TOP NEWS
* U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed in a tweet that he will let ZTE Corp. "reopen" in the country on the condition that it pay a fine of US$1.3 billion and consent to management and board changes, along with other restrictions. ZTE ceased its major operating activities as a result of trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in April.
* SoftBank Group Corp. plans to raise roughly ¥450 billion through a straight bond offer aimed at Japanese retail and institutional investors in part to service its heavy debt load, The Nikkei reports. Mobile unit SoftBank Corp., which is moving toward an IPO, will not guarantee the bonds as it has in the past.
* A U.S. jury awarded Apple Inc. US$539 million in damages over the iPhone maker's patent row with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which has persisted since 2011, Reuters reports. The decision comes after five days of deliberations in a retrial, in order to determine the amount that the Samsung Group unit has to pay Apple. The patent dispute involves the design of iPhones as well as the display of apps on the screen.
* Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. is preparing to enter the online shopping market in South Korea, Biz Chosun reports. According to a source, the company recently had a meeting with local partners to explain their Google Shopping system. Google Korea LLC is currently discussing with Shinsegae Information & Communication Co. Ltd. to secure a distribution channel for Google Home.
JAPAN
* Japan, China and South Korea are moving toward reducing mobile roaming charges between their countries, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports, citing unidentified sources. The three are expected to begin discussing the plan at an upcoming meeting in Tokyo to be attended by their information and telecommunications ministers.
* LINE Corp. and Japanese securities firm Nomura Holdings Inc. signed an agreement to launch a joint venture internet brokerage service over the Line messaging platform from June 1. Line Securities Corp. will be 51% owned by Line subsidiary LINE Financial Corp. and 49% held by Nomura.
* A government survey showed that more Japanese accessed the Internet from their smartphones than from personal computers for the first time last year. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry study, which allowed multiple answers, found that 54.2% of respondents connected from smartphones, 48.7% from PCs and 18.7% from tablets.
* SoftBank Corp., the mobile unit of SoftBank Group, will launch a three-tier data charge structure from June 29, providing cheaper options for lower data use. Rival KDDI Corp. began offering a similar system in July last year, while NTT DoCoMo started one this month, according to The Nikkei. Japan's big three telcos are launching lower-cost services to better compete with discount providers.
SOUTH KOREA
* SK Telecom Co. Ltd. will participate in the autonomous vehicle public transportation project led by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure. In collaboration with Hyundai Motor Co. and Seoul National University, the telco will develop self-driving buses and trucks. In July 2017, SK obtained government approval to test self-driving vehicles on public roads.
* KT Corp.'s innovative solution unit KT IS partnered with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to strengthen and expand their cooperation on online tax refund and online payment services, Yonhap News Agency reports. KT IS introduced the WeChat Pay-powered tax refund service in February.
CHINA
* Xiaomi Corp. is aiming to secure a formal approval from the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on June 7 for an IPO that could reportedly raise about US$10 billion, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News. The smartphone maker intends to price its share sale late-June upon the approval of its listing application, one of the sources added.
* Qualcomm Inc. is close to securing Chinese regulatory approval for its US$44 billion takeover of Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV after the U.S. government said it would lift export restrictions on ZTE, the Financial Times (U.K.) reports. In a separate report, The Wall Street Journal said that China's State Administration for Market Regulation, which has been conducting an antitrust review of the proposed deal, is scheduled to meet May 28 to discuss the matter.
* China is looking at using cornerstone investors to help companies listed overseas, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Xiaomi, sell shares in the country, amid concerns that the size of the deals could overwhelm mainland markets, three sources told Reuters.
* As expected, Lego Group and Tencent launched the Lego Video Zone on the Tencent Video Children Channel and the Little Penguin Paradise app, allowing children to watch over 500 videos provided by the Lego Group.
* Wang Xiaohui will lead China's National Film Bureau, Variety reports. Wang is expected to retain his position as deputy minister of the Chinese propaganda department.
