Hardware
Hitachi expects a Ñ70 billion ($695 million) net loss for its fiscal year ending in March as its TV operations continue to deteriorate. The company has now cut over $1 billion off its earnings target in just over a month and is on course for a second straight year of losses. The company said the huge losses stem from a decision to write down deferred tax assets at its parent company, which it feels can no longer be realised due to the worsening performance of its TV business. Hitachi originally had a net profit target of Ñ40 billion (US$397 million). The projected loss is mostly due to its flat-panel TV business, despite large one-off special gains due this year from the sale of shares in subsidiaries. The company is caught in a bind familiar to many in the flat-panel TV industry: competition is driving down retail prices and eroding profits, but increasing capacity to cut per-unit costs is expensive. Deep-pocketed rivals such as Matsushita Electric Industrial and Sharp are pouring funds into building new plants, while smaller TV players such as Hitachi and Pioneer sell off assets and pursue tie-ups. Earlier this month, Pioneer said it would stop manufacturing plasma TV panels.
Pioneer Corporation said it would swing to a loss this fiscal year as it booked charges to pull out of plasma television-panel manufacturing after failing to convince consumers to pay steep prices for its TVs. Pioneer cut its net outlook for this fiscal year through March to a Ñ15 billion ($147 million) loss from the Ñ6 billion profit it previously expected. It blamed expenses for the plasma-panel pullout as well as higher taxes for the second downward revision to its earnings outlook in just over four months. Instead of manufacturing its own panels, Pioneer said it is now in talks with Matsushita Electric Industrial on securing supplies for its TV sets. Pioneer doesn't sell any other kind of televisions, but it has a capital tie-up with Sharp, one of the world's largest makers of liquid-crystal display panels. It said it plans to launch a range of LCD TVs supplied by Sharp in Europe this autumn.
Korea
Mobile/Wireless
Samsung Electronics' mobile WiMax Equipment has ranked first in an industry assessment by US market researcher ABI Research. Samsung was followed by Motorola and Cisco Systems. ABI Research particularly focused on successful innovation and implementation, number of contracts, global market penetration, market share, number of patents, R&D expenses, market availability period and market leading effect. SamsungÆs strong relationship with carriers, its emerging market-based high-growth strategy, and partnerships with other companies in the WiMax environment also helped the company receive good points.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
Com2us, a Korean mobile game developer, has launched the open service of its new online combat game, Fatal Code, which is developed by Seedc Korea. Fatal Code introduces various races against a Sci-Fi movie-like background, offering different features from existing combat games focusing on the military operations. The company claims that Fatal Code can run on the older operating system without degrading the graphic quality. It will begin commercial services within the first half of this year.
Semiconductors
InnoMax, a Korean single-wafer spin etch system, said that it recently launched its next generation product, ESE-Thin, to meet the emerging thin wafer processing market. InnoMax has filled its first order at one of the major semiconductor manufacturers in Korea. The ESE family provides 1-4 chambers of non-contact process chucks for front- and back-side processing, such as stress relief, polymer removal, oxide/recess etching and solder/gold bump.
Hardware
Dell is aiming to tap the Korean business-to-business market together with local big name technology companies, according to Michael Dell. He added that approximately $9 billion out of the companyÆs total sales of $61 billion stems from partnerships around the globe. Dell was scheduled to meet with Hwang Chang-kyu, the head of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division, as well as with heads of Hynix Semiconductor and LG Display to exchange ideas on possible links. Dell said his company expects to improve sales in South Korea not only through direct retail sales but through business-to-business transactions.
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