LGERF.PK - News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha 'LGERF.PK' Tag RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/lgerf.pk Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (October 26 – November 1, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/171194-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-october-26-november-1-2009?source=feed 171194 Japan

Hardware

• With a stronger yen and sluggish sales of copiers and laser printers, Canon's (CAJ) quarterly operating profit might be halved from the previous year despite brisk sales of its recently launched EOS Kiss X3 camera and cost cuts. But reports said that Canon is unlikely to change its annual forecast despite having to grapple with a stronger yen than it first estimated. The company will gain 60 billion yen (US$657 million) in July-September. Canon has forecast a 60 percent fall in annual operating profit to 190 billion yen (US$2.1 billion).

]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:58:39 -0500 IRG Japan

Hardware

• With a stronger yen and sluggish sales of copiers and laser printers, Canon's (CAJ) quarterly operating profit might be halved from the previous year despite brisk sales of its recently launched EOS Kiss X3 camera and cost cuts. But reports said that Canon is unlikely to change its annual forecast despite having to grapple with a stronger yen than it first estimated. The company will gain 60 billion yen (US$657 million) in July-September. Canon has forecast a 60 percent fall in annual operating profit to 190 billion yen (US$2.1 billion).


Complete Story »]]> AUO BIDU CAJ CHA CHL CHU CSIQ CSUN CYOU DCM GA JASO KDDIF.PK LGERF.PK LNVGY.PK MSFT NELTY.PK NOK NSANY NTDOY.PK SNE SOHU SSNLF.PK SSUMY.PK TEF TLSNF.PK TOSBF.PK TSL TSM UMC ZTCOF.PK IRG Apples to Apples: Will History Repeat Itself as Android Gains on the iPhone? http://seekingalpha.com/article/170801-apples-to-apples-will-history-repeat-itself-as-android-gains-on-the-iphone?source=feed 170801

I opened one of the first computer stores, Microdigital in Liverpool, in 1978. So I was in a good position to see the rise of Apple (AAPL) to dominate the personal computer (PC) market. I even visited Apple in Cupertino in California and was offered the UK distributorship. So this put me in the front row as they built up to own the market, then threw it all away.

]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:14:22 -0500 Bruce Everiss Bruce Everiss submits:

I opened one of the first computer stores, Microdigital in Liverpool, in 1978. So I was in a good position to see the rise of Apple (AAPL) to dominate the personal computer (PC) market. I even visited Apple in Cupertino in California and was offered the UK distributorship. So this put me in the front row as they built up to own the market, then threw it all away.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL GOOG GRMN LGERF.PK MOT S SSNLF.PK TOSBF.PK VOD Bruce Everiss Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (October 19 – 25, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/169548-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-october-19-25-2009?source=feed 169548 Japan

Media, Entertainment and Gaming

• Nintendo Co. (NTDOY.PK) might reduce its earnings forecast. Annual profit will lessen for the first time in six years due to the fall of Wii console sales and stronger yen. Net income at Nintendo might lessen 11 percent to 249.3 billion yen (US$2.7 billion) this fiscal year, the first drop since the 12 months ended March 2004. The company lowered the price of Wii’s in September. Nintendo had 300 billion yen (US$3.3 billion) net income this year. Global sales of the Wii fell for the first time. Sony Corp. (SNE) sold the fewest number of PlayStation 3 machines in two years.

]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:54:39 -0400 IRG Japan

Media, Entertainment and Gaming

• Nintendo Co. (NTDOY.PK) might reduce its earnings forecast. Annual profit will lessen for the first time in six years due to the fall of Wii console sales and stronger yen. Net income at Nintendo might lessen 11 percent to 249.3 billion yen (US$2.7 billion) this fiscal year, the first drop since the 12 months ended March 2004. The company lowered the price of Wii’s in September. Nintendo had 300 billion yen (US$3.3 billion) net income this year. Global sales of the Wii fell for the first time. Sony Corp. (SNE) sold the fewest number of PlayStation 3 machines in two years.


Complete Story »]]> BIDU CHA CHL CHU CRIC CSUN FMCN GA JASO LDK LGERF.PK MSFT NTDOY.PK SINA SNDA SNE SSNLF.PK ZTCOF.PK IRG Netflix Streaming Coming to Sony's PS3 with Blu-Ray http://seekingalpha.com/article/168749-netflix-streaming-coming-to-sony-s-ps3-with-blu-ray?source=feed 168749 So much for my bet that Netflix would come to the Wii before the PS3. Today, Netflix (NFLX) and Sony (SNE) announced that sometime next month, Netflix streaming will come to the PS3. Initially, users will be required to insert a Blu-ray disc in the PS3 which will take advantage of Blu-ray's BD-Live technology to access the Netflix interface.

The disc, which is free for all Netflix members and can be ordered at www.netflix.com/ps3, is a temporary solution, but Netflix is not disclosing when the embedded PS3 solution will replace it. While the PS3 is clearly a great fit for Netflix streaming, I'm still surprised that Netflix would raise their fourth quarter guidance based on this news. With the streaming not due until sometime next month, and users having to first order the disc, I can't imagine that so much streaming takes place in about a six week window, that Netflix things it will impact earnings.

]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:15:57 -0400 Dan Rayburn Dan Rayburn submits:

So much for my bet that Netflix would come to the Wii before the PS3. Today, Netflix (NFLX) and Sony (SNE) announced that sometime next month, Netflix streaming will come to the PS3. Initially, users will be required to insert a Blu-ray disc in the PS3 which will take advantage of Blu-ray's BD-Live technology to access the Netflix interface.

The disc, which is free for all Netflix members and can be ordered at www.netflix.com/ps3, is a temporary solution, but Netflix is not disclosing when the embedded PS3 solution will replace it. While the PS3 is clearly a great fit for Netflix streaming, I'm still surprised that Netflix would raise their fourth quarter guidance based on this news. With the streaming not due until sometime next month, and users having to first order the disc, I can't imagine that so much streaming takes place in about a six week window, that Netflix things it will impact earnings.


Complete Story »]]> BBY LGERF.PK MSFT NFLX NTDOY.PK SNE SSNLF.PK Dan Rayburn Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (October 12 - 18, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/167863-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-october-12-18-2009?source=feed 167863 Japan

Semiconductor
• Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK), which secured a US$2 billion lifeline in September including public money, is planning to join industry leader Samsung Electronics Co. in a new round of technology spending to widen its lead over smaller Taiwanese makers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Spot prices of DRAM are now more than double what they were a year ago. Analysts credit demand rises for cutting-edge chips for high-performance computers as well as procurement by Chinese brokers following the National Day holiday in early October. DRAM prices will peak in the first half of October.
• Japan's Elpida Memory Inc. will raise its stake in its Rexchip, its Taiwan venture with Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (PWSCF.PK) to above 70 percent by the year's end. Elpida raised its stake in Rexchip to 64 percent from 52 percent earlier. It has acquired 350 million Rexchip shares from Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) as partial repayment of the loan interest and principal to strengthen the management of the consolidated subsidiary’s operations. Elpida Memory Co. Ltd. provided PSC with a short-term loan. Elpida and Elpida Memory merged with PSC to settle the loan obligation.

Telecommunications

]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:13:24 -0400 IRG Japan

Semiconductor
• Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK), which secured a US$2 billion lifeline in September including public money, is planning to join industry leader Samsung Electronics Co. in a new round of technology spending to widen its lead over smaller Taiwanese makers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Spot prices of DRAM are now more than double what they were a year ago. Analysts credit demand rises for cutting-edge chips for high-performance computers as well as procurement by Chinese brokers following the National Day holiday in early October. DRAM prices will peak in the first half of October.
• Japan's Elpida Memory Inc. will raise its stake in its Rexchip, its Taiwan venture with Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (PWSCF.PK) to above 70 percent by the year's end. Elpida raised its stake in Rexchip to 64 percent from 52 percent earlier. It has acquired 350 million Rexchip shares from Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) as partial repayment of the loan interest and principal to strengthen the management of the consolidated subsidiary’s operations. Elpida Memory Co. Ltd. provided PSC with a short-term loan. Elpida and Elpida Memory merged with PSC to settle the loan obligation.

Telecommunications


Complete Story »]]> BYDDY.PK CHA CHL CTRP ELPDF.PK HRAY LGERF.PK PWSCF.PK SSNLF.PK VISN ZTCOF.PK IRG Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (October 3 - 11, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/166362-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-october-3-11-2009?source=feed 166362 Japan

Semiconductors

• Elpida Memory Inc.’s (ELPDF.PK) venture with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp turned profitable in July-September on rising prices of DRAM. Taiwan firm Rexchip Electronics Corp, 52 percent owned by Elpida, has operating and net profits in five quarters as dynamic random-access memory prices declined 80 percent in 2008 in a battered chip sector. If the current recovery in chip prices continues, its profit will become more substantial. Elpida’s Tera Probe turned profitable in the quarter just ended, due to increase in demand for testing of mobile DRAM used in smartphones. Other investors in Tera Probe include Taiwan's Powertech Technology Inc, U.S. module maker Kingston Technology Co and Japanese tester maker Advantest Corp.

]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:53:02 -0400 IRG Japan

Semiconductors

• Elpida Memory Inc.’s (ELPDF.PK) venture with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp turned profitable in July-September on rising prices of DRAM. Taiwan firm Rexchip Electronics Corp, 52 percent owned by Elpida, has operating and net profits in five quarters as dynamic random-access memory prices declined 80 percent in 2008 in a battered chip sector. If the current recovery in chip prices continues, its profit will become more substantial. Elpida’s Tera Probe turned profitable in the quarter just ended, due to increase in demand for testing of mobile DRAM used in smartphones. Other investors in Tera Probe include Taiwan's Powertech Technology Inc, U.S. module maker Kingston Technology Co and Japanese tester maker Advantest Corp.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL BIDU DCM EJ ELPDF.PK GA KDDIF.PK LGERF.PK NMR SFTBF.PK SSNLF.PK TOELF.PK TOSBF.PK TSL ZTCOF.PK IRG Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (September 28 - October 2, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/165249-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-september-28-october-2-2009?source=feed 165249 Japan

Hardware

• Oki Data Corp. is initiating full-scale sales of printers in the Chinese market as part of an effort to make up for slumping sales elsewhere overseas. The Oki Electric Industry Co. subsidiary had two overseas sales organizations for printers, one for Europe and the U.S., and one for other foreign countries. It will create a third sales team at its headquarters to oversee sales in China. The new team, which is also slated to cover sales activities in Taiwan, will formulate sales plans and conduct market research. An executive responsible for sales in Japan will be appointed chairman of Oki Trading (Beijing) Co., Oki Data's local unit in Beijing, and management-level personnel will also be sent from Japan to branches in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Oki Trading has begun using endorsements from table tennis player Ai Fukuhara, who is popular there.

]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:11:29 -0400 IRG Japan

Hardware

• Oki Data Corp. is initiating full-scale sales of printers in the Chinese market as part of an effort to make up for slumping sales elsewhere overseas. The Oki Electric Industry Co. subsidiary had two overseas sales organizations for printers, one for Europe and the U.S., and one for other foreign countries. It will create a third sales team at its headquarters to oversee sales in China. The new team, which is also slated to cover sales activities in Taiwan, will formulate sales plans and conduct market research. An executive responsible for sales in Japan will be appointed chairman of Oki Trading (Beijing) Co., Oki Data's local unit in Beijing, and management-level personnel will also be sent from Japan to branches in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Oki Trading has begun using endorsements from table tennis player Ai Fukuhara, who is popular there.


Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK AMAT ATE CDCS CHA CHU DCM DELL ERIC FJTSY.PK FMCN HPQ KTC LGERF.PK LNVGY.PK NELTY.PK SINA SNE SNX SQNXF.PK TOELF.PK TSL TYOYY.PK ZTCOF.PK IRG E-Reader Wars Heating Up: Apple May Have Edge with Younger Generations http://seekingalpha.com/article/163360-e-reader-wars-heating-up-apple-may-have-edge-with-younger-generations?source=feed 163360 The release of best-selling Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, seemed to herald the emergence of the electronic reading device (e-reader) as the next mass market, must-have gizmo, as the media trumpeted the news that Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) first-day digital sales of the novel outsold paper copies. However, publishing pundits quickly refuted the assertion, calling into question how Amazon was going to account for pre-orders, which had made the hardcover version one of Amazon’s top-selling books for 156 days. While the actual number of e-book sales of The Lost Symbol is still undergoing vigorous debate–the Associated Press reported that it only represents 5 percent of sales–it seems clear that e-readers and e-books are coming into vogue.

With all that said, the question arises as to which company is ultimately going to become the e-reader sales leader? Among those currently in contention are Amazon, with its “Kindle;” Sony (SNE), with at least five versions of its “Reader;” Samsung (SSNLF.PK), with its “Papyrus;” Fujitsu (FJTSY.PK), with its “FLEPia;” Jinke Electronics, with its “HanLin eBook;” Interead, with its “Cool-er;” and IRex Technologies (a spinoff from Royal Philips Electronics (PHG)), with its “Digital Reader 1000” and “iLiad.”

]]> Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:56:19 -0400 Beacon Asset Managers Jamie Moye submits:

The release of best-selling Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, seemed to herald the emergence of the electronic reading device (e-reader) as the next mass market, must-have gizmo, as the media trumpeted the news that Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) first-day digital sales of the novel outsold paper copies. However, publishing pundits quickly refuted the assertion, calling into question how Amazon was going to account for pre-orders, which had made the hardcover version one of Amazon’s top-selling books for 156 days. While the actual number of e-book sales of The Lost Symbol is still undergoing vigorous debate–the Associated Press reported that it only represents 5 percent of sales–it seems clear that e-readers and e-books are coming into vogue.

