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IRG Technology, Media and Telecoms Weekly Asia Market Review
HONG KONG, Aug 06, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - The following is an excerpt from IRG's TMT Weekly Market Review July 27 - Aug 2. IRG is a financial advisory and investment firm focused on the core growth sectors in Asia with particular focus on the telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) sectors.
Japan
- Kyocera Mita Corp. entered into a share purchase agreement with Chungho Comnet Co., Ltd. to acquire all outstanding shares of the two document equipment distribution subsidiaries of Chungho, Chungho OAsys Co., Ltd. and Chungho Document Solution Co., Ltd. By acquiring these two companies as its own sales subsidiaries, Kyocera will be able to drastically enhance its sales activities in Korea which Kyocera has placed as one of its strategic countries in Asia and also strengthen its sales capabilities in Asia together with the Chinese and Indian markets.
- Canon Inc. raised its group operating profit forecast by 10 billion yen (US$105.8 million). The upgrade is attributed in part to cost reductions, mainly in advertising and R&D, that are expected to result in 220 billion yen (US$2.3 billion) savings a year roughly 50 billion yen (US$528 million) more than its earlier target. With its office equipment business in the doldrums, however, overall sales are expected to drop 22 percent. The company plans to release next-generation copy machines in the second half of the year. But despite stepped-up marketing efforts in North America, a recovery in the copier business will take time as companies cut back on expenses, such as spending on color copies.
- Sony Corp. posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by an improvement in its struggling flat TV business, and said it was aiming to beat its official forecast and at least break even for the full year. Sony has fallen behind Apple's iPod in portable music, Nintendo in videogames, and is struggling to compete with Samsung Electronics in LCD TVs. But the company, which competes with Panasonic for the position of the world's largest consumer electronics maker, said that losses on flat TVs had narrowed in the latest quarter, bringing the business close to the break even level. The maker of Bravia flat TVs and Vaio PCs kept its operating loss forecast of 110 billion yen (US$1.2 billion) for the year to March 31, 2010.
- Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp. are facing mounting pressure to cut prices after sales of the motion-sensing Wii fell for the first time and PlayStation 3 shipments tumbled to a two-year low. Nintendo shares fell the most in three months after the Kyoto-based company said Wii sales plunged 57 percent and profit dropped 61 percent. Sony reported a second straight loss after PlayStation 3 shipments fell 31 percent. Microsoft Corp. said last week it sold 1.2 million Xbox 360 consoles in its latest quarter, the lowest in two years. Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer and Nintendo President Satoru Iwata have spurned calls by game publishers and retailers to cut prices as the global recession drives down consumer spending. The stronger yen is also eroding earnings at Japanese electronics makers, making them less competitive relative to overseas rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co.
- Hitachi plans to absorb five listed units, as the loss-making conglomerate tries to pool its sprawling resources to turn a profit. The news and hope that this would prelude further consolidation lifted shares of the Japanese maker of industrial electronics along with its subsidiaries. Hitachi will launch tender offers as early as next month to buy the shares it doesn't already own in Hitachi Maxell, Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd., Hitachi Information Systems Ltd., Hitachi Software Engineering Co. and Hitachi Systems & Services Ltd. The move could cost Hitachi up to 300 billion yen (US$3.2 billion), including a premium on the units' share price.
- Hitachi Ltd. has plans to merge a pair of system-related subsidiaries this October in a bid to strengthen its system development business. Hitachi Electronics Services Co. will absorb Hitachi HBM Co. on Oct. 1 and become the surviving entity. All of Hitachi HBM's employees are slated to transfer to the merged firm. Hitachi Electronics Services handles system maintenance for the Hitachi group and also supports the introduction of information technology equipment at small and midsize businesses. By merging it with Hitachi HBM, which has expertise in system building, the aim is to enhance customer convenience through one-stop service. Hitachi Electronics Services turned three of Hitachi's system development units into consolidated subsidiaries, further strengthening its ability to propose systems to small businesses. The merger is expected to result in such synergies as subcontracting system development work from maintenance customers. Hitachi HBM was spun off in 1984 in order to expand sales in the office computer sales division.
