one month after releasing via SKT in May last year. In a related development, Nintendo Japan announced that it will establish a local affiliate in South Korea to expand its market presence there. The decision by Nintendo's board of directors calls for a local firm to be set up. The new company will be wholly owned by the parent group on an investment of W25 billion ($26 million). The Japanese company plans to use the local firm in Seoul to help expand sales of such products as its portable Nintendo DS (NDS) and other game products.
Mobile/Wireless
ò SK Communications and SKT announced that they have initiated commercial service of 'PLEEP', a mobile-based movie streaming service for the national college entrance exam from July 3 after having completed its beta service. 'PLEEP' or Portable LEarning EncycloPedia is a new concept service that users can search a necessary lecture of about 1,000 lecturing movies that run for about 7 minutes. Under the offering, users can watch the movie lecture by downloading through a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
ò Motorola revealed that is in talks with VK Corp, a South Korean handset maker that avoided bankruptcy last month. Analysts are saying the funds from Motorola may help VK settle debts and remain in business. Observers said that Motorola might buy bonds convertible to a controlling stake in VK and agree to order handsets from the company. A VK spokesperson confirmed that talks, even as no details were given.
Telecommunications
ò The countryÆs telecom industry said that the number of cell phone subscribers will exceed 40 million this year, with the number of mobile phone subscribers increasing by 1 million from late last year to 39.3 million in the first half of the year. The industry expects the number of subscribers to top the 40 million mark within the year. The report said that in the first six months, SK Telecom saw a net increase of 454,000 with the number of subscribers totaling 19.9 million as of late June. The number of SKT subscribers is expected to exceed 20 million in July given that an average of 60,000-70,000 newly subscribed people to Korea's largest telecom provider per month. KTF said that its customers posted an additional 331,387 to hit 12.6 million during the same period. LG Telecom registered a rise of 254,789 to post 6.7 million users.
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