TOP NEWS
* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. plans to issue two tranches of bonds worth 3 billion yuan each and is seeking approval to raise as much as 20 billion yuan, Reuters reported, citing regulatory filings. No issuance dates have been set for the three-year medium-term notes for the Chinese interbank market. The company said proceeds will be used to replenish working capital and invest in core businesses such as information and communications technology infrastructure.
* Yahoo Japan Corp. is acquiring local online fashion retailer ZOZO Inc., NHK World reported, citing sources. The SoftBank Group Corp. unit plans to purchase ZOZO through a takeover bid. Yusaku Maezawa, CEO of ZOZO, has reportedly agreed to the offer.
* A minority stake in the esports unit of Sweden-based event organizer Modern Times Group and a joint venture could open another source of revenue for China-based livestreaming platform HUYA Inc., analysts said.
PAN-ASIAN
* Netflix Inc. hired former BBC Studios Ltd. executive Myleeta Aga to oversee programming in Southeast Asia and Australia, TBI Vision reported.
JAPAN
* Japan's three big mobile carriers — NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Corp. — are offering free Wi-Fi services and phone charging in Chiba Prefecture after Typhoon Faxai left households and businesses in the region near Tokyo without power, NHK World reported. The carriers have placed chargers at shops, community centers, municipal offices and other facilities in affected areas.
* Toshiba Corp. developed an artificial intelligence platform that deploys data analytics to optimize train scheduling, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
* SoftBank Group and Dragoneer Investment Group LLC led a series D investment round in Brazilian real estate technology developer QuintoAndar Serviços Imobiliários Ltda., helping it raise US$250 million.
SOUTH KOREA
* The Korean government filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over Japan's tightening of export controls on key materials for semiconductors and display panels, Digital Daily reported. Seoul argued that Tokyo was politically charged when it took discriminatory measures against Korea.
GREATER CHINA (MAINLAND CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN MARKETS)
* Naspers Ltd. listed Prosus NV, a new entity that will carry its international internet assets, on the Euronext Amsterdam under the ticker PRX. Prosus' assets are valued at over US$100 billion, which includes its investments in China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Ctrip.com International Ltd. Shares of Prosus on Euronext Amsterdam opened at €76, higher than the reference price of €58, bringing its valuation to about €123 billion.
* A new display plant backed by Foxconn founder Terry Gou in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is seeking a capital injection from new investors, Nikkei Asian Review reported. The 61 billion yuan facility was supposed to reach its full operational capacity of 90,000 large liquid crystal displays per month by 2019, but a glut in the global market and plunging LCD prices have led to those plans being postponed, sources said.
* Tencent led a US$300 million funding round for second-hand trading site Zhuan Zhuan, KrASIA reported, citing 36Kr. The Chinese tech giant previously invested US$200 million in Zhuan Zhuan's series A round in 2017.
INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
* Netflix struck a content deal with Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital arm of Bollywood studio Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., Variety reported. Under the long-term partnership, the streaming giant will work with the Karan Johar-owned production unit to create a range of fiction and nonfiction series and films.
* ZEE5, the digital streaming arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., entered an agreement with SITI Networks Ltd. to deliver its online streaming services to the latter's broadband subscribers. According to The Economic Times (India), the deal will allow SITI Broadband subscribers to access ZEE5 content as a value-added service.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Singtel entered into an agreement with China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom, China Telecom Corp. Ltd. and seven enterprises based in Chongqing, China, to link seven industrial parks in Chongqing with high-speed connectivity to Singapore, as part of the China (Chongqing) - Singapore International Data Channel. Singtel will also provide cloud, internet of things and smart city solutions to help the digitalization efforts of the enterprises.
* GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd. is in discussions to combine Indonesia-based digital payment company OVO with its local peer DANA, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal would see Grab buying a majority interest in DANA and merging it with OVO to overtake its rival PT Go-Jek Indonesia in the online payments market.
* The Philippines military agreed to allow Mislatel, a new mobile operator powered by China Telecom, to install communications equipment on its army bases, Reuters reported. The agreement comes despite espionage concerns among local lawmakers and heightened cybersecurity fears surrounding Chinese tech companies such as Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., which has been placed on a U.S. trade blacklist.
* Thailand's Central Administrative Court overturned a 2015 order from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission stipulating that operators which continued to provide services after the end of their concession must keep paying the same minimum charges to the state, Manager reported. Advanced Info Service PCL and CAT Telecom PCL filed the lawsuit to scrap the order. The court accepted that it puts an undue burden on operators at the expense of customers and service quality.
* Magic Box Asia Co. Ltd. and Bangkok University have launched Streaming Content Creator, a new talent incubator that aims to train 400 streamers and produce new streaming content for local video game fans, Prachachat reported.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Spark New Zealand Ltd. subsidiary Spark Finance Ltd. priced an issue of A$125 million 10.5-year fixed rate bonds under the company's debt issuance program. The new bonds, which will be issued Sept. 18, will mature on March 18, 2030.
FEATURED NEWS
Jack Ma's vision to continue to shape Alibaba despite retirement: Jack Ma stepped down Sept. 10 as executive chairman of the e-commerce company he founded, but his successor Daniel Zhang is expected to maintain a similar strategy.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Wireless Investor: India mobile operators user profile, 2019: Kagan's July 2019 India online consumer survey confirmed that Reliance Jio continues to stand out among India's mobile operators with 50% of its adult online subscribers relying on Jio exclusively for internet access.
Joji Sakurai, Hyegyu Park, Frances Wang, Kevin Osmond and Patrick Tibke 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. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
