Netflix ups production investment in Korea; Playtika discloses IPO details

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* Netflix Inc. is establishing two production facilities in Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun, just outside of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. At YCDSMC - Studio 139, Netflix will lease six stages and supporting spaces of approximately 9,000 square meters. At Samsung Studio, it will lease three stages of approximately 7,000 square meters.

* Israel-based digital entertainment company Playtika Holding Corp. filed for an IPO of 69.5 million shares of its common stock, expected to be priced between $22.00 per share and $24.00 per share. The company is selling 21.7 million common shares and the selling stockholder is selling 47.8 million shares. The company has applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol PLTK.

➤ Potential US investment ban adds to Alibaba's regulatory woes

U.S. investors could potentially be prohibited from investing in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., two of the world's most valuable tech companies, in the latest escalation of tension with Chinese businesses.

➤ China's big tech to continue disruption of healthcare sector despite crackdown

Industry observers believe that the online services will continue to disrupt the healthcare sector beyond the pandemic due to their ability to facilitate easier access to medical consultations and medicines.

➤ Technology: Q3'20 global smart TV demand rebounds, rivaling 2019 holiday quarter shipments

Worldwide smart TV shipments made a sharp recovery in the third quarter with a 37% sequential growth on an estimated 44.3 million units shipped, fueled by pent up demand from the first half of 2020.

TECHNOLOGY

* LG Electronics Inc. secured a controlling stake of over 50% in TV data and measurement company Alphonso Inc. through the South Korean company's subsidiary Zenith Electronics LLC. Financial terms of the deal remained undisclosed.

* NEC Corp. unveiled facial recognition technology capable of recognizing people wearing masks amid an increased need for such technology due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported, citing assistant manager of NEC's digital platform division Shinya Takashima. NEC is reportedly eyeing 100 billion yen in sales in fiscal 2021.

INTERNET AND OTT

* Tencent-backed Beijing Kuaishou Technology Ltd. is seeking an IPO in Hong Kong before Chinese New Year, Sina News reported. The company, which previously filed for an IPO in November 2020, is said to have an estimated value of $50 billion.

* The Thai unit of LINE Corp. said its Line Meeting usage has grown by 480% due to people working remotely, Prachachat reported. Line rolled out the feature back in August 2020.

* Classical music streaming platform Kuke Music Holding Ltd. plans to have an IPO in the NYSE soon, 36kr reported. Kuke reportedly expects to raise between $50 million to $60 million.

* CJ ENM CO. Ltd.'s over-the-top service Tving is joining hands with Jtbc Studios Co. Ltd. to strengthen its position in the content market, Digital Daily reported. The two companies plan to invest more than 400 billion South Korean won for the next three years in creating content.

* The U.S. Trade Representative's office said digital taxes imposed by various countries, including Italy, Turkey and India discriminate against U.S. companies and are not aligned with international tax principles, Reuters reported. USTR will not take action this time following its probe into the digital taxes, but will continue to "evaluate all available options."

* Chinese digital firms have been abusing customers' personal data and using data algorithms to force them into buying certain products and services, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the China Consumers Association. The CCA reportedly said such practices "violated the law and public order and good customs."

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is setting the price of its new flagship smartphone Galaxy S21 somewhere between 990,000 South Korean won and 1 million won, Yonhap News Agency reported. It is the first time that the company is offering a 5G flagship device in such a price range.

* Thailand's National Telecom Public Co. Ltd. promised to launch NT Mobile economical cellular service within the next three months, Khaosod reported. National Telecom Public Co. Ltd. is the result of a merger between TOT Public Co. Ltd. and CAT Telecom Public Co. Ltd., which became official Jan. 7.

* In related news, National Telecom Public Co. Ltd. named Gp. Capt. Somsak Khaosuwan as its acting CEO, Krungthep Turakij reported. The position had been a contentious issue since both state enterprises that merged into National Telecom Public Co. Ltd. had their own active CEOs.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC will go ahead with its original plan to remove three Chinese telecom stocks from its indexes following a similar decision by the New York Stock Exchange, its second time to reverse its policy in less than a week.

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. challenged a court ruling that permitted the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority to continue 5G spectrum auctions while the use of products from Huawei for the deployment of 5G networks in Sweden remains prohibited, Reuters reported, citing the Chinese telecom company's statement.

* An appeal court in Beijing ordered Baidu Inc. to pay 1 million yuan to Youku Tudou Inc. as compensation, 36kr reported, citing a notification on Tianyancha. In 2017, Youku sued Baidu over copyright infringement over the drama series "Eternal Love."

MARKETS

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John Chan, Frances Wang, Myungran Ha and Wil Hathaway contributed to this report.

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