- Fujitsu Ltd. will aim to strongly boost its profits to record-highs in fiscal 2011 through March 2012 by expanding its overseas sales and restructuring its operations. The company said it is anticipating a record group operating profit of 250 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) on sales of 5 trillion yen (US$52.8 billion), unveiling an aggressive midterm target for the next three years. Its net profit is also expected to reach a record 130 billion yen (US$1.4 billion) in fiscal 2011 in what would be a dramatic turnaround from a group net loss of 112.4 billion yen (US$1.2 billion) logged during the business year that ended in March. Businesses are likely to hit bottom during the current business year, adding Fujitsu will aim to raise its operating profit to 200 billion yen (US$2.1 billion) by fiscal 2010 thanks partly to the sale of its hard disk drive businesses to Toshiba Corp. and Showa Denko K.
- Dena plans to buy a majority stake in the operator of a Chinese mobile social networking site, the Nikkei reports. Dena plans to buy more than 50 percent in UK firm Waptx, which operates China's largest mobile social networking site with a local partner. Dena will buy 8.73 million shares in the company through a private placement. Dena plans to use the portal site's content and expertise to expand its own social networking business. Dena already operates a mobile social networking site in China, but has less than 1 million subscribers while the Waptx service has about 9 million users.
- NTT DoCoMo Inc. reported fiscal first quarter results with 15 percent decline in its net profit to 147.4 billion yen (US$1.55 billion) from 173.5 billion yen (US$1.66 billion) given increased competition led to lower income from voice charges. Revenue dropped 7.3 percent to 1.08 trillion yen (US$11.4 billion), from 1.17 trillion yen (US$11.2 billion). The company maintained its forecast for the current fiscal year through March 2010, with revenues of 4.38 trillion yen (US$41.1 billion) and an operating profit of 830 billion yen (US$8.7 billion).
- Softbank Corp. enjoyed gains on increased service fees and handset sales. The company said its net profit jumped 41 percent in the fiscal first quarter to 27.38 billion yen (US$287.9 million) from 19.37 billion yen (US$185.2 million) in the same period a year earlier as increased revenue from both usage fees and handset sales boosted its mobile phone operations. It was much better than a consensus projection for a 11.2 billion yen (US$117.8 million) profit compiled by data provider Thomson Reuters from a survey of 13 analysts. Operating profit climbed 27 percent to a record 108.3 billion yen (US$1.14 billion) from 85.09 billion yen (US$0.81 billion) a year earlier with profit from the company's core mobile communication operations rose 36 percent. Broadband and infrastructure operations were also strong, with profit rising 33 percent. Revenue for the same quarter rose 2.9 percent to 666.33 billion yen (US$7.0 billion) from 647.26 billion yen (US$6.2 billion). Softbank's net profit for the April-June quarter jumped 41%
- Tokyo Electron reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its annual outlook as orders start to rise in the latest sign of a spreading recovery in the chip sector. Chip giants Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, which recently booked better-than-expected quarterly results, are looking to invest more in new generations of chips to cut costs and cement their lead in the industry. Although still weak, orders for machines to make faster semiconductors more than doubled from the previous quarter, prompting Tokyo Electron to narrow its operating loss forecast by 9.5 percent to 57 billion yen (US$598 million).
- Renesas Technology Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp. will delay their plan to reach a merger agreement for a month until the end of August. The accord will be postponed because due diligence over their global production and sales bases spanning across Asia, Europe and the U.S. is taking longer than initially anticipated. Although discussions are ongoing on the investment ratio of the three major shareholders, Renesas, owned 55 percent by Hitachi Ltd. and 45 percent by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and NEC Electronics, a chip unit of NEC Corp., will still aim to integrate their operations by next April.
- Yahoo Japan Corp. said net profit grew 0.4 percent from a year earlier in the fiscal first quarter, buoyed by the increased use of online advertisements to target female consumers. The company's net profit for the April-June period rose to 19.24 billion yen (US$203.2 million), and is in line with its forecast of between 19 billion yen (US$200.7 million) and 20.1 billion yen (US$212.4 million) in net profit for the period. Operating profit for the period rose to 34.26 billion yen (US$361.9 million). Group revenue rose 3.17 percent to 67.64 billion yen (US$0.71 billion) from 65.56 billion yen (US$0.69 billion).
