Japan
Hardware
- Sony Corp. is pushing links between its consumer-electronics gadgets and its music, movies and games assets. Sony has long talked about finding ways to make its consumer electronics and content units work more closely together, though achieving that has been difficult. Sony would take major steps in that direction with a new music distribution service to rival Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes. Sony also will introduce new electronic devices for consumers to download music, which will start at about $60, much less than the $300 starting price for Apple's iPod.
Information Technology
- Sanken Electric Co. has developed a power supply unit that is small and uses less electricity. The company was able to reduce the number of component parts by one-third and shrink the size of the package by 30%. Because of its small size, the new device is ideal for flat-panel televisions that use liquid crystal or plasma displays. It also would be useful in laser printers or copiers. Sanken Electric was able to combine transformer circuitry with energy-saving coils and control chips in a single device. It has applied for 11 patents for the power supply product.
Mobile / Wireless
- Sumitomo Corp. and NEC Corp. have jointly received an order to supply transmission equipment for cellular phone relay stations to Orascom Telecom, the largest cell phone company in the Middle East and Africa, which will soon start constructing cell phone infrastructure in Iraq. The order is the first related to Iraqi reconstruction that has been received by Japanese companies. The firms will work under Motorola Inc., which received an order for network equipment from Orascom.
Telecommunications
- NTT Data Corp. reported weak earnings for the six months ended Sept. 30 as it faced a severe business environment for its system-integration and network-system-services operations. The Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. subsidiary posted group net profit of ¥4 billion ($35.9 million), down 69% from ¥12.7 billion ($116.2 million) a year earlier. Group operating profit fell 10% to ¥23.9 billion ($208.5 million), while group sales fell 5.7% to ¥357.3 billion ($3.3 billion).
Korea
Hardware
- Flat-panel displays role in Korea's information-technology trade is becoming more evident as exports of the product far exceed imports. According to customs records from the first nine months of the year, Korea exported $5.1 billion worth of flat panels, including liquid crystal displays and plasma display panels, and imported $1.8 billion, for a trade surplus of US$3.3 billion, which accounts for 23.7% of the total IT trade surplus in that period.
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
- Korea's video game market, worth W3.8 trillion ($3.2 billion) in 2002, is expected to rise to W6.2 trillion ($5.3 billion) in 2007 on the strength of the country's fast-growing online game industry. Korea's video game market is forecast to be worth W4.3 trillion ($3.6 million) this year. The solid growth of online games, both fixed-line and wireless, and exports of related software are bolstering the sector, boosting the projected market value to W5 trillion ($4.2 billion) in 2005.
Mobile / Wireless
- LG Electronics claimed back the world's fifth ranking in production in the third quarter of this year from Sony-Ericsson. According to recent figures compiled by Strategy Analytics, a U.S.-based market research company, LG shipped 7.6 million units in the three months ended Sept. 30, up 43.4% from the previous quarter.
Telecommunications
- SK Telecom Co. announced the composition of its consortium to launch a satellite-based digital broadcasting service. The company will own a 30% stake in the consortium, while its Japanese partner Mobile Broadcasting Corp. will hold a 10% share. Broadcasters, wireless equipment manufacturers and automakers are expected to join the consortium, which will reportedly begin a commercial satellite broadcasting network next May.
China
Hardware
- Legend Group Ltd.'s fiscal second-quarter net profit grew 1.9%, below analysts' expectations, as China's largest computer maker grappled with losses in mobile phones and computer motherboards. Executives also lowered near-term profit expectations, announcing that the company would increase spending on product development. Legend reported a profit of HK$261.2 million ($33.6 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from HK$256.3 million ($32.9 million) a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of about HK$300 million ($38.5 million). Sales grew 12% to HK$6.3 billion ($801.3 million) from HK$5.6 billion ($714.1 million).
Mobile / Wireless
- Chinese telecommunications companies will begin high-speed advanced cellular phone services next spring in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, expanding them nationwide by the end of 2004. The Ministry of Information Industry has completed an experiment on the 3G (third-generation) cell phone services in a laboratory setting and is now finalizing details of how to raise funds for the new services, as well as specifications for telecommunications facilities and handsets. Radio frequencies for the new services will be allocated to four telecom operators, including China Mobile Communications Corp. and fixed-line operator China Telecom, by around May to pave the way for the launch of the new services, which enable transmission and reception of video and games.
Telecommunications
- China Netcom Group has begun planning in earnest for a multi-billion dollar stock offering in Hong Kong and New York. Netcom appointed an executive task force two weeks ago to hire stock underwriters and determine which assets should be included in the initial public offering. As part of its preparations, Netcom has made headway in its lengthy restructuring, including succeeding career managers with professionals from outside the company and the inauguration today of an international division. It recently delivered assurances to News Corp., securities firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other foreign investors in a Netcom subsidiary that the investors' rights will be protected throughout the listing process.
Taiwan
Information Technology
- Organisers of Computex Taipei, a large computer exhibition which was canceled last year due to SARs, reported that if the virus returns, they'll be ready this time with a virtual computer show that allows people worldwide to take a look at 1,200 of the latest computer products. Computex Online, the newly developed site, provided a multi-dimensional display, where products can be turned 180 degrees for a clear view on the screen.
Singapore / Malaysia / Philippines / Indonesia
Telecommunications
- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. reported a 14% rise in fiscal second-quarter net profit, as growth overseas offset a subdued domestic business. The firm posted net of S$473 million ($271.5 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30 from S$415 million ($238.7 million) a year ago, beating market expectations. SingTel would also raise its dividend payout ratio to 40%-50% of net profit before goodwill and exceptionals with immediate effect, from a ratio of 30%-45% currently.
- SingTel planned to spend S$20 million ($11.5 million) over the next three years to provide an integrated phone service for commercial clients. PhoneNet is based on the new IP Centrex technology that allows companies to merge their intra-office voice and data communications into a single network. The new product offering, available in the first quarter of next year, includes a suite of services such as retrieval of voice messages via e-mails for workers who are out of the offices.
- Singapore Telecommunications' cable subsidiary C2C was not headed for liquidation amid ongoing talks with lenders to restructure a US$650 million financing facility. C2C is 59.5% owned by SingTel, with the remaining shareholding split among a consortium of industry players from Asia and the United States. It manages Asia's largest submarine cable network connecting Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore, as well as a trans-Pacific ring between Japan and the United States. C2C turned in a net loss of $15 million, down from a $33 million loss a year earlier. Operating revenue was up 3.9% to $16 million.
Hong Kong
Telecommunications
- The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) may review the criteria used in determining PCCW's dominant status in the fixed-line telecom market. OFTA director-general Au Man-ho would take reference from overseas before deciding on PCCW's application for non-dominant carrier status. This development is a blow to the PCCW's push for removal of its dominant status after it revealed that by June 30, its market share had fallen to 77%. Under the telecommunications law, PCCW is classified as the dominant player in fixed-line services and must apply to OFTA when offering discounts and bundling products.
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