With all that said, the question arises as to which company is ultimately going to become the e-reader sales leader? Among those currently in contention are Amazon, with its “Kindle;” Sony (SNE), with at least five versions of its “Reader;” Samsung (SSNLF.PK), with its “Papyrus;” Fujitsu (FJTSY.PK), with its “FLEPia;” Jinke Electronics, with its “HanLin eBook;” Interead, with its “Cool-er;” and IRex Technologies (a spinoff from Royal Philips Electronics (PHG)), with its “Digital Reader 1000” and “iLiad.”


Complete Story »]]> AAPL AMZN BBY FJTSY.PK GOOG HPQ LGERF.PK MSFT NOK PALM PC PHG SNE SSNLF.PK VZ Beacon Asset Managers Korea Lets the iPhone In but Will Trade Barriers Still Stay in Place? http://seekingalpha.com/article/162909-korea-lets-the-iphone-in-but-will-trade-barriers-still-stay-in-place?source=feed 162909 The iPhone has been approved for sale in Korea by the local operators. KT (KTC) is known to be interested, while SK and LG (LGERF.PK) are not clear.

The WSJ account makes it sound like a temporary suspension of protectionist barriers to protect Samsung (SSNLF.PK) and LG:

]]> Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:41:29 -0400 Joel West Joel West submits:

The iPhone has been approved for sale in Korea by the local operators. KT (KTC) is known to be interested, while SK and LG (LGERF.PK) are not clear.

The WSJ account makes it sound like a temporary suspension of protectionist barriers to protect Samsung (SSNLF.PK) and LG:


Complete Story »]]> KTC LGERF.PK SSNLF.PK Joel West Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (September 14-20, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/162519-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-september-14-20-2009?source=feed 162519 Japan

Mobile/ Wireless

• Willcom Inc. planning to ask creditor banks to allow a delay in the payment of some 100 billion yen (US$1 billion) in debts due to a decline in subscribers. In order to revive its business, Willcom will have to apply for a type of private rehabilitation which combines features of both a court-mandated liquidation and a voluntary liquidation. The company will aim to turn itself around with the help of a third-party body specializing in private rehabilitation while continuing PHS mobile services. On a net subscription basis, fresh subscriptions minus cancellations. Willcom has suffered continuous drops in contracts, registering a net subscription loss of 30,900 in August.

]]> Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:01:09 -0400 IRG Japan

Mobile/ Wireless

• Willcom Inc. planning to ask creditor banks to allow a delay in the payment of some 100 billion yen (US$1 billion) in debts due to a decline in subscribers. In order to revive its business, Willcom will have to apply for a type of private rehabilitation which combines features of both a court-mandated liquidation and a voluntary liquidation. The company will aim to turn itself around with the help of a third-party body specializing in private rehabilitation while continuing PHS mobile services. On a net subscription basis, fresh subscriptions minus cancellations. Willcom has suffered continuous drops in contracts, registering a net subscription loss of 30,900 in August.


Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK CDCS DCM ERIC HIT KDDIF.PK KGDEF.PK LGERF.PK MIELY.PK NELTY.PK SANYY.PK SIGM SNDA TMOAF.PK IRG Is the Time Right for Nokia? http://seekingalpha.com/article/162341-is-the-time-right-for-nokia?source=feed 162341 Last year, Nokia (NOK) sold 472 m cell phones and made $7bn of profit on $70bn of sales. Every 13 seconds, a Nokia handset pops off the end of a production line. In countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil - the emerging economic super powers - Nokia is the number one selling phone brand.

In 1996, Nokia sold the world’s first internet enabled phone and last year, of the 139m smartphones that were sold worldwide, 61m were made by Nokia. By comparison, just 11.4m were iPhones.

]]> Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:40:47 -0400 Keith Woolcock Last year, Nokia (NOK) sold 472 m cell phones and made $7bn of profit on $70bn of sales. Every 13 seconds, a Nokia handset pops off the end of a production line. In countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil - the emerging economic super powers - Nokia is the number one selling phone brand.

In 1996, Nokia sold the world’s first internet enabled phone and last year, of the 139m smartphones that were sold worldwide, 61m were made by Nokia. By comparison, just 11.4m were iPhones.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL LGERF.PK NOK RIMM SSNLF.PK Keith Woolcock Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (September 7-13, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/161951-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-september-7-13-2009?source=feed 161951 Japan

Hardware

• Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 video game console’s weekly sales jumped to a record in Japan following the introduction of a slimmer, cheaper model. The new PlayStation 3 sold 150,252 units. Sony cut the price of the PS3 in Japan by 25 percent to 29,980 yen (US$323) with similar reductions worldwide and introduced a model that is one-third the size of the original and consumes 34 percent less power. Microsoft (MSFT) followed with a US$100 reduction for its most expensive Xbox 360 player to US$300. Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) kept the price of the Wii at US$250.

]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:17:29 -0400 IRG Japan

Hardware

• Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 video game console’s weekly sales jumped to a record in Japan following the introduction of a slimmer, cheaper model. The new PlayStation 3 sold 150,252 units. Sony cut the price of the PS3 in Japan by 25 percent to 29,980 yen (US$323) with similar reductions worldwide and introduced a model that is one-third the size of the original and consumes 34 percent less power. Microsoft (MSFT) followed with a US$100 reduction for its most expensive Xbox 360 player to US$300. Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) kept the price of the Wii at US$250.


Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK ALU ATE BIDU CHL CHU DCM ERIC GOOG HRELF.PK KDDIF.PK LDK LGERF.PK MOT MSFT NOK NTDOY.PK RIMM SFTBF.PK SNDK SNE SQNXF.PK SSNLF.PK SUMCY.PK TAR TDK THQI TOSBF.PK TSL ZTCOF.PK IRG Why Naming Your Technology Is Important http://seekingalpha.com/article/161914-why-naming-your-technology-is-important?source=feed 161914 Our washer and dryer was on the fritz today, and as I started to do some research on large capacity stackable units I started to get overwhelmed with all of the new terminology and features. After all, isn’t a washer a washer and a dryer a dryer. How many different combinations and features could there be?
As I dug deeper I found myself thinking about these appliances less from a consumer’s viewpoint and more from a marketing one and appreciating how these various companies could make a commodity product sound so exciting and differentiated. Sure, all of the competing products had to check off performance, speed, and low energy but what really struck me was the marketing terminology they used to differentiate themselves.
Rather than just sell a steam washer or dryer LG (LGERF.PK) had TrueSteam technology while Electrolux (ELUXF.PK) offered PerfectSteam on their site. These appliances didn’t just balance well but LG used TrueBalance AntiVibration System versus the Perfect Balance System from Electrolux. Other features included the Direct Drive motor from LG for better performance while the Electrolux offered WaveTouch Controls.
What this really helped me think about was how these various companies prioritized the features for their given market and how they differentiated themselves through their proprietary technology or secret sauce. And yes, I immediately began to think about how looking at marketing in the washer and dryer world would apply to startups.

Researching washers and dryers reminded me of several meetings I had years ago with a marketing expert named Richard Currier. His big thing was to take a basic technology, break it out into a few parts, and to give them sexy names. For example when Sybase (SY) the database company was on the market it was fighting with Oracle (ORCL) and others and ended up capturing a big chunk of the financial services market because it leveraged an innovation it called Two-Phase commit. Every sales person would lead in with the benefits of Two-phase commit and while other competitors may have had something like it, if it wasn't Two-Phase commit it wasn't good enough. What Sybase did was take one of its secret sauce technologies (innovative at the time, standard now), named it, and leveraged the crap out of it with its sales force. While the technology performed as advertised, naming it definitely gave it some cache.
]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:42:37 -0400 Ed Sim Ed Sim submits:
Our washer and dryer was on the fritz today, and as I started to do some research on large capacity stackable units I started to get overwhelmed with all of the new terminology and features. After all, isn’t a washer a washer and a dryer a dryer. How many different combinations and features could there be?
As I dug deeper I found myself thinking about these appliances less from a consumer’s viewpoint and more from a marketing one and appreciating how these various companies could make a commodity product sound so exciting and differentiated. Sure, all of the competing products had to check off performance, speed, and low energy but what really struck me was the marketing terminology they used to differentiate themselves.
Rather than just sell a steam washer or dryer LG (LGERF.PK) had TrueSteam technology while Electrolux (ELUXF.PK) offered PerfectSteam on their site. These appliances didn’t just balance well but LG used TrueBalance AntiVibration System versus the Perfect Balance System from Electrolux. Other features included the Direct Drive motor from LG for better performance while the Electrolux offered WaveTouch Controls.
What this really helped me think about was how these various companies prioritized the features for their given market and how they differentiated themselves through their proprietary technology or secret sauce. And yes, I immediately began to think about how looking at marketing in the washer and dryer world would apply to startups.

Researching washers and dryers reminded me of several meetings I had years ago with a marketing expert named Richard Currier. His big thing was to take a basic technology, break it out into a few parts, and to give them sexy names. For example when Sybase (SY) the database company was on the market it was fighting with Oracle (ORCL) and others and ended up capturing a big chunk of the financial services market because it leveraged an innovation it called Two-Phase commit. Every sales person would lead in with the benefits of Two-phase commit and while other competitors may have had something like it, if it wasn't Two-Phase commit it wasn't good enough. What Sybase did was take one of its secret sauce technologies (innovative at the time, standard now), named it, and leveraged the crap out of it with its sales force. While the technology performed as advertised, naming it definitely gave it some cache.

Complete Story »]]> ELUXF.PK LGERF.PK ORCL SY Ed Sim The Roller Coaster Ride Continues in LCD Panel and Equipment Sales http://seekingalpha.com/article/161003-the-roller-coaster-ride-continues-in-lcd-panel-and-equipment-sales?source=feed 161003 Falling panel prices, low fab utilization, and continued worldwide economic concerns will cause fab expansions to be delayed, driving down forecast 2009 spending by 21%.

Although LCD manufacturers have announced capex reductions of about 50% for 2009 in response to the global economic crisis, capex is a moving target subject to change throughout the year. For example, in anticipation of a banner year in 2008, initial capex forecasts made in early 2008 called for an 86% increase. In fact, capex ended up growing only 13%.

]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:28:25 -0400 Robert Castellano Robert Castellano submits:

Falling panel prices, low fab utilization, and continued worldwide economic concerns will cause fab expansions to be delayed, driving down forecast 2009 spending by 21%.

Although LCD manufacturers have announced capex reductions of about 50% for 2009 in response to the global economic crisis, capex is a moving target subject to change throughout the year. For example, in anticipation of a banner year in 2008, initial capex forecasts made in early 2008 called for an 86% increase. In fact, capex ended up growing only 13%.


Complete Story »]]> AUO LGERF.PK SHCAY.PK SSNLF.PK Robert Castellano Suitors Lining Up for LG-Nortel http://seekingalpha.com/article/159741-suitors-lining-up-for-lg-nortel?source=feed 159741 According to a South Korean newspaper, the potential bidders for Nortel’s (NRTLQ.PK) 50% + 1 stake in the Nortel-LG (LGERF.PK) joint venture include Sony Ericsson (ERIC), Alcatel Lucent (ALU) a private equity arm of JP Morgan, and South Korean investment firm SkyLake Incuvest.

Reuters reported that LG Electronics wants to keep its stake in the joint venture, which was created in 2005 and has been one of Nortel’s few good news stories.

]]> Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:13:39 -0400 Mark Evans Mark Evans submits:

According to a South Korean newspaper, the potential bidders for Nortel’s (NRTLQ.PK) 50% + 1 stake in the Nortel-LG (LGERF.PK) joint venture include Sony Ericsson (ERIC), Alcatel Lucent (ALU) a private equity arm of JP Morgan, and South Korean investment firm SkyLake Incuvest.

Reuters reported that LG Electronics wants to keep its stake in the joint venture, which was created in 2005 and has been one of Nortel’s few good news stories.


Complete Story »]]> LGERF.PK NRTLQ.PK Mark Evans Asian Tech Stock Weekly Review (August 24-30, 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/159312-asian-tech-stock-weekly-review-august-24-30-2009?source=feed 159312 Japan

Hardware

• Sony Corp. (SNE) cut the price of its PlayStation 3 console by 25 percent, bowing to demands from game publishers and increasing the pressure on industry leader Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) to follow. PlayStation 3's price will be US$299 in the U.S., with comparable reductions in Europe and Japan. Nintendo offers the Wii for US$250 and Microsoft Corp (MSFT) sells its Xbox 360 machine for as little as US$200. Sony chairman Howard Stringer, who rebuffed calls for cheaper prices as recently as last month, reversed course after PS3 sales tumbled to a two-year low. Sales of Nintendo's market-leading Wii dropped for the first time last quarter as the global recession drove down consumer spending.

]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:52:48 -0400 IRG Japan

Hardware

• Sony Corp. (SNE) cut the price of its PlayStation 3 console by 25 percent, bowing to demands from game publishers and increasing the pressure on industry leader Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) to follow. PlayStation 3's price will be US$299 in the U.S., with comparable reductions in Europe and Japan. Nintendo offers the Wii for US$250 and Microsoft Corp (MSFT) sells its Xbox 360 machine for as little as US$200. Sony chairman Howard Stringer, who rebuffed calls for cheaper prices as recently as last month, reversed course after PS3 sales tumbled to a two-year low. Sales of Nintendo's market-leading Wii dropped for the first time last quarter as the global recession drove down consumer spending.