- eAccess Ltd. likely made a group pretax profit of around 1.8 billion yen (US$18.9 million) in the April-June period thanks to the acquisition of ADSL service provider Acca Networks Co. and smaller losses in its cellular phone business. The results would mark the telecommunications service provider's first pretax profit for the April-June quarter in three years. Sales appear to have declined 11 percent about 21.5 billion yen (US$0.23 billion) as low-priced data cards accounted for a higher proportion of the company's overall cellular phone hardware sales. The sales figures are in line with eAccess' initial projections. Operating profit is believed to have soared 43 per cent to roughly 5 billion yen (US$52.8 million). The absorption of Acca Networks helped eAccess reduce sales and administrative costs by consolidating its ADSL operations. In addition, losses at cellular phone unit Emobile Ltd. likely shrank by some 2 billion yen, with a net subscriber increase of nearly 40 per cent, or 262,000, sharply pushing up revenue. Net profit probably came to around 300 million yen (US$3.2 million), compared with a 2.8 billion yen (US$26.6 million) net loss a year earlier.
- Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings Inc. will make an initial payment of 40 billion yen (US$420.1 million) to Rakuten Inc. in response to the virtual mall operator's request for a buyback of its TBS shares. After the breakdown of initial talks, the two sides sought court mediation to determine a buyback price. If the negotiations drag on for years, then TBS which is required by law to pay the interest it will owe Rakuten on the shares could end up incurring a huge interest burden. By making the temporary payment, TBS aims to hold down interest expenses. The broadcaster will tap bank loans for the funds to be paid to Rakuten.
Korea
- SK Telecom Co. said its second-quarter net profit rose 4.6 percent to 311.6 billion won (US$250.7 million) in the three months ended June 30 from 298 billion won from a year earlier despite higher marketing costs, mainly due to a rise in subscribers. Sales rose 4.7% to 3.068 trillion won (US$2.47 billion) from 2.93 trillion won (US$2.36 billion) because of an increase in the number of subscribers, largely from its wireless Internet data service. The company also said its capital expenditure amounted to 667.4 billion won for the first half of this year, including 319 billion won (US$256.6 million) spent in the second quarter to secure more profitable third-generation mobile services and improve call quality.
- LG Telecom Ltd. reported its biggest profit decline in six quarters after the company boosted marketing spending to win customers from SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp. Second-quarter net income fell 43 percent to 38.3 billion won (US$30.8 million) from 67.6 billion won (US$54.4 million) a year earlier. Sales rose 5.7 percent to 1.33 trillion won (US$1.07 billion). LG Telecom and SK Telecom increased incentives to lure users before KT absorbed its wireless unit, KT Freetel Co., in June in a market where more than nine out of 10 people already own a mobile phone. South Korea's communications regulator has said competition may ease in the second half after the three operators pledged this month to rein in marketing costs such as handset subsidies. LG Telecom accounted for 18 percent of the Korean mobile- phone market at the end of June, compared with SK Telecom's 51 percent and KT's 31 percent, according to government data.
- SK Telecom Co. will sell its entire 15.3 percent stake in Virgin Mobile USA Inc. to Sprint Nextel Corp. Sprint Nextel said it would acquire Virgin Mobile in a US$483 million stock-swap deal. Sprint already owns 13 percent of the U.S.-based wireless services operator, and will buy out major shareholders Virgin Group and SK Telecom. Lauren Kim, a spokeswoman at SK Telecom, said that the company's stake in Virgin Mobile would be diluted to below 1 percent from 15.3 percent following Sprint's acquisition of the mobile operator.
- Samsung Electronics Co. said it plans to begin mass production of its latest and fastest chip model later this month. The company will begin production of its 2-gigabit DDR3 DRAM chip, based on its 40-nanometer technology, six months after it developed the world's first 40-nanometer chip. The company expects the new product will lower power consumption to 70 percent of that for 50-nanometer DRAM chips. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The technology will also improve productivity by as much as 60 percent, as each DRAM chip will take up a smaller space on the production line. DRAM is a type of memory that stores each bit of data in a separate electronic component within a circuit. It is used in personal computers and other electronic devices such as mobile phones.
- South Korea's antitrust watchdog fined Qualcomm Inc. 260 billion won (US$208 million) for abusing its dominance in the local chipset market and ordered the global mobile chipmaker to end its "unfair" business practices. Qualcomm disagrees with the ruling and will appeal in a South Korean court against it. The fine imposed on the U.S.-based company was the largest ever levied against a single business by the Fair Trade Commission since it imposed a 113 billion won (US$90.6 million) fine on KT Corp. in 2005. The commission also ordered the U.S. chip maker to stop paying rebates to its customers and imposing higher royalties for those using chips supplied by its rivals. The company has offered discounts and incentives to customers for using its chips, which has contributed to the competitiveness of Korean handset makers.