* Baidu Inc. launched a search app "Simple Search", which the company promises will have no advertising within the app, Yicai reports.
* Alibaba Group's cloud-based ID2 security chip is adopted by the German lock maker Dessmann Schliessanlagen GmbH, which launched three smart locks in China, Tom News reports.
INDIA
* The Indian government, which holds a 26% stake in Tata Communications Ltd., may veto the company's plan to acquire the enterprise business of Tata Teleservices Ltd. when the proposed deal comes upon shareholder approval, unless all of latter's government dues have been settled, a telecom ministry official told Mint, adding that Tata Teleservices owes the government up to 100 billion Indian rupees in license fee dues and spectrum-related charges.
* Reliance Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Indian filmmaker Imtiaz Ali formed Window Seat Films, a 50:50 joint venture, to produce films, Times News Network reports.
* India's National Association of Software and Services Companies launched a second IT corridor in China, called the Digital Collaborative Opportunities Plaza platform, to gain wider access to the Chinese software market, Press Trust of India reports.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Axiata Group Bhd. through its telco infrastructure subsidiary, edotco Myanmar Ltd., entered into an agreement to take over Ooredoo Myanmar Ltd.'s 1,250 telecommunications tower sites. The takeover aims to optimize the operations and management of the sites, as well as to create energy and environmental efficiencies.
* ComfortDelGro Corp. Ltd scrapped the agreement it made with Uber Technologies Inc. in December last year, withdrawing its application to acquire 51% in Uber's car rental subsidiary, Lion City Holdings Pte. Ltd. "The operating environment has changed and the basis on which we were supposed to form the partnership is no longer relevant given that Uber has exited the region," ComfortDelGro Managing Director and Group CEO Yang Ban Seng said.
* Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. unit NTT Communications Corp. appointed Atsushi Kasuu to be the new president director of its Indonesian arm PT NTT Indonesia Nexcenter. Atsushi will assume the position starting from June 1.
* Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service PCL launched NU Mobile in partnership with LINE Mobile, to compete with Total Access Communication PCL, or Dtac, Manager reports. NU Mobile services take place completely online, from placing a SIM card order to customer service.
* Thailand Post Co. Ltd. and BEC-Tero Entertainment Co. Ltd. jointly launched an online marketplace under the domain ThailandPostMart.com, Prachachat reports.
AUSTRALIA
* WIN Corp. Pty. Ltd.'s WIN Network and the Australian News Channel Pty. Ltd.'s Sky News Australia signed a deal that will see a new channel, called Sky News, launch in 29 markets across WIN's regional network, The Australian reports.
FEATURED NEWS
Conference Chatter: Hackers' advantages persuading companies to focus on cyber breach responses: Cyber criminals are very smart and sophisticated, far more numerous than cybersecurity professionals, and are connected globally, according to one security officer.
Data Dispatch: 'Solo' barrel-rolls into a big, Disney-led 2018 box office: While "Solo: A Star Wars Story" is suffering a little compared to its Star Wars predecessors, it should still clean up at the box office, following other big-budget Disney successes like "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War."
FEATURED RESEARCH
Technology: US operators don't see eye to eye on 5G fixed wireless: With early 5G network deployments scheduled for later this year, the major U.S. mobile providers differ in whether these new networks can and should be used to deliver fixed wireless services as a competitor to existing fixed broadband services.
Economics of TV & Film: Kagan Box Office Report — Week 20: "Deadpool 2" and "Avengers: Infinity War" combined for $173.2 million, accounting for 68.3% of the $253.7 million total weekly box office, up 32.2% from $191.9 million in 2017.
Wireless Investor: Neutral-host, shared infrastructure may push small cell deployment across Europe: According to speakers and attendees at SCWS World, held May 21-23 in London, the biggest headwind to large-scale small cell deployment is a deficiency of compelling incentives facing the primary stakeholders who would make the investment.
Joji Sakurai, Nicole Shiwon Kim, Frances Wang, Wil Hathaway 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. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
