trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/0fvuuyjqr31jyufblxrnvg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Samsung heir walks free; Alibaba leads US$1.2B investment in Wanda Film

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

Blog

Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


Samsung heir walks free; Alibaba leads US$1.2B investment in Wanda Film

TOP NEWS

* An appeals court in South Korea suspended Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong's jail sentence over charges of corruption, paving the way for Lee's swift return to the company.

* Dalian Wanda Group Corp. Ltd. agreed to sell a 12.77% stake in its film subsidiary Wanda Film Holding Co. Ltd. to a pair of investors led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for US$1.24 billion, Reuters reports. Alibaba teamed up with Chinese state-backed enterprise Cultural Investment Holdings Co. Ltd. for the investment. The deal will enable Wanda to raise more funds and tap into Alibaba's big data capabilities, while also being able to seize tourism-related opportunities with Cultural Investment's help.

* Singtel, via its unit SingTel International Investments, will spend about 26.5 billion Indian rupees to increase its stake to 39.5% in Bharti Telecom Ltd. under a proposed preferential allotment.

JAPAN

* Sony Pictures Television Inc. is partnering with National Media Group to broadcast Sony's pay TV channels in Russia. Under the partnership, National Media Group will acquire an 80% stake in a company that broadcasts Sony's pay channels in Russia. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

* KDDI Corp. announced the establishment of KDDI Digital Security, a new joint venture with Tokyo-based security company LAC Co. Ltd. The initial capital of the joint venture is ¥500 million, with KDDI owning 51%, and LAC holding the remaining 49%. The new company will offer corporate clients with security management services, including internet of things, from April.

* Microsoft Corp.'s Japanese unit announced the appointment of Shinji Murakami as executive officer and director of its enterprise business, effective March 1.

* NEC Corp. announced a tie-up with Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology for a joint research in the area of artificial intelligence.

SOUTH KOREA

* The Ministry of Science and ICT will invest 77 billion Korean won to support startups and ventures in 15 ICT sectors, through the project titled "K-Global." The Ministry will explore startups with competitiveness in ICT technologies including AI, VR and AR, and support them by providing mentoring opportunities from CEOs of successful local ventures.

* SK Telecom Co. Ltd. successfully completed the so-called "cooperative driving" of two autonomous vehicles. The two self-driving cars were connected through 5G Vehicle to Everything technology to exchange traffic information.

* Naver Corp. incorporated its search portal R&D unit Naver Search and AI platform R&D unit Clova to utilize AI technologies to further advance its search technologies. The newly created unit will be led by Shin Joong-ho.

CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. slashed the U.S. pre-order prices for its flagship smartphone Mate 10 Pro, following the company's failed distribution deals with Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., South China Morning Post reports.

* Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services Group will set up a consumer finance company in Chongqing, China, Caiijng reports. The company is awaiting approval from China Banking Regulatory Commission for a license.

* Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp. said about 5.62 billion yuan of its debts, or almost two-thirds of the company's total loans and liabilities, would be due by the end of this year, Reuters reports.

* Taiwan Mobile Co. Ltd. partnered with Omnihealth to launch a cloud-based service platform, myHealth, UDN reports.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is considering expanding Doordarshan's news broadcast to around 100 countries, a senior official told Press Trust of India. Currently, DD India produces news and current affairs programs for broadcast in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China and the United Arab Emirates.

* Amazon.com Inc. partnered with Tips Music to add more than 25,000 tracks from its catalog to Amazon Prime Music, which will be launched soon in India, TVNews4u reports.

* Netflix Inc. secured streaming rights to Discovery Communications India's original animated series "Little Singham," Press Trust of India reports.

* DSPORT, a sports channel owned by Discovery Communications India, scored the exclusive India broadcast rights for the upcoming Badminton Asia Team Championships 2018, according to Press Trust of India.

* ITW Blitz, the talent management arm of ITW Playworx Media, launched a digital content division, which will focus on creating premium content in the form of web series, short films and special features, Television Post reports.

* Bangladeshi telecom operator Robi appointed Medhat El Husseiny as its new chief technology officer. Medhat, who succeeds A.K.M. Morshed, joins the company from Axiata Group, where he was head of technology project in the South Asia region.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, or Telkom, signed an agreement with Telstra to establish a Global Delivery Center in Indonesia. The two companies are also exploring a collaboration in the internet, media and satellite business.

* Telkom also partnered with Catchplay, a Taiwanese multimedia company, to launch a streaming service, Tempo reports. The new offering will be available for Telkom's home entertainment subscribers.

* Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has been allocated an additional 602 million baht to its central budget to install free Wi-Fi at schools and hospitals across the country, Post Today reports. The project will be carried out by state-owned telco TOT Public Co. Ltd. and is expected to be completed in September.

* BenQ (Thailand) Co. Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of IT and digital network equipment, announced the appointment of Thanyarak Nasomyon as general manager.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Fairfax Media Ltd. said its New Zealand business Stuff Ltd. and NZME Ltd. are set to appeal the High Court's ruling upholding the New Zealand Commerce Commission's decision to decline the proposed merger of the two businesses.

* Gfinity plc unit Gfinity Esports Australia signed a multimillion deal with local cinema chain Hoyts Cinemas Ltd. to create esports arenas around Australia, IGN reports.

* Telstra Corp. Ltd. opened a 5G Innovation Center on the Gold Coast to support the early commercial deployment of 5G.

* Paul Bates, formerly Yahoo7's national agency sales director, has joined REA Group as national sales director for its media and content business, AdNews reports.

FEATURED NEWS

The Week Ahead: Congress to hold cybersecurity hearings amid shutdown deadline: Congress is once again facing a deadline to pass a new spending bill, having until the end of Feb. 8 to both agree and vote on a bill in order to avoid another partial government shutdown.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Economics of Internet: State of Thai online video: Subscription: Thailand's subscription video-on-demand market is becoming tightly competitive, with an increasing number of international and local players that Thai users can choose from.

Technology: Amdocs buying Vubiquity for $224M: On Jan. 30, Amdocs announced its intent to acquire Vubiquity for $224 million, which will broaden Amdocs' product offering for its service provider customers who want to add an entertainment product to those already offered to subscribers.

Nozomi Ibayashi, Nicole Shiwon Kim, Frances Wang, Kevin Osmond and Wil Hathaway contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require a subscription.