Complete Story »]]> CHA CHL CHU FJTSY.PK LGERF.PK NDWTF.PK NELTY.PK NTDOY.PK SFTBF.PK SNE SSNLF.PK ZTCOF.PK IRG Asian Tech Stock Weekly Summary (Week of 17 – 23 Aug 2009) http://seekingalpha.com/article/158361-asian-tech-stock-weekly-summary-week-of-17-23-aug-2009?source=feed 158361 Japan
Hardware
• Fujitsu Ltd. (FJTSY.PK) raised its full-year profit forecast almost four-fold after selling a 5 percent stake in Fanuc Ltd. Net income will probably reach 95 billion yen (US$1 billion) in the year ending March 2010. The company had a 112.4 billion yen (US$1.2 billion) net loss last fiscal year. Fujitsu gained 89 billion yen (US$942.9 million) from the sale of 12 million Fanuc shares. The sale reduced the company’s holding in Fanuc to almost zero.
• Sony Corp. (SNE) cut the price of its flagship PlayStation 3 by 25 percent to narrow the gap with better- selling machines from Nintendo Co. (NTDOY.PK) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) The new price is US$299. The company will introduce a slimmer version of the PS3 at the same price in the first week of September, and replace those now in stores. The moves, greeted with cheers at the European game conference, may spur sales of the PS3 after shipments tumbled to a two-year low in the second quarter. The price cut is needed to meet sales projections of 13 million consoles worldwide in the year ending March 2010. Sales fell to 37 percent. The Networked Products & Services Group, led by Kazuo Hirai, 48, recorded the biggest loss among the company’s divisions.
• Sony Corp. (SNE) plans to boost its joint parts purchases with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB to cut costs and help the struggling cellular phone joint venture. The two already jointly purchase capacitors and now plan to expand the list of products to include components used in both Sony's electronics and Sony Ericsson's cell phones. Sony, which competes with Canon in digital cameras and Samsung Electronics in flat TVs, will notify key parts suppliers of its plan as early as this month and will start joint price negotiations. By increasing their purchasing volumes, the companies plan to bolster their leverage in price negotiations with suppliers.
• Fujitsu Ltd. announced that three models in its Primergy series of personal computer servers have been certified to run the Asianux Server 3 operating system, a multilanguage Linux platform. Armed with this authorization, Fujitsu aims to work with vendor Asianux Corp. to push into the Asian markets for PC servers, particularly China, where the Linux server market is growing at a double-digit pace. The Asianux Consortium has five members Linux vendors from Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. Each partner takes responsibility for marketing and support in their home country. This authorization puts Fujitsu in a position to take advantage of features that can only be realized when the server hardware and the Asianux operating system software work hand in hand.
• Canon (CAJ) looks to China for one fifth of the company's global digital camera revenue in the next couple of years. The company's confidence springs from the judgment that the global economic crisis had not impacted China's digital camera market as much as earlier estimated.
Semiconductor
• Sanyo Electric Co. (SANYY.PK) will supply Toyota (TM) with batteries from about 2011. Lithium-ion batteries have higher output and capacity than the nickel-metal hydride type that Toyota uses in the Prius and other hybrid vehicles.
• Orders for Japanese equipment used to make semiconductors outpaced sales for the fourth straight month in July as the chip sector inches out of its worst-ever downturn. Back-to-school demand for PCs is helping chip sales scramble up from record low levels, nudging up spending at Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, and helping outlook at memory chip giant Samsung Electronics. Orders for Japanese chip-making equipment rose for the fifth straight month in July to 50.5 billion yen (US$533 million) outpacing sales of 36.8 billion yen (US$389 million), calculations based on industry data showed. The orders were still down 46 percent from a year earlier.
• The financial results for the April-June 2009 fiscal first quarter posted by Japan's four major dedicated semiconductor makers showed marked improvements over the preceding quarter. Although there were still declines in both sales and profits on the year, the results appear to indicate that the worst was over for Japan's semiconductor industry, as a surge in demand for semiconductors used in flat-screen televisions and environmentally friendly cars like hybrid vehicles buoyed their performance. NEC Electronics’ (NELTY.PK) plant utilization rate increased to 51 percent in the April-June quarter, from 43 percent in the previous quarter, due to better-than-expected demand for discrete semiconductors and semiconductors used in automobiles and cell-phone cameras. It added that the figure was likely to move up to 70 percent soon.
• Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK) has entered into an agreement with Development Bank of Japan to raise 30,000 million yen (US$314.85 million) through the issue of its Series 1 and Series 2 preferred shares. The preferred shares, to be issued at a price of 10,000 yen (US$104.95) per share, are convertible into 23.683 million newly issued ordinary shares of Elpida at a conversion price of 1,377 yen (US$14.45) per Series 1 and 1,218 yen (US$12.78) per Series 2 preferred shares. The proceeds from the offering will be used by Elpida to implement its business restructuring plan, which includes investment in research and development and in capital expenditure.
Telecommunications
• NEC Corp. (NIPNF.PK) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) plan to provide wireless base stations for KDDI Corp.'s (KDDIF.PK) next-generation mobile network. The LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard paves the way for cellular communications speeds on a par with fiber-optic lines, enabling users to download music CD in less than one minute and a two-hour movie in about five minutes. With an eye toward commercializing the technology in December 2012, KDDI plans to spend 515 billion yen (US$5.5 billion) on related capital investments through the end of fiscal 2014. The cellular service carrier solicited proposals from a wide range of equipment providers, including Chinese and European firms. It has already selected Hitachi Ltd. to build the network's core infrastructure.
Korea
Telecommunications
• SK Telecom (SKMTF.PK) will not invest in Vietnamese mobile operator S-Fone anymore due to low subscription growth. SK Telecom began investing in the joint venture in 2001 and has so far injected US$180 million in S-Fone.
• The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is calling on operators to cut mobile voice prices, reports the Korea Times. The regulator plans to require operators to adopt three measures, including the introduction of non-subsidy-based phone charges, the expansion of pre-paid charge systems and the early adoption of an MVNO policy. The regulator believes that by not receiving subsidies from telecom operators, mobile users would cut their basic phone consumption, while pre-paid services could better meet the needs of low-volume users. The MVNO policy will enable operators to provide mobile services on a borrowed spectrum and thus allow the entry of new players on the market.
Hardware
• Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK) will have its global mobile handset market surpass 20 percent for the first time in the second half of the year. Samsung is expected to sell some 117.8 million units during the July-December period, raising its global market share to 20.3 percent. The U.S. market researcher earlier said Samsung Electronics had a 19.2 percent market share in the second quarter this year, rising from 16 percent in the first quarter. Market share held by Nokia Corp. (NOK) will continue to drop in the second half of the year from the same period last year. Nokia's market share is expected to fall to 37.6 percent in the third quarter and 37 percent in the fourth quarter.
• LG Electronics (LGERF.PK) has increased its focus on the Japanese market and unveiled two phones for launch with NTT Docomo (DCM). The manufacturer has introduced two touchscreen phones, the L-06A and the L-04A, with the Japanese mobile operator. These are the first two models that were designed by LG Electronics' design centre in Tokyo, the JoongAng Daily reports citing Lee Gyu-hong, vice president of LG Electronics Japan. The company has also launched an aggressive marketing campaign which features Japanese actress Aoi Yu. LG targets sales in Japan of around 1.5 million units, three times more than last year.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
• Electronic Game Card, Inc. (EGMI) has signed a three-year license agreement with Kellof, Inc. for distribution of the Electronic GameCard, Electronic iQuizCard, and Electronic Edutainment PLAY Cards, into its South Korea clients and strategic affiliation with Borazone Co., Ltd. Company management expects the agreement, which contains yearly minimum royalty guarantees, to begin generating sales in the current year fourth quarter. One of the key distribution channels for Kellof will be with Borazone and directly with household leading global brands from Korea.
China
Internet
• Alibaba.com Ltd. (ALBCF.PK) decided to buy the business management software division from Alisoft Holding Ltd. for 208 million yuan (US$30.5 million) to increase operational efficiency. This is the first time Alibaba.com has acquired assets from its parent in a move to supplement its product offerings and generate new sources of revenue. The closing of the acquisition will be by Sept. 1. The business management software division, which has more than 250 employees, will be included with Alibaba.com's Information Technology Business Unit. The transfer of business management software division comprises application software product lines for small businesses, customer contracts and employees.
• Alibaba's consumer-focused e-commerce site Taobao recorded transaction volume of 80.9 billion yuan (US$11.8 billion) in the first half of 2009, climbed 97 percent year-on-year. Taobao's gross merchandise volume was equal to 1.4 percent of China's total retail sales in the first half of the year. Taobao's registered users grew 101 percent year-on-year to 145 million as of June 30, 2009. 47 percent of Taobao users are between the ages of 26-35, while 39 percent are between the ages of 16-25. spending per order declined by 51.5 yuan (US$7.54) from last year due to the economic slow-down, but the overall number of orders rose by 184 percent as e-commerce gained broader acceptance among China's online population. Household goods have become the top selling category in terms of total sales transaction value for the first time.
• Baidu Inc.’s (BIDU) new advertising system has slightly hurt revenue since its launch but could significantly boost revenue as soon as the current quarter. The new system more clearly differentiates paid advertisements from natural search results, and offers advertisers new tools to track the return on their investment. Baidu is in transition, using the new system for some but not all searches. Phoenix Nest began to have more criticism for not clearly differentiating ads from organic search results. Phoenix Nest has negatively affected its revenue due to incentives offered to advertisers to switch to the new system such as credit rebates to advertisers' accounts.
• China Finance Online Co. Limited (JRJC) had net revenues of US$12.28 million for the quarter, down 16 percent year-on-year but climbed 4 percent quarter-on-quarter, for the second quarter of 2009. Individual customer subscription service fees accounted for 88 percent of net revenues in the quarter. Net loss attributable to China Finance Online was US$2.4 million in the second quarter of 2009, compared to net income of US$4.56 million for same period of 2008 and net loss of US$128,000 for the previous quarter. Predicting continued influence from the economic crisis in the coming quarters, China Finance Online guided third quarter net revenues in the range of US$12 million to US$13 million, compared to US$15.23 million in the year-ago period.
Mobile/ Wireless
• China TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. (CNTF) had net profit of US$ 4.5 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. Net revenue is US$49.8 million in the quarter, increasing by 2.4 percent quarter on quarter. Gross profit is US$9.5 million, climbing to 7.6 percent quarter on quarter compared with US$8.8 million in the first quarter; gross margin 19 percent. Operating expenses US$7.3 million. The company's revenue is expected to range from US$47 million to US$52 million in the third quarter.
Software
• CDC Corporation (CHINA) had net income of US$3.34 million in the second quarter of 2009. Total revenues came to US$81.65 million over the period. CDC Corp's had subsidiary CDC Software remained the company's biggest revenue source, contributing US$50.61 million over the quarter, while CDC's IT consulting division, Global Services, brought in US$18.53 million. CDC Games had US$9.46 million during the three-month period, and separately listed portal operating subsidiary China.com added US$3.06 million.
• Omnix Software has appointed Beijing Sinoprof Information Technologies as its partner in China. Sinoprof, one of the leading ERP consulting service providers in China, works with Chinese telecommunication operators including China Mobile and China Unicom. Sinoprof is in a strong position to advice operators throughout the region on their MSS/OSS solutions. Omnix Software solutions will be targeted at Sinoprof’s customers to assist them with extensive nationwide 3G site deployments. The upgraded networks are already being rolled out across China, but high quality, on-time service enhancements require a collaborative workflow system that can manage the processes for deploying the new equipment in the network.
Telecommunications
• China Mobile (CHL) will likely report its first-half net profit rose 2.9 percent. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 likely rose 8.9 percent. China Mobile added 35.87 million subscribers in the first six months of this year, bringing its total subscriber base to 493.12 million at the end of June. Earnings growth momentum for China Mobile is slowing down due to the weakening economy and increasing competition from China Unicom and China Telecom. China Telecom is expected to report its first-half net profit likely fell 34 percent.
• China Mobile had a sharp slowdown in profit growth for the first half as competition intensified and it added low-income subscribers in rural areas. Earnings growth momentum for China Mobile is slowing down due to the weakening economy and increasing competition from China Unicom and China Telecom. After the commercial launch of its third-generation mobile service in January, China Mobile has been striving to improve its network coverage and handset quality to add subscribers. The slowdown in its subscriber growth was due to higher mobile penetration in urban cities, but the company still sees room for growth in central and western China.
• ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF.PK) posted a 41.9 percent rise in second quarter net profit, boosted by huge spending on 3G networks by the country's three telecom carriers. ZTE second quarter earnings rose. Beijing has targeted spending of US$58.5 billion in 3G mobile network construction through 2011 after handing out long-delayed 3G licenses earlier this year. The results came after ZTE's first quarter profits rose 29 percent. The company's share price rose 72.3 percent in the first half of the year, almost doubling the 38.9 percent surge on Hong Kong's China Enterprises index over the same period.
• China Telecom (CHA) has selected Huawei Technologies and Ericsson (ERIC) as the winners of its second round 40-gbps wave division multiplexing network equipment tender. Among the tender participants, which included all major WDM equipment suppliers in China, Huawei was selected to provide 87 percent of the total tender value, while Ericsson won 13 percent. The total value of the tender has not yet been revealed. The tender equipment will be used in the second phase of China Telecom's WDM network construction in the Yangtze River Delta and Zhujiang River Delta regions.
