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Samsung Display's US$11B investment; Huawei reprieve; M&A pause for Axiata

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Samsung Display's US$11B investment; Huawei reprieve; M&A pause for Axiata

TOP NEWS

* Samsung Display Co. Ltd. confirmed it will invest 13.1 trillion won, or US$11 billion, by 2025 on facilities and research to produce next-generation display screens, Reuters reported, citing a statement. The Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unit will spend the investment on converting one of its LCD production lines into a facility for mass-producing quantum dot screens. The company plans to begin operating its quantum-dot line from 2021 with a target capacity of 30,000 sheets per month.

* The U.S. government is planning to issue licenses to let some American companies supply nonsensitive goods to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. President Donald Trump reportedly gave the green light in a meeting last week in a move that is expected to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing.

* Axiata Group Bhd. decided to slow down on its M&A activity in the near term, a month after calling off a merger with Telenor ASA's Asian operations, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources. The Malaysian carrier, which seeks to boost its operational efficiency, will not pursue formal talks on any offer for its wireless tower assets or its Indonesian business at least before year-end. It may reportedly revisit some of the offers in 2020 when it has improved its financial standing.

PAN-ASIAN

* U.K.-based chipmaker IQE PLC is acquiring the stakes held by its partners in its loss-making Singaporean joint venture CSDC Pte. Ltd. for a nominal fee. It will buy out the shareholdings of Taiwan's WIN Semiconductors Corp., Nanyang Technological University and individuals connected to Nanyang University, which own stakes of 25%, 18% and 6%, respectively. The takeover is meant to help IQE spark a turnaround for CSDC by restructuring the business and targeting sales opportunities across Asia.

JAPAN

* Hitachi Vantara Corp., a wholly owned big data subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., announced a strategic partnership with Disney Parks, Experiences and Products to help develop The Walt Disney Co.'s theme park innovations.

* Hitachi Vantara also announced the expansion of its Lumada platform services and solutions portfolio to enable clients across industries to break down data silos and foster innovation through DataOps.

SOUTH KOREA

* Samsung will start preselling the third batch of its Galaxy Fold smartphone on Oct. 14, ZDNet Korea reported. The company began selling the handset in September. The third batch will be about 20,000 to 30,000 units.

* Netmarble Corp. will take part in the bidding process for the acquisition of local water purifier company Woongjin Coway Co. Ltd., ZDNet Korea reported. The game developer said Woongjin Coway is one of the leading subscription-based companies in the country, and combining IT technologies with a subscription-based business will be advantageous to the company's growth.

GREATER CHINA (MAINLAND CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN MARKETS)

* Apple Inc. pulled HKmap.Live app from its online stores after being criticized by the Chinese media, Variety reported. The app was being used by the protesters in Hong Kong to share the location of protests and police operations in the region.

* Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd. is building a team in China for its gaming business, with the members spread across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, Tech Planet reported. The company is also looking to acquire established teams in the gaming industry to speed up expansion.

* Mirriad Advertising PLC announced a two-year exclusive agreement with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to allow advertisers in China to integrate branded content directly into entertainment programming without interrupting the viewer experience. The companies are working to develop a new technology that integrates Mirriad's in-video technology with Tencent's video platforms.

* TuneCore Inc., a New York-based digital music distributor and publisher, is teaming up with Tencent Music Entertainment Group to make TuneCore artists' recordings available in China, Music Business Worldwide reported.

* Huawei signed an agreement with Shenzhen-based Fude Insurance Holdings that will see the telecom-equipment maker providing the insurer with cloud computing, big data, image and voice recognition technologies, Shanghai Securities News reported. The companies will also jointly expand opportunities in the area of 5G-backed internet of things.

* Xforceplus, a Chinese corporate software-as-a-service solutions provider, secured US$100 million in its series C funding round led by Temasek Holdings (Pte.) Ltd., DealStreetAsia reported. Other investors in the round included Hillhouse Capital Group Holdings Ltd. and Eastern Bell Capital.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* The Indian government is allowing Huawei to participate in the 5G use case demos during the India Mobile Congress event beginning Oct. 14. According to The Times of India, the clearance comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India. However, the government is undecided on whether it will allow Huawei to take part in wider and broad-based 5G trials.

* Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. is ending its offering of free voice calls to rival networks and said it will start charging for calls made to other networks at 6 paise a minute to factor in the termination charges it pays to its rivals. Following the announcement, shares of Jio's competitors, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., surged, according to Mint.

* Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.'s video streaming platform ZEE5 entered into a partnership with Panasonic Corp. to add ZEE5 in the recommended apps section of Panasonic's Android smart TVs, Television Post reported.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* Malaysia's Parliament repealed The Anti-Fake News Act 2018, a move that critics say was aimed at curbing dissent. According to Reuters, the law was opposed by rights groups at it allowed fines of up to 500,000 ringgit and jail terms of up to six years.

* Malaysia's Utusan Group stopped publishing four newspapers on Oct. 10, but all the newspapers are expected to resume publication on Nov. 1 under new management, The Star reported, citing sources. The debt-ridden publisher ceased operations Oct. 9 and placed its 862 employees on forced leave after the company's board agreed to undertake a voluntary liquidation.

* Thailand-based telco TrueMove H launched SIM Ram, a new SIM for students and staff at Ramkhamhaeng University designed for e-learning and academic administration, Manager reported. In a related deal, True Corp. agreed to install free Wi-Fi throughout the Ramkhamhaeng University campuses in Hua Mak and Bang Na.

* PT Telekomunikasi Selular launched a digital prepaid SIM card called By.U, Kompas reported. According to Telkomsel Managing Director Emma Sri Martini, By.U gives users flexibility in choosing their desired data packages.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* CBS Corp.-owned Network 10 Pty. Ltd. is collaborating with You.i TV, a Canada-based provider of tools for cross-platform app development. The partnership will standardize the user experience for Network 10's video-on-demand service 10 Play across streaming platforms, including Telstra TV, connected TVs, streaming media devices, game consoles and mobile and tablet apps.

* Seven West Media Ltd. directors Peter Gammell and Jeff Kennett are retiring from the company's board Nov. 13. Gammell has been a board director of the Australian broadcaster since 2008, while Kennett has been director since 2015.

FEATURED NEWS

Data Dispatch: Disney's aggressive moves with other streamers could lift all platforms: Disney is leaping into the competitive streaming business, barring Netflix ads and pulling its CEO from the board of Apple. Analysts said much of the effort is posturing, and the hype could create more buzz for streaming TV in general.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Technology: US smart building case studies: different company types deliver smart solutions: Smart buildings are expected to grow to 1.8 million units in 2023, driven by a large number of solutions hitting the market, many with the ability to finely tune energy use across large buildings, saving money and reducing payback periods.

Joji Sakurai, Hyegyu Park, Frances Wang, Ed Eduard 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.