Japan
Software
- IBM Japan and SAP Japan aim to step up their marketing cooperation to boost sales of SAP's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software and IBM servers. The action plan involves organizing a business alliance of about 100 small, midsize and second-tier software sales companies and system developers. The partners plan to provide technical support to the members of the said business groups aside from making available to them packages consisting of IBM servers and SAP ERP software.
- NEC Corporation has set up a software development joint venture in China's Hainan Province, in cooperation with two Japanese systems developers and a Chinese partner. The JV is the first on the Southern Chinese island, where development costs are 20-30% lower than those in the cities. Operations are expected to start in October.
- Sorun Corporation, a software developer, is marketing inexpensive, easy to use encryption software for corporate users. The software utilizes an encryption algorithm developed in partnership with Shinshu University and the city of Shiojiri in Nagano Prefecture. The company was able to create a software that can encrypt a 1MB file in around one second, a speed which is nearly twice as fast as competitors' products.
Hardware
- The Japanese government, according to Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, will study the possibility of imposing punitive tariffs on imports of dynamic random access memory microchips produced by South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. Japanese semiconductor makers claim the microchips are unfairly subsidized. The Japanese government will launch investigations into claims by Elpida Memory Inc. and Micron Japan Ltd. that the subsidy given by the Korean government is making the prices of Hynix's DRAMs low. In August last year, the United States and the European Union imposed countervailing duties of 44% and 38%, respectively on Hynix products. Hynix, however, has filed a complaint with the Geneva-based WTO against the duties.
- Toshiba Corp is poised to release a 1.8-inch hard-disk drive with a storage capacity of 60GB, the largest in the industry. The major company was able to increase the areal density of the drive to 145MB per sq. millimeter. By reducing its thickness to about 8mm, the firm designed the unit to fit in portable digital music players as well as laptop computers. The sample price of the 60GB model will be set at about ¥120,000 and 30GB models will be around ¥100,000. After mass production starts, Toshiba aims to ship about 800,000 units during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005.
Mobile/Wireless
- NTT DoCoMo reported a 13% decline in net profit for the first quarter. The company, reports say, racked up expenses trying to lure in new costumers while retaining old ones. Senior Executive Vice-President Masayuki Hirata blamed the drop in profits on intense competition from other companies and the saturation of the Japanese mobile phone-market. DoCoMo made its mark in the global cellular industry in 1999 when it launched the I-mode, a service that allowed people to surf the Internet and send e-mails on their cellphones.
Korea
Internet
- Hanarotelecom Inc. denied speculation that it is forming a consortium with mobile-phone carrier SK Telecom Co. for portable wireless broadband access. In a news conference held in Seoul, the fixed-line carrier said it could invest up to $770 million in new ventures, such as portable internet and the acquisition of local broadband company Korea Thrunet Co. The company, according to its officials, is financially capable of going it alone. The officials also predicted that licenses for portable internet would be divided between fixed-line carriers as the government is reluctant to hedge its bets with initiatives of developing third-generation solutions in the mobile-telephony sector.
Telecommunications
- State officials and regulators are in a quandary over the fate of SK Telecom Co., Korea's No. 1 wireless carrier. They are divided as to whether they will give the company the freedom to set its rates amid increasing pressure to lower consumer prices. Currently, the company's mobile fees are controlled by the government. The discussion began when the country's fair trade commission announced plans to abolish the restriction on SK Telecom and replace it with a cap on call rates. It is the opinion of the commission that the government regulation of rates has eliminated competition in the mobile phone market and resulted in higher prices.
China
Internet
- Netease.com reported a drop in quarterly earnings, with second quarter net income dipping to $11.9 million from $12.6 million in the previous quarter. That said, the company maintained steady revenue growth in the second quarter thanks mainly to online games and advertising, despite a sharp decline in its wireless message service. The NASDAQ-listed company said that its quarterly revenues reached $25 million in the 2Q04, rising 5.2% quarter-on-quarter and 51.8% year-on-year.
- China was reported to be gearing up for a nationwide crackdown on online computer games, including those with sensitive political content. The operation is the latest in a series of moves by China to control and regulate what it perceives as the harmful influences of the popularity and widespread use of the internet. In recent years, the number of internet surfers has reached 87 million. A three-month campaign was piloted in Beijing from April to June and yielded in 56 games which either contained "unhealthy content" or were found to be not registered or approved by authorities.
- Internet firms are trying to penetrate China and vying to become what Amazon.com has become in other places, according to a Morgan Stanley report. These firms, however, face formidable challenges in the form of poor payment systems, inefficient infrastructure and consumers' reluctant attitude toward online shopping. The report labels it e-commerce with Chinese characteristics: online retailers accept cash instead of credit cards; delivery is not by air express but through a courier on a bicycle. Although Amazon.com established a model for online retailing in the United States, duplicating it on the mainland is not easy. Morgan Stanley stresses that China tends to be a cash-based economy because of fear of fraud and an underdeveloped financial services industry.
Semiconductors
- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), a Shanghai-based chipmaker, has reported robust second-quarter earnings and forecasts strong demand up to the third quarter of next year. SMIC is expanding its capacity and has already begun pilot production at a new, advanced 12-inch wafer line in Beijing. Wafers shipments are expected to increase 23 to 27% this quarter. The optimism of the company and its officials was, however, countered by Merrill Lynch which said that rising inventories at companies such as Intel Corp pointed to the weakening of end-demand.
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Taiwan
Mobile Phone/Wireless
- Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker has been contracted by Chungwa Telecom in Taiwan to build the second phase of its third-generation (3G) mobile phone network in Taiwan. Chungwa, Taiwan's state-controlled telecom operator, had already set up its 3G network in the core areas of the island. The new equipment from Nokia would allow it to expand its next-generation WCDM (wideband code division multiple access) network to the most populated areas on the East and West coast. Chungwa has over eight million subscribers in Taiwan which gives it a market share of nearly 35% on the island.
Singapore
Media, Entertainment and Gaming
- Lucasfilm Ltd., the film company founded by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, announced plans to set up an animation studio in Singapore. This is Lucasfilm's first venture outside the U.S. Lucas will own 75% of the company and a consortium that includes the Singapore government's Economic Development Board and Singapore's Creative Technology will own 25%. The new unit is called Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and will do production work on a variety of projects, including feature-length animated films and videogames.
Hong Kong
Telecoms
- Hong Kong Broadband Network, a unit of City Telecom, has unveiled a broadband telephone service on Sunday that posed a new challenge to dominant fixed-line carrier PCCW. The offering rides on the existing broadband networks of other players, like PCCW, HGC and Wharf T & T. Fixed-line services at PCCW start at about $120 per month. Customers are provided with adapter box that is attached to a broadband modem and computer. A normal phone is then connected to the adapter box. Hong Kong Broadband assigns a telephone number to customers, or an existing number can be transferred.
Philippines
Telecoms
- The Philippine Long Distance Co. reported its highest quarterly net profit for the second quarter owing to the brisk demand for cellular services. Election spending is also credited for this surge in profit. PLDT's cellular operations, Smart Communications, Inc. and Pilipino Telephone Corp., together, added 3.03 million subscribers in the first half to capture around 59% of the market. Subscriber growth boosted Smart's net profit to a record Ps11.6 billion in the first half from Ps6.1 billion a year earlier.
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