• China Telecom said a damaged nine undersea cables caused by a major earthquake in south east of Taiwan is the cause for the disruptions to international telecom services. Five of the cables are used by China Telecom. The cables support phone and Internet services from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Singapore. Traffic is being rerouted through operational cables as they repair the damaged cables. Time for repair work was not given. The breakdown of the FNAL/RNAL cable, a key information conduit for northeast Asia, had caused disruption to services from China to the United States and Europe.
• The three state-owned Chinese mobile operators, which were granted 3G licences in January, proposed to make 450 billion yuan (US$65.9 billion) investments in 3G services in the next two-and-a-half to three years. Each operator needs to develop at least 50 million 3G users, and try its best to reach 80 million in the next three years. With three 3G operators, the regulator expects to reach 240 million 3G users in three years, a target which is higher than the government's previous goal of 150 million in three years made in February. Analysts said the 240 million users target is much more aggressive and questioned how the government would achieve this. 3G penetration will reach 16 percent in 2012, based on a projection of a total number of mobile users of 938 million.
Information Technology
• VanceInfo Technologies (VIT), one of the leading offshore outsourcing companies in China, is looking at fresh domestic acquisitions to boost its presence in the backroom operations of the financial industry, as firms in its key markets the U.S. and Europe begin to recover. The company plans to buy a few Chinese banking software companies valued between US$2-5 million. VanceInfo brought Hong Kong-based customer relationship services firm TP Corp. The acquisition enabled the company to gain access to some key accounts in Hong Kong, China and Southeast Asia. VanceInfo was also looking to close deals with potential new customers from the United States and European markets worth between US$5-10 million each. VanceInfo may provide application software development services for those new projects.
Technology
· AirMedia Group Inc. (AMCN) had net loss of US$7.0 million for the second quarter of 2009. Total revenues grew 23.7 percent year-on-year and 12.3 percent sequentially to US$36.8 million, of which revenues from digital frames in airports increased 50.3 percent year-on-year and 36.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$16.5 million, while revenues from airport digital TV screens fell 30.6 percent annually and 25.5 percent sequentially to US$9.1 million. The company generated US$3.9 million from airplane-based digital TV screens. The fees represent 77.3 percent of the quarter's net revenues, compared to 40.0 percent in the same period one year ago and 59.9 percent in the previous quarter.
Hardware
• Dell (DELL) is entering the smart phone market for the first time through a cooperation deal with China Mobile Ltd. Dell’s handset model, mini3i, supports the company's new online platform which offers music, games, videos and other entertainment applications for download to mobile phones. The two companies are working together on the development of mobile devices. Major personal-computer makers, suffering from stiff competition and pricing pressure, have been turning their attention to a new market for growth - smart phones - which are mobile devices that offer access to e-mail and support other multimedia functions.
Alternative Energy
• Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) had net income of US$18.9 million in the second quarter of 2009, as the financing customer increases, European demand and government incentive programs pushed module shipments up 34.3 percent year-on-year and 30.9 percent sequentially to 63.9MW. The company had net profit of US$17.1 million in the year-ago period and a net loss of US$10.6 million in the previous quarter. Second quarter earnings is US$5 million accounts receivable write-off, and US$13.7 million foreign currency exchange gain, because of the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar. Net revenues increased to 13.5 percent sequentially to US$150 million in the second quarter, but had 26.5 percent year-on-year decline due to falling module prices. Gross margin was up by 27.4 percent from 17.2 percent and 23.2 percent in the previous quarter and year-ago periods, respectively, as average silicon purchase prices fell.
• Solargiga Energy Holdings had loss of 119.75 million yuan (US$17.5 million) in the six months ended June 2009. The company's turnover was down by 55.7 percent year-on-year. Solargiga attributed the decline in turnover to low product prices as last year's financial crisis knocked global demand. The group sees to put a new silicon ingot and wafer plant into full production in the fourth quarter of this year, bringing its annual output capacity to 4,000MT of ingot and 150 million wafers, equivalent to 400MW.
• Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source Co Ltd plans to invest 4.8 billion yuan (US$702.5 million) to build a 150-megawatt on-grid solar project in the Taiyangshan Development Zone in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The subsidiary plans to build the 3,600-Mu solar project in four phrases that will cost 640 million yuan (US$93.7 million), 1.92 billion yuan (US$281 million), 640 million yuan (US$93.7 million) and 1.6 billion yuan (US$234 million). The first phase will begin in January 2010. In addition, Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source also plans to invest 800 million yuan (US$117 million) to increase the annual output of a polycrystalline silicon plant in Jiashan County by 120-MW.
• ET Solar has sold a total of 4.2MW of multicrystalline modules to three large Italian commercial projects, including both ground mounted and rooftop installations. Prato (1.3MW), Perugia (1MW) and Imola (1.9MW) are the three projects. The first two projects have already begun operation, while the third will be fully connected to the grid next month.
• Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) second quarter’s total net revenues was 1,498.9 million yuan (US$219.5 million) with a PV module shipment volume increase of 72.3 percent quarter over quarter. Gross profit was 273.8 million yuan (US$40.1 million), with a gross margin of 18.3 percent. Operating income was 106.8 million yuan (US$15.6 million), with an operating margin of 7.1 percent. Net loss was 393.7 million yuan (US$57.6 million) and diluted loss per ordinary share and per ADS was 3.03 yuan (US$0.44) as a result of loss on debt extinguishment of 244.7 million yuan (US$35.8 million) and loss on derivative liabilities of 204.2 million yuan (US$29.9 million) in the quarter, both of which were non-recurring, non-cash charges.
• Suntech Power Holdings (STP) booked net income of US$10.0 million in the second quarter of 2009, climbed from US$1.8 million in the prior quarter. Total net revenues for the period came to US$321.0 million, an increase of 1.7 percent sequentially. Suntech sees third quarter 2009 shipments to show 50 percent growth on a quarterly basis, while fourth quarter shipments will slide slightly quarter-on-quarter due to seasonality factors.
• ReneSola (SOL) has won the right to build a 150MW on-grid solar power project in Taiyangshan Development Zone in Wuzhong city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The project will have to require 4.8 billion yuan (US$706 million) in total investment and will be built in four phases over four years from 2010.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
• Aurora Interactive, founded by former 17Game Chief Technology Officer Fang Xiaori, received funding. 17Game is a unit of CDC Corporation's online gaming unit CDC Games. Aurora was established nearly two years ago and recently began load testing the 3D MMO.
• Giant Interactive Group Inc. (GA) announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 2009 with net revenue of 364.1 million yuan (US$53.3 million). Gross profit was 309.5 million yuan (US$45.3 million). Gross profit margin for the second quarter 2009 was 85.0 percent. Net income attributable to the company's shareholders was 231.9 million yuan (US$34.0 million). Basic and diluted earnings per AD) were 1.03 yuan (US$0.15) and 0.99 yuan (US$0.15). Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders excluding non-cash share-based compensation was 239.8 million yuan (US$35.1 million). The margin of non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders excluding non-cash share-based compensation was 65.9 percent. Basic and diluted non-GAAP earnings excluding non-cash share-based compensation per ADS were 1.06 yuan (US$0.16) and 1.03 yuan (US$0.15).
]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:48:39 -0400 IRG Japan
Hardware
• Fujitsu Ltd. (FJTSY.PK) raised its full-year profit forecast almost four-fold after selling a 5 percent stake in Fanuc Ltd. Net income will probably reach 95 billion yen (US$1 billion) in the year ending March 2010. The company had a 112.4 billion yen (US$1.2 billion) net loss last fiscal year. Fujitsu gained 89 billion yen (US$942.9 million) from the sale of 12 million Fanuc shares. The sale reduced the company’s holding in Fanuc to almost zero.
• Sony Corp. (SNE) cut the price of its flagship PlayStation 3 by 25 percent to narrow the gap with better- selling machines from Nintendo Co. (NTDOY.PK) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) The new price is US$299. The company will introduce a slimmer version of the PS3 at the same price in the first week of September, and replace those now in stores. The moves, greeted with cheers at the European game conference, may spur sales of the PS3 after shipments tumbled to a two-year low in the second quarter. The price cut is needed to meet sales projections of 13 million consoles worldwide in the year ending March 2010. Sales fell to 37 percent. The Networked Products & Services Group, led by Kazuo Hirai, 48, recorded the biggest loss among the company’s divisions.
• Sony Corp. (SNE) plans to boost its joint parts purchases with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB to cut costs and help the struggling cellular phone joint venture. The two already jointly purchase capacitors and now plan to expand the list of products to include components used in both Sony's electronics and Sony Ericsson's cell phones. Sony, which competes with Canon in digital cameras and Samsung Electronics in flat TVs, will notify key parts suppliers of its plan as early as this month and will start joint price negotiations. By increasing their purchasing volumes, the companies plan to bolster their leverage in price negotiations with suppliers.
• Fujitsu Ltd. announced that three models in its Primergy series of personal computer servers have been certified to run the Asianux Server 3 operating system, a multilanguage Linux platform. Armed with this authorization, Fujitsu aims to work with vendor Asianux Corp. to push into the Asian markets for PC servers, particularly China, where the Linux server market is growing at a double-digit pace. The Asianux Consortium has five members Linux vendors from Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. Each partner takes responsibility for marketing and support in their home country. This authorization puts Fujitsu in a position to take advantage of features that can only be realized when the server hardware and the Asianux operating system software work hand in hand.
• Canon (CAJ) looks to China for one fifth of the company's global digital camera revenue in the next couple of years. The company's confidence springs from the judgment that the global economic crisis had not impacted China's digital camera market as much as earlier estimated.
Semiconductor
• Sanyo Electric Co. (SANYY.PK) will supply Toyota (TM) with batteries from about 2011. Lithium-ion batteries have higher output and capacity than the nickel-metal hydride type that Toyota uses in the Prius and other hybrid vehicles.
• Orders for Japanese equipment used to make semiconductors outpaced sales for the fourth straight month in July as the chip sector inches out of its worst-ever downturn. Back-to-school demand for PCs is helping chip sales scramble up from record low levels, nudging up spending at Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, and helping outlook at memory chip giant Samsung Electronics. Orders for Japanese chip-making equipment rose for the fifth straight month in July to 50.5 billion yen (US$533 million) outpacing sales of 36.8 billion yen (US$389 million), calculations based on industry data showed. The orders were still down 46 percent from a year earlier.
• The financial results for the April-June 2009 fiscal first quarter posted by Japan's four major dedicated semiconductor makers showed marked improvements over the preceding quarter. Although there were still declines in both sales and profits on the year, the results appear to indicate that the worst was over for Japan's semiconductor industry, as a surge in demand for semiconductors used in flat-screen televisions and environmentally friendly cars like hybrid vehicles buoyed their performance. NEC Electronics’ (NELTY.PK) plant utilization rate increased to 51 percent in the April-June quarter, from 43 percent in the previous quarter, due to better-than-expected demand for discrete semiconductors and semiconductors used in automobiles and cell-phone cameras. It added that the figure was likely to move up to 70 percent soon.
• Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK) has entered into an agreement with Development Bank of Japan to raise 30,000 million yen (US$314.85 million) through the issue of its Series 1 and Series 2 preferred shares. The preferred shares, to be issued at a price of 10,000 yen (US$104.95) per share, are convertible into 23.683 million newly issued ordinary shares of Elpida at a conversion price of 1,377 yen (US$14.45) per Series 1 and 1,218 yen (US$12.78) per Series 2 preferred shares. The proceeds from the offering will be used by Elpida to implement its business restructuring plan, which includes investment in research and development and in capital expenditure.
Telecommunications
• NEC Corp. (NIPNF.PK) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) plan to provide wireless base stations for KDDI Corp.'s (KDDIF.PK) next-generation mobile network. The LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard paves the way for cellular communications speeds on a par with fiber-optic lines, enabling users to download music CD in less than one minute and a two-hour movie in about five minutes. With an eye toward commercializing the technology in December 2012, KDDI plans to spend 515 billion yen (US$5.5 billion) on related capital investments through the end of fiscal 2014. The cellular service carrier solicited proposals from a wide range of equipment providers, including Chinese and European firms. It has already selected Hitachi Ltd. to build the network's core infrastructure.
Korea
Telecommunications
• SK Telecom (SKMTF.PK) will not invest in Vietnamese mobile operator S-Fone anymore due to low subscription growth. SK Telecom began investing in the joint venture in 2001 and has so far injected US$180 million in S-Fone.
• The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is calling on operators to cut mobile voice prices, reports the Korea Times. The regulator plans to require operators to adopt three measures, including the introduction of non-subsidy-based phone charges, the expansion of pre-paid charge systems and the early adoption of an MVNO policy. The regulator believes that by not receiving subsidies from telecom operators, mobile users would cut their basic phone consumption, while pre-paid services could better meet the needs of low-volume users. The MVNO policy will enable operators to provide mobile services on a borrowed spectrum and thus allow the entry of new players on the market.
Hardware
• Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK) will have its global mobile handset market surpass 20 percent for the first time in the second half of the year. Samsung is expected to sell some 117.8 million units during the July-December period, raising its global market share to 20.3 percent. The U.S. market researcher earlier said Samsung Electronics had a 19.2 percent market share in the second quarter this year, rising from 16 percent in the first quarter. Market share held by Nokia Corp. (NOK) will continue to drop in the second half of the year from the same period last year. Nokia's market share is expected to fall to 37.6 percent in the third quarter and 37 percent in the fourth quarter.
• LG Electronics (LGERF.PK) has increased its focus on the Japanese market and unveiled two phones for launch with NTT Docomo (DCM). The manufacturer has introduced two touchscreen phones, the L-06A and the L-04A, with the Japanese mobile operator. These are the first two models that were designed by LG Electronics' design centre in Tokyo, the JoongAng Daily reports citing Lee Gyu-hong, vice president of LG Electronics Japan. The company has also launched an aggressive marketing campaign which features Japanese actress Aoi Yu. LG targets sales in Japan of around 1.5 million units, three times more than last year.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