- LG Electronics Co. is posting some of its strongest growth ever and taking market share from cellphone rivals. LG last year passed Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson to become the world's third-largest seller of cellphones, shipping just over 100 million units, or about 8.6 percent of the global 1.17 billion. This year, with the overall cellphone market expected to fall more than 10 percent, some analysts predict LG's cellphone shipments will rise between 10 percent to 20 percent. The division's growth is expected to help LG post a profit when it reports quarterly results at a time that many consumer-electronics companies are struggling with deep losses.
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. said its second-quarter earnings rose nearly nine-fold from a year earlier on high demand for mobile handset and TV components. Samsung Electro-Mechanics earned 76.6 billion won (US$61.2 million) in the three months ended June 30, up 791 percent. Sales rose 27 percent on-year in the April-June period to 1.316 trillion won (US$1.06 billion) with operating profit rising more than five times to 128.9 billion won (US$103.7 million).
Indonesia
- Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd. and Reliance Communications Ltd. signed an agreement worth more than 100 billion rupees (US$2.2 billion) to share telecom infrastructure India. Etisalat DB which in 2008 received spectrum and licenses to offer telecom services in 15 of India's 22 service areas, will use Reliance Communications' passive and some active infrastructure. Unit Reliance Infratel Ltd. runs the telecom infrastructure business for Reliance Communications. At the end of March, Reliance Infratel had 48,000 telecom towers.
India
- Idea Cellular Ltd. expects to break even on EBITDA within two years of commencing operations in the places where it launched mobile-phone services recently. The company launched operations in Mumbai in August last year and later added the service areas of Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Chennai to its coverage list. The industry is yet to face the worst of competition, Aga said during a teleconference with analysts, adding, it would drive average revenue per minute further lower. Telephone-service charges in India are amongst the lowest in the world.
- The Indian government has imposed penalties on telecom companies including Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Communications Ltd. and Vodafone-Essar Ltd. for violating subscriber-verification norms. The government also levied penalties on Tata Teleservices Ltd., Idea Cellular Ltd., Aircel Ltd., Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd., HFCL Infotel Ltd., Spice Communications Ltd. and BPL Ltd., apart from state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., junior Telecom Minister Gurudas Kamat told lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. has enough cash to meet its immediate funding requirements. Sachin Pilot, also a junior minister for telecommunications, said BSNL would increase its wireless capacity by about 20 million lines in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010. BSNL's subscriber-addition pace has been declining in the past few years due to an increase in subscriber base in the country and fierce competition.
- Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd. said its fiscal first quarter consolidated net loss narrowed as the company gained on higher revenue from passive infrastructure services, foreign exchange fluctuations and the sale of unused fiber capacity. Net loss for the April-June quarter reduced to 342.6 million rupees (US$7.1 million). Total revenue rose 2 percent. TTML's revenue from passive infrastructure services rose to 164 million rupees (US$3.4 million). The company consolidated its subsidiary 21st Century Infra Tele Ltd. which it acquired in July 2008. TTML, like its unlisted parent, Tata Teleservices Ltd., is in the process of rolling out global system for mobile communications, or GSM, operations, which it hopes to complete before end-2009.
Singapore
- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.'s chief executive, Chua Sock Koong, said that the company continues to evaluate investment opportunities in China. SingTel currently holds significant stakes in six foreign mobile operators: India's Bharti Airtel Ltd., Indonesia's PT Telkomsel, Thailand's Advanced Info Service PCL, Pakistan's Warid Telecom, the Philippines' Globe Telecom Inc. and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom.
Australia
- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has appointed Mike Quigley to head up the company that will drive the creation of a A$43 billion (US$35.16 billion) national broadband network. Quigley comes to the job from his most recent post as chief operating officer of Alcatel, one of the world's largest telecommunications technology and network deployment companies. Quigley has led the development and integration of large scale fiber-to-the-premise and fiber-to-the-node implementations for some of the largest U.S. carriers. The Australian government is continuing the process to appoint other directors to the board of the company, and expects to be in a position to make further announcements shortly.
Source: IRG
Sectors: IT Individual
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