trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/ERLNCbNIWHkXuLfobO7s_A2 content esgSubNav
In This List

US court OKs Alibaba IPO lawsuit; iflix orders first Malaysian original

Blog

Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 2022

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 50: InfoSec spending up, again…

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud


US court OKs Alibaba IPO lawsuit; iflix orders first Malaysian original

TOP NEWS

* A U.S. appeals court said Dec. 5 that Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will have to defend itself against shareholder accusations that it failed to disclose a regulatory warning about counterfeit goods ahead of its 2014 IPO.

* Southeast Asian subscription video-on-demand service iflix Sdn. Bhd. commissioned its first Malaysian original drama series titled "KL Gangster: Underworld" to be produced by Skop Productions. It will be shot entirely in Malaysia and will premiere on iflix in mid-2018.

* The European Union General Court rejected Xiaomi Inc.'s efforts to register its tablet Mi Pad as a European trademark. The court ruled that the name could confuse consumers since it was too similar to Apple Inc.'s iPad.

PAN-ASIAN NEWS

* 21st Century Fox Inc. promoted Uday Shankar, STAR India Pvt. Ltd. chairman and CEO, to an additional role of president of 21st Century Fox Asia, effective immediately. Shankar will lead Fox's video businesses across all of Asia, including Star India and Fox Networks Group. Zubin Gandevia, president of Fox Networks Group Asia, will continue to oversee video brands across 14 markets and will now report to Shankar.

JAPAN

* SoftBank Corp., the telecom unit of SoftBank Group Corp., and Vodafone Group plc announced a strategic partnership in mobile services for corporate customers. The alliance will bolster commercial and operational support for Japan-based Vodafone enterprise clients.

* NTT DATA Corp., the IT services arm of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. announced joint trials of a blockchain technology to strengthen cross-border digital trade between Singapore and Japan.

* Toshiba Corp. is selling the greater part of its stake in Shibaura Mechatronics Corp., a chipmaking equipment maker, as part of ongoing efforts to recover from crippling losses, The Nikkei reports. The sale will bring in roughly ¥4.8 billion. Toshiba recently agreed to sell its lucrative memory chip arm to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP.

SOUTH KOREA

* The government announced the revision of the IPTV Act, which allows cable TV and IPTV operators to provide various service plans more swiftly, by introducing a system where operators no longer need to get an approval from the government when introducing a new service plan.

* KT Skylife will pre-install YouTube Kids and Pinkfong TV apps on their Android TV set-top boxes to increase access to kids content for users, ZDNet Korea reports. The company plans to continuously develop Android-based kids content apps, and provide more kids content services in 2018.

CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

* China Mobile Ltd. is the first Chinese carrier to get the content delivery network license by China's ministry of industry and information technology, JRJ reports. With the license, China Mobile's broadband services are expected to be more cost competitive, challenging its rivals China Telecom Corp. Ltd and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is holding talks with Chinese security officials regarding the installation of built-in identity information in mobile phones, Yicai Global reports, citing Zhang Ping'an, director and president of Huawei's software product line.

* Beijing-based game developer Global Interactive Entertainment received undisclosed investment from Dangbei, a service provider for smart TVs, iFeng reports. The China International Broadcasting Network subsidiary plans to spend the fund developing TV games and building distribution networks.

* Inspur Group Ltd. and Cisco Systems Inc. are teaming up to build a network communications industrial park in Jinan, China. The industrial park will reportedly bring in over 100 companies with a combined workforce of 20,000 employees, Yicai Global reports, citing Xinhua News Agency.

* Shanghai's subway system will install voice and facial recognition technologies developed by Alibaba Group to verify the identities of commuters, South China Morning Post reports. Meanwhile, Xiaozhu, China's version of Airbnb Inc., will introduce check-ins using facial recognition technology, according to a separate SCMP report.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* The Idea Cellular Ltd.-Vodafone India merger will likely close around March to April 2018, six months before the September 2018 timeline recently suggested by Vodafone Group Plc CEO Vittorio Colao, The Economic Times (India) reports, citing the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.

* Alphabet Inc.-owned Google Inc. announced new products and features in its 2017 Google for India event, including the Android Oreo Go edition, a stripped-down version of its Android OS for entry-level smartphones, "lightweight" apps such as Google Go and Files Go, Google Assistant for the JioPhone and two-wheeler navigation support for Google Maps.

* Meanwhile, Google is acquiring a minority stake in Indian delivery startup Dunzo by leading a fundraising round worth up to US$12 million, two sources briefed on the matter told The Economic Times (India).

* The Competition Commission of India greenlit Indus Towers Ltd.'s share transfer to Vodafone India shareholders, Press Trust of India reports.

* Two major Chinese lenders plan to support China Development Bank's move to put Reliance Communications Ltd. into insolvency court as they seek to recover about US$2 billion in debt, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

* The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission invited applications for 4G mobile telecommunications license and set Feb. 13, 2018, as the spectrum auction date. Awarding of the license will be organized the next day, The Daily Star reports, citing Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of the commission. Applications for both spectrum and license need to be submitted by Jan. 14, with a mock auction to occur on Feb. 12.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. appointed PT Sat Nusapersada Tbk, an Indonesian electronic manufacturer, as a local partner to produce its smartphones in Indonesia, Indotelko reports.

* Singtel has signed agreements with the Nanyang Technology University and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research of Singapore to develop data analytics, robotics, internet of things and artificial intelligence. The trio will establish a S$42.4 million corporate lab to develop applications for use in the areas of public safety, smart urban solutions, transportation, healthcare and manufacturing.

* Indonesian satellite operator PT Satelit Nusantara received US$230 million of funding from the Export Development Canada to build a new satellite, Kontan reports. The satellite is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

* The ASEAN Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting selected Thailand as the host country for the ASEAN-JAPAN Cyber Security Center, Manager reports. The center will act as a regional hub for cybersecurity training from 2018 to 2021 and will be backed by a US$5 million funding package from Japan.

* Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will meet with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission this week to discuss plans to incorporate an additional 15,000 villages into the high-speed village broadband network, Ryt9 reports.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Fairfax Media Ltd. said its journalists will not cover the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games under the current accreditation terms and rules, Stuff reports. News Corp Australia Pty. Ltd. has also decided not to send its journalists to the Games, calling for unrestricted coverage of the government-funded Commonwealth Games. The Australian Associated Press also raised concerns on the coverage rights.

* Blue Ant Media's wildlife and nature streaming service Love Nature launched in New Zealand on Vodafone NZ's Vodafone TV.

* Tinybeans, a Sydney-based social media platform for parents, is partnering with U.S. media giant Meredith Corp. to expand its user base. The deal will enable Tinybeans access to 600,000 registered subscribers of Meredith's Parents magazine and website, Australian Associated Press reports.

FEATURED NEWS

Washington Watch: Fake email accounts, comments raise questions about net neutrality overhaul: The Federal Communications Commission's vote on overhauling its net neutrality regulations is approaching. But data from the Pew Research Center has called into question the validity of many of the public comments filed in the proceeding.

Conference Chatter: Multichannel Summit panel: Regional factors dampen M&A in European telecoms: Despite low interest rates and supportive macroeconomic conditions, there has been a plunge in regional telecoms M&A relative to recent years, industry observers discussed at S&P Global Market Intelligence's European Multichannel Summit in London.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Global Multichannel: Global markets update - Argentina, Venezuela, Lithuania, Germany: Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence, has recently updated Global Multichannel & Broadband analysis for four markets.

Joji Sakurai, Nicole Shiwon Kim, Frances Wang, Patrick Tibke and Kevin Osmond 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.