• Electronic Game Card, Inc. (EGMI) has signed a three-year license agreement with Kellof, Inc. for distribution of the Electronic GameCard, Electronic iQuizCard, and Electronic Edutainment PLAY Cards, into its South Korea clients and strategic affiliation with Borazone Co., Ltd. Company management expects the agreement, which contains yearly minimum royalty guarantees, to begin generating sales in the current year fourth quarter. One of the key distribution channels for Kellof will be with Borazone and directly with household leading global brands from Korea.
China
Internet
• Alibaba.com Ltd. (ALBCF.PK) decided to buy the business management software division from Alisoft Holding Ltd. for 208 million yuan (US$30.5 million) to increase operational efficiency. This is the first time Alibaba.com has acquired assets from its parent in a move to supplement its product offerings and generate new sources of revenue. The closing of the acquisition will be by Sept. 1. The business management software division, which has more than 250 employees, will be included with Alibaba.com's Information Technology Business Unit. The transfer of business management software division comprises application software product lines for small businesses, customer contracts and employees.
• Alibaba's consumer-focused e-commerce site Taobao recorded transaction volume of 80.9 billion yuan (US$11.8 billion) in the first half of 2009, climbed 97 percent year-on-year. Taobao's gross merchandise volume was equal to 1.4 percent of China's total retail sales in the first half of the year. Taobao's registered users grew 101 percent year-on-year to 145 million as of June 30, 2009. 47 percent of Taobao users are between the ages of 26-35, while 39 percent are between the ages of 16-25. spending per order declined by 51.5 yuan (US$7.54) from last year due to the economic slow-down, but the overall number of orders rose by 184 percent as e-commerce gained broader acceptance among China's online population. Household goods have become the top selling category in terms of total sales transaction value for the first time.
• Baidu Inc.’s (BIDU) new advertising system has slightly hurt revenue since its launch but could significantly boost revenue as soon as the current quarter. The new system more clearly differentiates paid advertisements from natural search results, and offers advertisers new tools to track the return on their investment. Baidu is in transition, using the new system for some but not all searches. Phoenix Nest began to have more criticism for not clearly differentiating ads from organic search results. Phoenix Nest has negatively affected its revenue due to incentives offered to advertisers to switch to the new system such as credit rebates to advertisers' accounts.
• China Finance Online Co. Limited (JRJC) had net revenues of US$12.28 million for the quarter, down 16 percent year-on-year but climbed 4 percent quarter-on-quarter, for the second quarter of 2009. Individual customer subscription service fees accounted for 88 percent of net revenues in the quarter. Net loss attributable to China Finance Online was US$2.4 million in the second quarter of 2009, compared to net income of US$4.56 million for same period of 2008 and net loss of US$128,000 for the previous quarter. Predicting continued influence from the economic crisis in the coming quarters, China Finance Online guided third quarter net revenues in the range of US$12 million to US$13 million, compared to US$15.23 million in the year-ago period.
Mobile/ Wireless
• China TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. (CNTF) had net profit of US$ 4.5 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. Net revenue is US$49.8 million in the quarter, increasing by 2.4 percent quarter on quarter. Gross profit is US$9.5 million, climbing to 7.6 percent quarter on quarter compared with US$8.8 million in the first quarter; gross margin 19 percent. Operating expenses US$7.3 million. The company's revenue is expected to range from US$47 million to US$52 million in the third quarter.
Software
• CDC Corporation (CHINA) had net income of US$3.34 million in the second quarter of 2009. Total revenues came to US$81.65 million over the period. CDC Corp's had subsidiary CDC Software remained the company's biggest revenue source, contributing US$50.61 million over the quarter, while CDC's IT consulting division, Global Services, brought in US$18.53 million. CDC Games had US$9.46 million during the three-month period, and separately listed portal operating subsidiary China.com added US$3.06 million.
• Omnix Software has appointed Beijing Sinoprof Information Technologies as its partner in China. Sinoprof, one of the leading ERP consulting service providers in China, works with Chinese telecommunication operators including China Mobile and China Unicom. Sinoprof is in a strong position to advice operators throughout the region on their MSS/OSS solutions. Omnix Software solutions will be targeted at Sinoprof’s customers to assist them with extensive nationwide 3G site deployments. The upgraded networks are already being rolled out across China, but high quality, on-time service enhancements require a collaborative workflow system that can manage the processes for deploying the new equipment in the network.
Telecommunications
• China Mobile (CHL) will likely report its first-half net profit rose 2.9 percent. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 likely rose 8.9 percent. China Mobile added 35.87 million subscribers in the first six months of this year, bringing its total subscriber base to 493.12 million at the end of June. Earnings growth momentum for China Mobile is slowing down due to the weakening economy and increasing competition from China Unicom and China Telecom. China Telecom is expected to report its first-half net profit likely fell 34 percent.
• China Mobile had a sharp slowdown in profit growth for the first half as competition intensified and it added low-income subscribers in rural areas. Earnings growth momentum for China Mobile is slowing down due to the weakening economy and increasing competition from China Unicom and China Telecom. After the commercial launch of its third-generation mobile service in January, China Mobile has been striving to improve its network coverage and handset quality to add subscribers. The slowdown in its subscriber growth was due to higher mobile penetration in urban cities, but the company still sees room for growth in central and western China.
• ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF.PK) posted a 41.9 percent rise in second quarter net profit, boosted by huge spending on 3G networks by the country's three telecom carriers. ZTE second quarter earnings rose. Beijing has targeted spending of US$58.5 billion in 3G mobile network construction through 2011 after handing out long-delayed 3G licenses earlier this year. The results came after ZTE's first quarter profits rose 29 percent. The company's share price rose 72.3 percent in the first half of the year, almost doubling the 38.9 percent surge on Hong Kong's China Enterprises index over the same period.
• China Telecom (CHA) has selected Huawei Technologies and Ericsson (ERIC) as the winners of its second round 40-gbps wave division multiplexing network equipment tender. Among the tender participants, which included all major WDM equipment suppliers in China, Huawei was selected to provide 87 percent of the total tender value, while Ericsson won 13 percent. The total value of the tender has not yet been revealed. The tender equipment will be used in the second phase of China Telecom's WDM network construction in the Yangtze River Delta and Zhujiang River Delta regions.
• China Telecom said a damaged nine undersea cables caused by a major earthquake in south east of Taiwan is the cause for the disruptions to international telecom services. Five of the cables are used by China Telecom. The cables support phone and Internet services from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Singapore. Traffic is being rerouted through operational cables as they repair the damaged cables. Time for repair work was not given. The breakdown of the FNAL/RNAL cable, a key information conduit for northeast Asia, had caused disruption to services from China to the United States and Europe.
• The three state-owned Chinese mobile operators, which were granted 3G licences in January, proposed to make 450 billion yuan (US$65.9 billion) investments in 3G services in the next two-and-a-half to three years. Each operator needs to develop at least 50 million 3G users, and try its best to reach 80 million in the next three years. With three 3G operators, the regulator expects to reach 240 million 3G users in three years, a target which is higher than the government's previous goal of 150 million in three years made in February. Analysts said the 240 million users target is much more aggressive and questioned how the government would achieve this. 3G penetration will reach 16 percent in 2012, based on a projection of a total number of mobile users of 938 million.
Information Technology
• VanceInfo Technologies (VIT), one of the leading offshore outsourcing companies in China, is looking at fresh domestic acquisitions to boost its presence in the backroom operations of the financial industry, as firms in its key markets the U.S. and Europe begin to recover. The company plans to buy a few Chinese banking software companies valued between US$2-5 million. VanceInfo brought Hong Kong-based customer relationship services firm TP Corp. The acquisition enabled the company to gain access to some key accounts in Hong Kong, China and Southeast Asia. VanceInfo was also looking to close deals with potential new customers from the United States and European markets worth between US$5-10 million each. VanceInfo may provide application software development services for those new projects.
Technology
· AirMedia Group Inc. (AMCN) had net loss of US$7.0 million for the second quarter of 2009. Total revenues grew 23.7 percent year-on-year and 12.3 percent sequentially to US$36.8 million, of which revenues from digital frames in airports increased 50.3 percent year-on-year and 36.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$16.5 million, while revenues from airport digital TV screens fell 30.6 percent annually and 25.5 percent sequentially to US$9.1 million. The company generated US$3.9 million from airplane-based digital TV screens. The fees represent 77.3 percent of the quarter's net revenues, compared to 40.0 percent in the same period one year ago and 59.9 percent in the previous quarter.
Hardware
• Dell (DELL) is entering the smart phone market for the first time through a cooperation deal with China Mobile Ltd. Dell’s handset model, mini3i, supports the company's new online platform which offers music, games, videos and other entertainment applications for download to mobile phones. The two companies are working together on the development of mobile devices. Major personal-computer makers, suffering from stiff competition and pricing pressure, have been turning their attention to a new market for growth - smart phones - which are mobile devices that offer access to e-mail and support other multimedia functions.
Alternative Energy
• Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) had net income of US$18.9 million in the second quarter of 2009, as the financing customer increases, European demand and government incentive programs pushed module shipments up 34.3 percent year-on-year and 30.9 percent sequentially to 63.9MW. The company had net profit of US$17.1 million in the year-ago period and a net loss of US$10.6 million in the previous quarter. Second quarter earnings is US$5 million accounts receivable write-off, and US$13.7 million foreign currency exchange gain, because of the appreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar. Net revenues increased to 13.5 percent sequentially to US$150 million in the second quarter, but had 26.5 percent year-on-year decline due to falling module prices. Gross margin was up by 27.4 percent from 17.2 percent and 23.2 percent in the previous quarter and year-ago periods, respectively, as average silicon purchase prices fell.
• Solargiga Energy Holdings had loss of 119.75 million yuan (US$17.5 million) in the six months ended June 2009. The company's turnover was down by 55.7 percent year-on-year. Solargiga attributed the decline in turnover to low product prices as last year's financial crisis knocked global demand. The group sees to put a new silicon ingot and wafer plant into full production in the fourth quarter of this year, bringing its annual output capacity to 4,000MT of ingot and 150 million wafers, equivalent to 400MW.
• Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source Co Ltd plans to invest 4.8 billion yuan (US$702.5 million) to build a 150-megawatt on-grid solar project in the Taiyangshan Development Zone in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The subsidiary plans to build the 3,600-Mu solar project in four phrases that will cost 640 million yuan (US$93.7 million), 1.92 billion yuan (US$281 million), 640 million yuan (US$93.7 million) and 1.6 billion yuan (US$234 million). The first phase will begin in January 2010. In addition, Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source also plans to invest 800 million yuan (US$117 million) to increase the annual output of a polycrystalline silicon plant in Jiashan County by 120-MW.
• ET Solar has sold a total of 4.2MW of multicrystalline modules to three large Italian commercial projects, including both ground mounted and rooftop installations. Prato (1.3MW), Perugia (1MW) and Imola (1.9MW) are the three projects. The first two projects have already begun operation, while the third will be fully connected to the grid next month.
• Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) second quarter’s total net revenues was 1,498.9 million yuan (US$219.5 million) with a PV module shipment volume increase of 72.3 percent quarter over quarter. Gross profit was 273.8 million yuan (US$40.1 million), with a gross margin of 18.3 percent. Operating income was 106.8 million yuan (US$15.6 million), with an operating margin of 7.1 percent. Net loss was 393.7 million yuan (US$57.6 million) and diluted loss per ordinary share and per ADS was 3.03 yuan (US$0.44) as a result of loss on debt extinguishment of 244.7 million yuan (US$35.8 million) and loss on derivative liabilities of 204.2 million yuan (US$29.9 million) in the quarter, both of which were non-recurring, non-cash charges.
• Suntech Power Holdings (STP) booked net income of US$10.0 million in the second quarter of 2009, climbed from US$1.8 million in the prior quarter. Total net revenues for the period came to US$321.0 million, an increase of 1.7 percent sequentially. Suntech sees third quarter 2009 shipments to show 50 percent growth on a quarterly basis, while fourth quarter shipments will slide slightly quarter-on-quarter due to seasonality factors.
• ReneSola (SOL) has won the right to build a 150MW on-grid solar power project in Taiyangshan Development Zone in Wuzhong city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The project will have to require 4.8 billion yuan (US$706 million) in total investment and will be built in four phases over four years from 2010.
Media, Gaming and Entertainment
• Aurora Interactive, founded by former 17Game Chief Technology Officer Fang Xiaori, received funding. 17Game is a unit of CDC Corporation's online gaming unit CDC Games. Aurora was established nearly two years ago and recently began load testing the 3D MMO.
• Giant Interactive Group Inc. (GA) announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 2009 with net revenue of 364.1 million yuan (US$53.3 million). Gross profit was 309.5 million yuan (US$45.3 million). Gross profit margin for the second quarter 2009 was 85.0 percent. Net income attributable to the company's shareholders was 231.9 million yuan (US$34.0 million). Basic and diluted earnings per AD) were 1.03 yuan (US$0.15) and 0.99 yuan (US$0.15). Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders excluding non-cash share-based compensation was 239.8 million yuan (US$35.1 million). The margin of non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders excluding non-cash share-based compensation was 65.9 percent. Basic and diluted non-GAAP earnings excluding non-cash share-based compensation per ADS were 1.06 yuan (US$0.16) and 1.03 yuan (US$0.15).

Complete Story »]]> ALBCF.PK AMCN BIDU CAJ CHA CHINA CHL CNTF DCM EGMI ELPDF.PK FJTSY.PK GA JRJC KDDIF.PK LGERF.PK NELTY.PK NIPNF.PK NTDOY.PK SANYY.PK SKMTF.PK SNE SOL SSNLF.PK STP TM TSL VIT YGE ZTCOF.PK IRG Asian Tech Stock Weekly Summary (July 20 - 26) http://seekingalpha.com/article/152057-asian-tech-stock-weekly-summary-july-20-26?source=feed 152057 Japan

Hardware

  • Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) may finally be launching its own Blu-ray player. Toshiba, which lost the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray battle in early 2008, is reportedly readying a player that will read both Blu-ray discs and DVDs and will appear in stores by year's end. Toshiba had been thinking of developing yet another technology to combat Blu-ray but gave up because of the huge growing market for Blu-ray players and discs. The company will start with play-only models but may consider a recordable Blu-ray player if market demand calls for it, according to local newspaper. Toshiba's entry into the Blu-ray arena would mark the last holdout among all the major electronics manufacturers.
  • Fujitsu Ltd. said it is targeting record profit in the 12 months ending March 31, 2012, as spending on software and information-technology infrastructure recovers. Net income will probably be 130 billion yen (US$1.38 billion) for the fiscal period while operating profit may reach a record 250 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) on sales projected at 5 trillion yen (US$52.7 billion). The company, which forecasts a return to profit this fiscal year, is selling its money-losing hard-disk-drive business to Toshiba to focus on semiconductor and software operations. Fujitsu also plans to outsource some chip production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to cut spending and help make the unit profitable next year.
  • Consolidated sales for the April-June quarter by Japan's Disco Corp. dropped 48 percent on the year to 9.2 billion yen (US$98.3 million) but the figure represents a 42 percent increase from the January-March quarter. Sales of machinery for cutting and grinding semiconductor silicon wafers have been sluggish as customers hold back on capital investment. But sales of expendable supplies grew in line with higher operating rates at chip-making facilities around the world. The company also said that its parent-only sales for the quarter tumbled 52 percent on the year to 6.8 billion yen. It reported a net loss of 900 million yen.
  • Sony Corp. (SNE) will break down its earnings results in new categories to reflect changes made in April to its organizational structure. Its electronics business was consolidated into the Consumer Products & Devices Group, which also consists of LCD televisions, digital cameras and semiconductors. Its game business is now part of the Network Products & Services Group, which also includes personal computers and portable music players. Music entertainment and business-to-business operations are now independent segments. The motion pictures and financial services segments will remain the same. The reorganized business segments will be reflected in the firm's April-June results. Dividing the earnings results into new categories may help investors better understand Sony's business, but it will make comparisons with past performances difficult.

Semiconductor

  • Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK) is reacting calmly to the Taiwanese government's announcement of a change in its DRAM rescue plan, as the company recently secured a total of 140 billion yen (US$1.5 billion) in financial assistance from the Development Bank of Japan and others. Receiving rescue funds from Taiwan was seen as crucial for Elpida's survival amid a severe slump in the DRAM market. The Taiwanese government's previous rescue plan centered around a tie-up between Elpida and TMC, a public-private DRAM joint venture to be established under the lead of the Taiwanese government. Under the old plan, Elpida was to provide cutting-edge DRAM technology for use by Taiwanese companies, and the Elpida-TMC alliance was to receive publicly funded financial assistance. But the government there now plans to provide funds to up to two recipients and accept applications from domestic DRAM makers. The Elpida-TMC alliance is still in the running for these funds, but will likely have to wait longer and may get less because of the additional recipient.

Telecommunications

  • NTT DoCoMo Inc's (DCM) group operating profit likely fell 16 percent to about 250 billion yen (US$2.68 billion) in the April-June quarter as the year-earlier boost from reduced sales costs wore off. Quarterly sales likely dropped 2 percent to around 1.15 trillion yen (US$12.1 billion) and handset unit sales may have dropped adding that average revenue per user also appears to have fallen. However, DoCoMo added a net 112,400 contracts in June alone just 500 fewer than Softbank Corp. For the full year ending next March, DoCoMo is expected to maintain its forecast of a 1 percent drop in sales to 4.38 trillion yen (US$46.2 billion) and a nearly flat operating profit of 830 billion yen (US$4 billion).
  • The Nikkei English News reported that NTT Data Corporation is planning to acquire BNI Systems Corp., the parent of Wuxi Huaxia Computer Technology Co., Ltd. NTT is a provider of system integration, networking system services, and related services, while Wuxi Huaxia is a China-based software development company. BNI had revenues of approximately 700 million yen (US$7.5 million) for the year ended July 2008.
  • KDDI Corp. (KDDIF.PK) said its net profit for the first quarter ended June rose 19 percent from a year earlier, as cost-reduction efforts offset sluggish revenue. KDDI posted a net profit of 86.4 billion yen (US$912 million) in the three months ended June 30. Revenue fell 1.9 percent in the April-June quarter. Average monthly revenue per user fell to 5,600 yen (US$59.00) in the first quarter from 5,900 yen (US$62.24) a year earlier. The operator of “au” brand mobile phone services succeeded in reducing operating costs, partly by spending less on handset sales promotions.

Korea

Semiconductors

  • Samsung SDI Co. said that its net profit rose 17 percent in the second quarter of this year from a year earlier mainly due to increased income from equity investment. Net income came to 58 billion won (US$46.4 million) in the April-June period, compared with 49.6 billion won (US$39.8 million) a year ago. Sales fell 6 percent on-year to 1.2 trillion won (US$955 million) during the same period on the back of a rise in overseas orders and operating profit increase 33 percent from a year ago. Samsung SDI attributed the rise to earnings from its stake in a joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co.
  • Pixelplus Co., Ltd., (PXPL) announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 ended on March 31, 2009 with revenue of 3.5 billion won (US$2.6 million), compared to 4.5 billion won (US$3.3 million) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, and 3.4 billion won (US$2.5 million) in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The Company's lower-than-expected revenue was primarily due to the seasonality of sluggish sales in Asia typically exhibited annually in the first quarter, and weaker-than-anticipated sales to Chinese distributors and module makers. Pixelplus is a fabless semiconductor company in Korea that designs, develops, and markets CMOS image sensors for various consumer electronics applications,

Hardware

  • South Korean TV makers claimed the largest market share of the global TV market during the first three months this year, widening their lead over Japanese and Chinese competitors. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK) and LG Electronics Co. (LGERF.PK) together gained a market share of 33.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009. They had a large margin over the 23.3 percent held by Japanese TV makers Sony Corp., Sharp Corp. (SHCAY.PK), Panasonic Corp (PC). During the same period last year, South Korean makers held a 29.0 percent market share, while Japanese counterparts followed with 20.3 percent. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics also beat out Chinese TV makers TCL Corp., Skyworth Digital Holdings Co. and Hisense Electric Co. East Asia-based TV makers grabbed a 69.1 percent market share in total for the quarter. The Netherlands' Philips Electronics N.V., with 4.1 percent market share, was the only company not from East Asia to make it into the world's top 10 TV makers.
  • LG Electronics Inc. reported record quarterly profit, fueled by demand for flat- panels TVs, and forecast higher sales in the current period. Second-quarter net income climbed 62 percent to 1.15 trillion won (US$917 million), from 706.9 billion won (US$567 million) a year earlier. Profit was almost 50 percent higher than the 770.7 billion won (US$618.5 million) median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts. LG Electronics plans to overtake Sony Corp. in terms of LCD TV shipments this year by offering wireless and energy-saving models. The uncertainty in the global economy will continue in the current period.
  • Samsung Electronics would invest 5.4 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) in green research and development and facilities to make the company eco-friendly by 2013. Of the total, 3.1 trillion won (US$2 billion) will be spent to develop products which cause less damage to the environment, and the remainder on energy-saving technologies and the environmental improvement of manufacturing facilities. Samsung Electronics did not detail how it would finance the initiatives but had around 5.3 trillion won (US$4.2 billion) in cash and cash equivalent at end-March. Samsung's plan includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing facilities by 50 percent, cutting total indirect greenhouse gas emissions from all products by 84 million tons through 2013, and ensuring all of its products are more environmentally friendly by increasing energy efficiency through measures such as cutting standby power consumption.
  • Samsung Electronics is expected to invest at least 1 trillion won (US$790 million) in a semiconductor production facility in the second half of 2009. Kwon Oh-hyun, president of Samsung's semiconductor division, said at an industry event that Samsung expected its investment in the second half to rise slightly from the first half. The company has repeatedly declined to disclose the size of capital investments planned for this year or already made so far. The chip division investment in the second half would focus on introducing more advanced production technology, such as 40-nanometre circuitry for DRAM chips and 30-nanometre for NAND flash memory.
  • LG Chem Ltd. will spend 430 billion won (US$341 million) to boost output of glass sheets for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. LG Chem announced the investment plan a day after it posted a 31.2 percent jump in second-quarter net profit. LG Chem, which supplies glass sheets to LCD makers, is benefiting from a shortage of the key parts as LCD makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Display, are increasing prices of the flat panels on the back of strong demand for LCD televisions and computer screens in China.
  • The Korean presidential office announced on July 12 that Swedish telecom equipment vendor Ericsson (ERIC) is expected to invest in a joint project to develop 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology, Reuters reported. The Korean presidential office added that Ericsson's five-year investment project is estimated at a ballpark figure of US$1.5 billion and is projected to increase Ericsson's staff in Korea to approximately 1,000 from 80 at present. After the announcement, Ericsson made clarifications to the Korea Communications Commission that the amount of its investment is still not fixed and that details of its investment plan are still being fleshed out and no definite scheme has been reached yet.

China

Internet

  • China's Internet users numbered 338 million at the end of June this year. This translates to 40 million new regular Internet users in China in the first six months of this year. And there is still room for growth, given that Internet penetration stood at 25.5 percent at the end of June, up from 22.6 percent at the end of 2008. Mobile networks and devices play an important role in providing access to the Internet. 155 million people in China access the Internet via mobile. Although the spread of 3G networks and devices in the course of 2009 has helped drive mobile Internet take up, consumer enthusiasm is currently limited. A total of 65 percent of Internet users do not intend to use the mobile phone to access the Internet.
  • China small and medium businesses are expected to spend more on Internet access than on their websites and online advertising combined in 2009 including US$3.7 billion on Internet access, US$1.8 billion on online advertising, and US$1.5 billion on website hosting, development and maintenance in 2009. The reverse trend is observed in developed APAC countries like Australia, Japan, and Korea. Currently, there are approximately 3.2 million small and medium businesses in China. Of this, 1.3 million SMBs have at least one PC, and 93 percent are using broadband to access the Internet. This means more than 59% of China SMBs are without PC and Internet access. For China Internet access providers and PC vendors, this spells tremendous opportunities in terms of customer base and future growth.
  • Baidu Inc.'s (BIDU) second-quarter earnings rose 45 percent as the Chinese Internet company continued to post strong revenue growth and add advertisers. The company also offered strong third-quarter revenue guidance of US$184 million to US$189 million, topping the US$182 million expected by Wall Street. Baidu, which holds a commanding share of the Internet search market in China, warned earlier this year that its online marketing customers might scale back advertisements amid a weakening economy, but it has since kept the problem in check as the Chinese economy has rebounded.

Mobile/Wireless

  • China's sales of cell phones in the second quarter of this year topped 33.07 million units, down 7.2 percent quarter on quarter, but the proportion of 3G handsets was below one percent. As sales promotion during the traditional Chinese New Year period of 2009 had satisfied consumers' demand for mobile phones in advance, China's cell phone entered slack season in April, and sales in branded handset market dropped. Statistics show that the sales of GSM handset in China declined sharply in the second quarter from January-March to 30.33 million units, representing a decrease of 7.5 percent on quarter. As China Telecom (CHA) gradually cut the subsidy on 2G terminals, sales volume of CDMA cell phones, with the certification owned by the carrier alone, decreased again in April-June to 2.497 million units after two consecutive quarters' soar, dropping 12.7 percent from the previous quarter. Sales of 3G handsets topped 242,000 units in China during the second quarter of this year, including 131,000 units of CDMA EVDO standard and 64,000 units supporting TD-SCDMA standard. Telecom operators took actions to boost the 3G terminal industrial chain, and issued more reasonable pricing policies with higher subsidies.
  • KongZhong Corp. (KONG) co-founder, president and chief technology officer (CTO) Nick Yang, has tendered his resignation effective July 31, 2008. KongZhong also announced its appointment of educational service provider ChinaEdu Corporation and IPTV broadband solutions provider UTStarcom founder Charles Xue to the board of directors. Xue will replace Xiaolong Li, who resigned July 20 for personal reasons.

Telecommunications

  • China Unicom (CHU) gained 862,000 new GSM cellular service subscribers, for June 2009, summing the total number to 140.38 million. The company reported a decrease of 255,000 in local access subscribers, and was met by 980,000 new broadband subscribers. The total subscriber numbers in these two services amounted to 108.45 million and 34.91 million, respectively, by the end of June.
  • It is expected that ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF.PK) and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. will spend at least 500 million yuan (US$73.18 million) replacing base stations provided by Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. Ltd. during China Mobile's (CHL) first phase of TD-SCDMA network construction. ZTE would replace 3,000 Datang Mobile-made TD-SCDMA base stations for China Mobile's Guangzhou subsidiary while Huawei would replace approximately 4,000 base stations originally deployed by Datang Mobile on behalf of Shanghai Mobile. Both privately-owned companies will undertake the task at no cost to China Mobile. Datang Mobile locked in 27.46 percent of the network equipment tender for first phase construction, while ZTE was the biggest winner, accounting for 45.54 percent of the total contract value. ZTE, Huawei and Datang Mobile also attained sizeable portions of China Mobile's second and third round network equipment tender.
  • China Telecom ended June with 49.05 million broadband customers after adding 810,000 new subscribers during the month. In the year to date, China Telecom attracted 4.78 million new broadband customers. On the fixed voice market, the company shed 1.39 million customers to end the month with 199.36 million local access lines in service. China Telecom further added 2.37 million mobile customers to reach a total of 39.28 million. In the year to date, the company has gained 11.37 million mobile subscribers.
  • China's three carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, injected more than 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) in online advertising for two consecutive months of May and June. Their online ads expenses amounted to 198 billion yuan (US$29 billion) in May, when it welcomed the World Telecommunications Day on May 17, and China Unicom started trial operation of WCDMA. China Unicom's online ads input reached 78.8 million yuan (US$11.5 million) on that month. In the same period, the carriers paid large amount of money in TV advertising as well, shouldering into prime time of CCTV, China's leading television station. In June, their expenses on online advertising fell, but still stayed above 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) to 115 million yuan (US$16.8 million).
  • An industrial insider has revealed that China's leading telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE Corp. has taken the lead in China Mobile's third phase TD-SCDMA equipment purchasing bid and thereby acquired a 34 percent market share. Kang Zhiyi, an analyst with TX Investment Consulting, said the market had predicted that a 35 percent share would be won by ZTE, so the 34 percent share was in line with market expectation. Besides, the producer had respectively taken 46.78 percent and 28 percent shares in the bids during the first two rounds, and will now serve as China Mobile's largest TD equipment provider in terms of market share.
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has raised its stake in China Communications Services (CCS) to 11.02 percent from the previous 10.95 percent. Information from HKEx showed that CBA on July 13 bought around 1.52 million shares of CCS for HK$7.04 million (US$908 million) at an average share price of HK$4.62 (US$0.60) per share. Shares of China Communications Services, a subsidiary of China Telecom, edged up 0.64 percent.

Media, Entertainment and Gaming

  • China's mobile game market size hits 520 million yuan (US$75.9 million) in the second quarter of this year, up 32.37 percent quarter on quarter. Revenues from China Mobile's charges on information reached 230 million yuan (US$33.6 million), increasing 21.3 percent quarter on quarter. China Mobile’s quarterly growth rates of information fees in the first half of this year were over 20 percent, vs. the –0.06 percent average quarterly growth in 2008. It's new game operating platform contributed most of the growth in its information fees, which topped 67.9 million yuan (US$9.9 million) in the second quarter, accounting for 30 percent of the total, while the growth of the old one slackened continuously. Information charges earned from the new game platform will keep on growing, with enrichment of mobile games on the platform as well as increase of payable games.
  • The Chinese online gaming industry is expected to develop rapidly with sales income increasing 30-50 percent this year. The sales this year were forecast to be 24-27 billion yuan (US$3.51-3.95 billion), which would bring about 67 billion yuan (US$9.8 billion) in income for telecommunications, IT and other related industries. The official made the remarks at a forum during the seventh session of the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (Chinajoy), the country's largest game convention. The online gaming industry showed great potential in independent research and development.
  • Electronic Arts (ERTS) and NetDragon Websoft (NDWTF.PK) announced a licensing agreement for the development of a new MMORPG based on "Ultima Online" from Electronic Arts. As part of the agreement, NetDragon will develop the new Ultima Online(TM) in collaboration with EA's Mythic Entertainment, and have the exclusive operating license for China, Hong Kong, Macau and India.
  • The9 Limited (NCTY) has entered into an agreement with USERJOY Technology Co., Ltd., an online game developer in Taiwan, for an exclusive license to operate Kingdom Heroes 2 Online, a 3D MMORPG, in mainland China. Kingdom Heroes 2 Online is a 3D Fantasy MMORPG which stresses on the core feature of Kingdom Wars that maintains a strong community in the game. Kingdom Wars allows hundreds of thousands gamers to fight in the same map. Gamers can bring soldiers and operate the huge siege engine such as catapult to conquer the city; even more, they can experience the exciting vessel battle on the sea. Kingdom Heroes 2 Online breaks through the original 2.5D side-scrolling restriction and evolves to the 3D characters and scenes. With seamless map, massive content upgrade and new battle mode, it is considered as a popular MMORPG product for our 2010 pipeline.
  • CDC Corp. (CHINA) business unit CDC Games estimates that second quarter 2009 revenue will increase by roughly 50 percent over the first quarter. CDC Games recorded US$6.3 million in revenue from continuing operations in the first quarter, down 27 percent year-on-year. The company attributed the increase to a rebound in metrics for licensed MMORPG Yulgang after it launched version "Nan Lin Feng Yun" in late March 2009.

Hardware

  • Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) inked a memorandum of understanding with the municipal government of Suzhou, a major city in Jiangsu Province, to build a software outsourcing service center in the city. The outsourcing service center will provide HP's foreign and domestic clients in Suzhou with services such as consulting, design, development, testing, implementation and management. The two sides will first cooperate to build a data center and information management and service platform in the International Technology Park in Suzhou Industrial Park. They also plan to build a public logistics platform and a public information technology service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises in Suzhou.

Semiconductor

  • Industry insiders estimate MediaTek Inc. (IMKI.OB) to deliver a record 100 million sets of chips for mobile phones throughout the third quarter due to the revitalizing demands for counterfeit mobile phones and exports of the phones in mainland China. They previously expected the No.1 supplier of mobile phone chipsets in the mainland to see shipments lose steam in light of slipping demands and exports of the phones in the Chinese mainland toward the end of the second quarter. Throughout last quarter it delivered a record 80 million sets. Beginning early this month, the mainland’s demands and exports of the phones have instead picked up, clearing a huge number of the inventory backlogs of MediaTek MT6225 chips at phone makers. With the traditional September peak season for mobile phone sales in the mainland approaching, the mainland’s handset makers are stepping up replenishments of inventories of MediaTek chipsets.
]]> Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:48:21 -0400 IRG Japan

Hardware

  • Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) may finally be launching its own Blu-ray player. Toshiba, which lost the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray battle in early 2008, is reportedly readying a player that will read both Blu-ray discs and DVDs and will appear in stores by year's end. Toshiba had been thinking of developing yet another technology to combat Blu-ray but gave up because of the huge growing market for Blu-ray players and discs. The company will start with play-only models but may consider a recordable Blu-ray player if market demand calls for it, according to local newspaper. Toshiba's entry into the Blu-ray arena would mark the last holdout among all the major electronics manufacturers.
  • Fujitsu Ltd. said it is targeting record profit in the 12 months ending March 31, 2012, as spending on software and information-technology infrastructure recovers. Net income will probably be 130 billion yen (US$1.38 billion) for the fiscal period while operating profit may reach a record 250 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) on sales projected at 5 trillion yen (US$52.7 billion). The company, which forecasts a return to profit this fiscal year, is selling its money-losing hard-disk-drive business to Toshiba to focus on semiconductor and software operations. Fujitsu also plans to outsource some chip production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to cut spending and help make the unit profitable next year.
  • Consolidated sales for the April-June quarter by Japan's Disco Corp. dropped 48 percent on the year to 9.2 billion yen (US$98.3 million) but the figure represents a 42 percent increase from the January-March quarter. Sales of machinery for cutting and grinding semiconductor silicon wafers have been sluggish as customers hold back on capital investment. But sales of expendable supplies grew in line with higher operating rates at chip-making facilities around the world. The company also said that its parent-only sales for the quarter tumbled 52 percent on the year to 6.8 billion yen. It reported a net loss of 900 million yen.
  • Sony Corp. (SNE) will break down its earnings results in new categories to reflect changes made in April to its organizational structure. Its electronics business was consolidated into the Consumer Products & Devices Group, which also consists of LCD televisions, digital cameras and semiconductors. Its game business is now part of the Network Products & Services Group, which also includes personal computers and portable music players. Music entertainment and business-to-business operations are now independent segments. The motion pictures and financial services segments will remain the same. The reorganized business segments will be reflected in the firm's April-June results. Dividing the earnings results into new categories may help investors better understand Sony's business, but it will make comparisons with past performances difficult.

Semiconductor

  • Elpida Memory Inc. (ELPDF.PK) is reacting calmly to the Taiwanese government's announcement of a change in its DRAM rescue plan, as the company recently secured a total of 140 billion yen (US$1.5 billion) in financial assistance from the Development Bank of Japan and others. Receiving rescue funds from Taiwan was seen as crucial for Elpida's survival amid a severe slump in the DRAM market. The Taiwanese government's previous rescue plan centered around a tie-up between Elpida and TMC, a public-private DRAM joint venture to be established under the lead of the Taiwanese government. Under the old plan, Elpida was to provide cutting-edge DRAM technology for use by Taiwanese companies, and the Elpida-TMC alliance was to receive publicly funded financial assistance. But the government there now plans to provide funds to up to two recipients and accept applications from domestic DRAM makers. The Elpida-TMC alliance is still in the running for these funds, but will likely have to wait longer and may get less because of the additional recipient.

Telecommunications

  • NTT DoCoMo Inc's (DCM) group operating profit likely fell 16 percent to about 250 billion yen (US$2.68 billion) in the April-June quarter as the year-earlier boost from reduced sales costs wore off. Quarterly sales likely dropped 2 percent to around 1.15 trillion yen (US$12.1 billion) and handset unit sales may have dropped adding that average revenue per user also appears to have fallen. However, DoCoMo added a net 112,400 contracts in June alone just 500 fewer than Softbank Corp. For the full year ending next March, DoCoMo is expected to maintain its forecast of a 1 percent drop in sales to 4.38 trillion yen (US$46.2 billion) and a nearly flat operating profit of 830 billion yen (US$4 billion).
  • The Nikkei English News reported that NTT Data Corporation is planning to acquire BNI Systems Corp., the parent of Wuxi Huaxia Computer Technology Co., Ltd. NTT is a provider of system integration, networking system services, and related services, while Wuxi Huaxia is a China-based software development company. BNI had revenues of approximately 700 million yen (US$7.5 million) for the year ended July 2008.
  • KDDI Corp. (KDDIF.PK) said its net profit for the first quarter ended June rose 19 percent from a year earlier, as cost-reduction efforts offset sluggish revenue. KDDI posted a net profit of 86.4 billion yen (US$912 million) in the three months ended June 30. Revenue fell 1.9 percent in the April-June quarter. Average monthly revenue per user fell to 5,600 yen (US$59.00) in the first quarter from 5,900 yen (US$62.24) a year earlier. The operator of “au” brand mobile phone services succeeded in reducing operating costs, partly by spending less on handset sales promotions.

Korea

Semiconductors

  • Samsung SDI Co. said that its net profit rose 17 percent in the second quarter of this year from a year earlier mainly due to increased income from equity investment. Net income came to 58 billion won (US$46.4 million) in the April-June period, compared with 49.6 billion won (US$39.8 million) a year ago. Sales fell 6 percent on-year to 1.2 trillion won (US$955 million) during the same period on the back of a rise in overseas orders and operating profit increase 33 percent from a year ago. Samsung SDI attributed the rise to earnings from its stake in a joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co.
  • Pixelplus Co., Ltd., (PXPL) announced unaudited financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 ended on March 31, 2009 with revenue of 3.5 billion won (US$2.6 million), compared to 4.5 billion won (US$3.3 million) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, and 3.4 billion won (US$2.5 million) in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The Company's lower-than-expected revenue was primarily due to the seasonality of sluggish sales in Asia typically exhibited annually in the first quarter, and weaker-than-anticipated sales to Chinese distributors and module makers. Pixelplus is a fabless semiconductor company in Korea that designs, develops, and markets CMOS image sensors for various consumer electronics applications,

Hardware

  • South Korean TV makers claimed the largest market share of the global TV market during the first three months this year, widening their lead over Japanese and Chinese competitors. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF.PK) and LG Electronics Co. (LGERF.PK) together gained a market share of 33.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009. They had a large margin over the 23.3 percent held by Japanese TV makers Sony Corp., Sharp Corp. (SHCAY.PK), Panasonic Corp (PC). During the same period last year, South Korean makers held a 29.0 percent market share, while Japanese counterparts followed with 20.3 percent. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics also beat out Chinese TV makers TCL Corp., Skyworth Digital Holdings Co. and Hisense Electric Co. East Asia-based TV makers grabbed a 69.1 percent market share in total for the quarter. The Netherlands' Philips Electronics N.V., with 4.1 percent market share, was the only company not from East Asia to make it into the world's top 10 TV makers.
  • LG Electronics Inc. reported record quarterly profit, fueled by demand for flat- panels TVs, and forecast higher sales in the current period. Second-quarter net income climbed 62 percent to 1.15 trillion won (US$917 million), from 706.9 billion won (US$567 million) a year earlier. Profit was almost 50 percent higher than the 770.7 billion won (US$618.5 million) median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts. LG Electronics plans to overtake Sony Corp. in terms of LCD TV shipments this year by offering wireless and energy-saving models. The uncertainty in the global economy will continue in the current period.
  • Samsung Electronics would invest 5.4 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) in green research and development and facilities to make the company eco-friendly by 2013. Of the total, 3.1 trillion won (US$2 billion) will be spent to develop products which cause less damage to the environment, and the remainder on energy-saving technologies and the environmental improvement of manufacturing facilities. Samsung Electronics did not detail how it would finance the initiatives but had around 5.3 trillion won (US$4.2 billion) in cash and cash equivalent at end-March. Samsung's plan includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing facilities by 50 percent, cutting total indirect greenhouse gas emissions from all products by 84 million tons through 2013, and ensuring all of its products are more environmentally friendly by increasing energy efficiency through measures such as cutting standby power consumption.
  • Samsung Electronics is expected to invest at least 1 trillion won (US$790 million) in a semiconductor production facility in the second half of 2009. Kwon Oh-hyun, president of Samsung's semiconductor division, said at an industry event that Samsung expected its investment in the second half to rise slightly from the first half. The company has repeatedly declined to disclose the size of capital investments planned for this year or already made so far. The chip division investment in the second half would focus on introducing more advanced production technology, such as 40-nanometre circuitry for DRAM chips and 30-nanometre for NAND flash memory.
  • LG Chem Ltd. will spend 430 billion won (US$341 million) to boost output of glass sheets for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. LG Chem announced the investment plan a day after it posted a 31.2 percent jump in second-quarter net profit. LG Chem, which supplies glass sheets to LCD makers, is benefiting from a shortage of the key parts as LCD makers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Display, are increasing prices of the flat panels on the back of strong demand for LCD televisions and computer screens in China.
  • The Korean presidential office announced on July 12 that Swedish telecom equipment vendor Ericsson (ERIC) is expected to invest in a joint project to develop 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology, Reuters reported. The Korean presidential office added that Ericsson's five-year investment project is estimated at a ballpark figure of US$1.5 billion and is projected to increase Ericsson's staff in Korea to approximately 1,000 from 80 at present. After the announcement, Ericsson made clarifications to the Korea Communications Commission that the amount of its investment is still not fixed and that details of its investment plan are still being fleshed out and no definite scheme has been reached yet.

China

Internet

  • China's Internet users numbered 338 million at the end of June this year. This translates to 40 million new regular Internet users in China in the first six months of this year. And there is still room for growth, given that Internet penetration stood at 25.5 percent at the end of June, up from 22.6 percent at the end of 2008. Mobile networks and devices play an important role in providing access to the Internet. 155 million people in China access the Internet via mobile. Although the spread of 3G networks and devices in the course of 2009 has helped drive mobile Internet take up, consumer enthusiasm is currently limited. A total of 65 percent of Internet users do not intend to use the mobile phone to access the Internet.
  • China small and medium businesses are expected to spend more on Internet access than on their websites and online advertising combined in 2009 including US$3.7 billion on Internet access, US$1.8 billion on online advertising, and US$1.5 billion on website hosting, development and maintenance in 2009. The reverse trend is observed in developed APAC countries like Australia, Japan, and Korea. Currently, there are approximately 3.2 million small and medium businesses in China. Of this, 1.3 million SMBs have at least one PC, and 93 percent are using broadband to access the Internet. This means more than 59% of China SMBs are without PC and Internet access. For China Internet access providers and PC vendors, this spells tremendous opportunities in terms of customer base and future growth.
  • Baidu Inc.'s (BIDU) second-quarter earnings rose 45 percent as the Chinese Internet company continued to post strong revenue growth and add advertisers. The company also offered strong third-quarter revenue guidance of US$184 million to US$189 million, topping the US$182 million expected by Wall Street. Baidu, which holds a commanding share of the Internet search market in China, warned earlier this year that its online marketing customers might scale back advertisements amid a weakening economy, but it has since kept the problem in check as the Chinese economy has rebounded.

Mobile/Wireless

  • China's sales of cell phones in the second quarter of this year topped 33.07 million units, down 7.2 percent quarter on quarter, but the proportion of 3G handsets was below one percent. As sales promotion during the traditional Chinese New Year period of 2009 had satisfied consumers' demand for mobile phones in advance, China's cell phone entered slack season in April, and sales in branded handset market dropped. Statistics show that the sales of GSM handset in China declined sharply in the second quarter from January-March to 30.33 million units, representing a decrease of 7.5 percent on quarter. As China Telecom (CHA) gradually cut the subsidy on 2G terminals, sales volume of CDMA cell phones, with the certification owned by the carrier alone, decreased again in April-June to 2.497 million units after two consecutive quarters' soar, dropping 12.7 percent from the previous quarter. Sales of 3G handsets topped 242,000 units in China during the second quarter of this year, including 131,000 units of CDMA EVDO standard and 64,000 units supporting TD-SCDMA standard. Telecom operators took actions to boost the 3G terminal industrial chain, and issued more reasonable pricing policies with higher subsidies.
  • KongZhong Corp. (KONG) co-founder, president and chief technology officer (CTO) Nick Yang, has tendered his resignation effective July 31, 2008. KongZhong also announced its appointment of educational service provider ChinaEdu Corporation and IPTV broadband solutions provider UTStarcom founder Charles Xue to the board of directors. Xue will replace Xiaolong Li, who resigned July 20 for personal reasons.

Telecommunications

  • China Unicom (CHU) gained 862,000 new GSM cellular service subscribers, for June 2009, summing the total number to 140.38 million. The company reported a decrease of 255,000 in local access subscribers, and was met by 980,000 new broadband subscribers. The total subscriber numbers in these two services amounted to 108.45 million and 34.91 million, respectively, by the end of June.
  • It is expected that ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF.PK) and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. will spend at least 500 million yuan (US$73.18 million) replacing base stations provided by Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. Ltd. during China Mobile's (CHL) first phase of TD-SCDMA network construction. ZTE would replace 3,000 Datang Mobile-made TD-SCDMA base stations for China Mobile's Guangzhou subsidiary while Huawei would replace approximately 4,000 base stations originally deployed by Datang Mobile on behalf of Shanghai Mobile. Both privately-owned companies will undertake the task at no cost to China Mobile. Datang Mobile locked in 27.46 percent of the network equipment tender for first phase construction, while ZTE was the biggest winner, accounting for 45.54 percent of the total contract value. ZTE, Huawei and Datang Mobile also attained sizeable portions of China Mobile's second and third round network equipment tender.
  • China Telecom ended June with 49.05 million broadband customers after adding 810,000 new subscribers during the month. In the year to date, China Telecom attracted 4.78 million new broadband customers. On the fixed voice market, the company shed 1.39 million customers to end the month with 199.36 million local access lines in service. China Telecom further added 2.37 million mobile customers to reach a total of 39.28 million. In the year to date, the company has gained 11.37 million mobile subscribers.
  • China's three carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, injected more than 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) in online advertising for two consecutive months of May and June. Their online ads expenses amounted to 198 billion yuan (US$29 billion) in May, when it welcomed the World Telecommunications Day on May 17, and China Unicom started trial operation of WCDMA. China Unicom's online ads input reached 78.8 million yuan (US$11.5 million) on that month. In the same period, the carriers paid large amount of money in TV advertising as well, shouldering into prime time of CCTV, China's leading television station. In June, their expenses on online advertising fell, but still stayed above 100 million yuan (US$14.6 million) to 115 million yuan (US$16.8 million).
  • An industrial insider has revealed that China's leading telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE Corp. has taken the lead in China Mobile's third phase TD-SCDMA equipment purchasing bid and thereby acquired a 34 percent market share. Kang Zhiyi, an analyst with TX Investment Consulting, said the market had predicted that a 35 percent share would be won by ZTE, so the 34 percent share was in line with market expectation. Besides, the producer had respectively taken 46.78 percent and 28 percent shares in the bids during the first two rounds, and will now serve as China Mobile's largest TD equipment provider in terms of market share.
  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has raised its stake in China Communications Services (CCS) to 11.02 percent from the previous 10.95 percent. Information from HKEx showed that CBA on July 13 bought around 1.52 million shares of CCS for HK$7.04 million (US$908 million) at an average share price of HK$4.62 (US$0.60) per share. Shares of China Communications Services, a subsidiary of China Telecom, edged up 0.64 percent.

Media, Entertainment and Gaming

  • China's mobile game market size hits 520 million yuan (US$75.9 million) in the second quarter of this year, up 32.37 percent quarter on quarter. Revenues from China Mobile's charges on information reached 230 million yuan (US$33.6 million), increasing 21.3 percent quarter on quarter. China Mobile’s quarterly growth rates of information fees in the first half of this year were over 20 percent, vs. the –0.06 percent average quarterly growth in 2008. It's new game operating platform contributed most of the growth in its information fees, which topped 67.9 million yuan (US$9.9 million) in the second quarter, accounting for 30 percent of the total, while the growth of the old one slackened continuously. Information charges earned from the new game platform will keep on growing, with enrichment of mobile games on the platform as well as increase of payable games.
  • The Chinese online gaming industry is expected to develop rapidly with sales income increasing 30-50 percent this year. The sales this year were forecast to be 24-27 billion yuan (US$3.51-3.95 billion), which would bring about 67 billion yuan (US$9.8 billion) in income for telecommunications, IT and other related industries. The official made the remarks at a forum during the seventh session of the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (Chinajoy), the country's largest game convention. The online gaming industry showed great potential in independent research and development.
  • Electronic Arts (ERTS) and NetDragon Websoft (NDWTF.PK) announced a licensing agreement for the development of a new MMORPG based on "Ultima Online" from Electronic Arts. As part of the agreement, NetDragon will develop the new Ultima Online(TM) in collaboration with EA's Mythic Entertainment, and have the exclusive operating license for China, Hong Kong, Macau and India.
  • The9 Limited (NCTY) has entered into an agreement with USERJOY Technology Co., Ltd., an online game developer in Taiwan, for an exclusive license to operate Kingdom Heroes 2 Online, a 3D MMORPG, in mainland China. Kingdom Heroes 2 Online is a 3D Fantasy MMORPG which stresses on the core feature of Kingdom Wars that maintains a strong community in the game. Kingdom Wars allows hundreds of thousands gamers to fight in the same map. Gamers can bring soldiers and operate the huge siege engine such as catapult to conquer the city; even more, they can experience the exciting vessel battle on the sea. Kingdom Heroes 2 Online breaks through the original 2.5D side-scrolling restriction and evolves to the 3D characters and scenes. With seamless map, massive content upgrade and new battle mode, it is considered as a popular MMORPG product for our 2010 pipeline.
  • CDC Corp. (CHINA) business unit CDC Games estimates that second quarter 2009 revenue will increase by roughly 50 percent over the first quarter. CDC Games recorded US$6.3 million in revenue from continuing operations in the first quarter, down 27 percent year-on-year. The company attributed the increase to a rebound in metrics for licensed MMORPG Yulgang after it launched version "Nan Lin Feng Yun" in late March 2009.

Hardware

  • Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) inked a memorandum of understanding with the municipal government of Suzhou, a major city in Jiangsu Province, to build a software outsourcing service center in the city. The outsourcing service center will provide HP's foreign and domestic clients in Suzhou with services such as consulting, design, development, testing, implementation and management. The two sides will first cooperate to build a data center and information management and service platform in the International Technology Park in Suzhou Industrial Park. They also plan to build a public logistics platform and a public information technology service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises in Suzhou.

Semiconductor

  • Industry insiders estimate MediaTek Inc. (IMKI.OB) to deliver a record 100 million sets of chips for mobile phones throughout the third quarter due to the revitalizing demands for counterfeit mobile phones and exports of the phones in mainland China. They previously expected the No.1 supplier of mobile phone chipsets in the mainland to see shipments lose steam in light of slipping demands and exports of the phones in the Chinese mainland toward the end of the second quarter. Throughout last quarter it delivered a record 80 million sets. Beginning early this month, the mainland’s demands and exports of the phones have instead picked up, clearing a huge number of the inventory backlogs of MediaTek MT6225 chips at phone makers. With the traditional September peak season for mobile phone sales in the mainland approaching, the mainland’s handset makers are stepping up replenishments of inventories of MediaTek chipsets.

Complete Story »]]> BIDU CHA CHINA CHL CHU DCM ELPDF.PK ERIC ERTS EWJ EWY FXI HPQ IMKI.OB KDDIF.PK KONG LGERF.PK NCTY NDWTF.PK PC PXPL SHCAY.PK SNE SSNLF.PK TOSBF.PK ZTCOF.PK IRG Will InterDigital Finally Get Some Respect? http://seekingalpha.com/article/148593-will-interdigital-finally-get-some-respect?source=feed 148593 InterDigital (IDCC) has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of the wireless Telecom sector, as it just “can’t get no respect,” from either Wall Street or many of the big wireless players.

However, that may finally change later this summer as the world’s leader in cell phone sales, Nokia (NOK), could decide to come to terms with IDCC rather than face a possible U.S. importation ban on its smart phones.

]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:20:21 -0400 Beacon Asset Managers Jamie Moye submits:

InterDigital (IDCC) has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of the wireless Telecom sector, as it just “can’t get no respect,” from either Wall Street or many of the big wireless players.

However, that may finally change later this summer as the world’s leader in cell phone sales, Nokia (NOK), could decide to come to terms with IDCC rather than face a possible U.S. importation ban on its smart phones.


Complete Story »]]> AAPL ERIC HIT IDCC KYO LGERF.PK MOT NOK PC RIMM SNE Beacon Asset Managers Best Buy's Digital Land Grab http://seekingalpha.com/article/148140-best-buy-s-digital-land-grab?source=feed 148140 Don't be fooled by reports that the partnership between Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) announced today is nothing more than a marketing alliance through which the big box retailer will more heavily promote a dying product in its stores.

The tie-up is actually about Best Buy being able to sell digital content directly to high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and other broadband-connected products -- and now it has all the pieces in place to do so.

]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:05:56 -0400 Ryan Lawler Ryan Lawler submits:

Don't be fooled by reports that the partnership between Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) announced today is nothing more than a marketing alliance through which the big box retailer will more heavily promote a dying product in its stores.

The tie-up is actually about Best Buy being able to sell digital content directly to high-definition televisions (HDTVs) and other broadband-connected products -- and now it has all the pieces in place to do so.


Complete Story »]]> BBY LGERF.PK SNIC TIVO Ryan Lawler