TOP NEWS
* Japan Display Inc. is in talks with three Chinese panel makers including BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd. for an investment of over ¥200 billion in the cash-strapped Japanese company, Reuters reports, citing Kyodo News.
* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is reportedly planning to acquire a more than 50% stake in Chinese video sharing platform AcFun through its own video sharing arm Youku Tudou Inc. and YF Capital, the private equity firm founded by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Caijing reports. Alibaba has invested US$50 million in AcFun in 2015, and YF Capital will start the restructuring process by purchasing 20% of the platform at the valuation of 1 billion Chinese yuan.
* Malaysia-based online on-demand video streaming service iflix Sdn. Bhd. has entered into a multiyear content licensing agreement with Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal LLC to add some of the studio's most popular titles to its streaming service. Through this deal, iflix subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa will be able to enjoy unlimited access to both stream and download NBCU's content collections.
* Tanzania is claiming that Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s local unit belongs to state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Co. Ltd., sparking an ownership dispute between the Tanzanian government and the Indian telco giant, Bloomberg News reports, citing Tanzanian President John Magufuli.
JAPAN
* Dentsu Aegis Network has agreed to acquire 100% of U.S. digital media and marketing agency David Wood & Associates Inc. The acquisition of DWA is expected to give a boost to data marketing firm Merkle Inc., in which Dentsu Aegis acquired a majority stake in 2016.
* Tokyo-based Internet service provider GMO Internet Inc. has entered into a new cryptocurrency mining business via its European subsidiary, using existing technology to mine from mining centers in Northern Europe. GMO aims to expand its operation in stages.
* LINE Corp. entered a partnership with Chinese startup Mobike's Japanese unit Mobike Japan to launch a short-term bike rental service in Japan in the first half of 2018.
* Tokyo-based mobile portal and e-commerce websites provider DeNA Co. Ltd. partnered with Japanese advertising agency Sotsu Co. Ltd. and Tokyo-based radio station Nippon Cultural Broadcasting Inc. to launch a new project, Project ANIMA, to co-develop original TV animations by 2020.
* NTT DATA Corp., the IT services arm of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., has joined in the Bank of England's highly regarded FinTech Accelerator program together with German startup Reportix to examine the power and potential of effective data analysis and visualization for the U.K.'s central bank, Finextra reports.
SOUTH KOREA
* LoEn Entertainment Inc., a cultural content subsidiary of South Korean internet company Kakao Corp., has decided to change its name to Kakao M to strengthen its brand, Yonhap News Agency reports. The company plans to expand its business beyond music and entertainment to cover other media, and the name change is going to be confirmed at the March 2018 general shareholders' meeting.
* South Korean telco LG Uplus Corp. said it developed Home 10 Giga Internet, an internet service solution 10 times faster than the original speed, in partnership with South Korean network equipment developer Ubiquoss Inc. and had a successful internal tech demonstration, ZDNet Korea reports. The company aims to commercialize the service in 2018.
* Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said it has started mass production of the second-generation 10-nanometer class DRAM, which is 10% faster, 15% more energy-efficient and offers nearly 30% productivity gain over the first–generation chip. With the development, the South Korean chip manufacturer is poised to change most of its DRAM production capacity to make 10-nano DRAM chips in 2018.
* South Korean telco KT Corp. opened the Pyeongchang 5G Village where visitors can experience 5G services in Uiyaji, a rural village in Pyeongchang, in preparation for the Winter Olympics season, ET News reports. The village is located about a 15-minute drive away from major stadiums, and various programs using virtual reality and augmented reality technologies as well as drones are available on 5G networks.
CHINA
* Baidu Inc. signed a strategic partnership with the newly established Xiongan New Area's management committee to cooperate on smart transport, conversational AI application and cloud computing infrastructure construction to equip Xiongan as an AI city, Tencent News reports. The company will also work with the provincial government of Hebei to build a national AI laboratory.
* China's CEFC group and European financial group Penta Investments submitted a joint bid of about US$2 billion to buy Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the details. While details are yet to be finalized, a third source said the companies were close to reaching an agreement.
* Chinese cybersecurity company Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. shut down Shuidi, or Water Drop, a livestreaming platform that was allowing people to stream surveillance footages from security cameras in various locations, including classrooms, restaurants and grocery stores, after the service sparked an outcry over privacy concerns, Reuters reports, citing a company statement.
* Luo Wen, deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, met with Intel Corp. CEO Brian Krzanich to discuss the company's development in China, particularly on connected vehicles.
* Chinese entertainment company Huayi Brothers Media Corp. received a warning from the Securities Regulatory Commission of Zhejiang regarding the delayed disclosure of the sources of income of two of its subsidiaries in 2015.
INDIA
* The board of Bharti Airtel Ltd. approved two composite scheme of arrangements concerning the takeover of Tata Teleservices' consumer wireless mobile business, the first one between Tata Teleservices Ltd., Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom Ltd.; and the second one between Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd. and Bharti Airtel.
* The Indian government is finalizing a proposal to allow 100% foreign direct investment for telecom services through the automatic route, which allows companies to attract foreign funds without the government's approval, according to the Press Trust of India. At present, 100% FDI is allowed, but only up to 49% of the investment can be done through the automatic route.
* NDTV Group announced that it will be reducing its workforce by up to 25% as part of its plan to bring down cost. The Indian news broadcaster is also focusing on its television and digital content as part of an internal restructuring.
* India's capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, is discussing with the government and the central bank on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports, citing SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi said.
* Alibaba Cloud will open its Indian data center in Mumbai in January 2018, a move that aims to meet the demand for cloud computing services among small and medium-sized businesses in the region.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Singtel announced that it is collaborating with Singaporean smart metering solutions provider EDMI Ltd. to develop a smart electric metering infrastructure for Singapore. The combination between smart meters and IoT allows electricity suppliers to monitor electricity consumption and forecast demand more accurately.
* Indonesian motorbike ride-hailing app Gojek has formed a partnership with Indonesia-based online digital music provider Joox to launch a campaign dubbed Free Ride Free Music, Selular.ID reports. The partnership will allow Joox's users to enjoy free rides from Gojek, while Gojek's users will be entitled to listen Joox's music collections for free.
* The Sports Authority of Thailand hopes to broadcast the World Cup to audiences in Thailand for free with help of the private sector, Khaosod reports. It reportedly expects the broadcasting right to cost around 1.3 billion Thai baht.
* Thai cellular operator True Move H Universal Communication Co. Ltd. made a payment of 10.46 billion Thai baht to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, Prachachat reports. This was the second of three payments True needs to make for the use of the 1800 MHz band.
* Thai state-enterprise TOT Public Co. Ltd. announced that it had finished installing broadband internet infrastructure in 24,700 villages across Thailand, Prachachat reports. TOT was chosen to do this by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society in a 13-billion-Thai baht bid to modernize rural Thailand.
AUSTRALIA
* Asia Pacific Data Centre is testing the market appetite for the sale its three facilities, which could be worth as much as A$300 million based on the yield for the Metronode Group Pty. Ltd. deal of 7.73%, which is well more than the current market value of A$220 million, the Australian Financial Review reports.
* The number of NBN Co. Ltd. customers to be compensated for slower-than-expected speeds has reached 60,000, with TPG Telecom Ltd. the latest telco to admit that it most likely breached the Australian Consumer Law by misleading close to 8,000 customers on the maximum speeds that can be achieved through its NBN plans, ABC News (Australia) reports.
FEATURED NEWS
Skipper's ESPN successor to inherit operational, distribution, digital changes: The sudden exit by a long-time leader comes as the sports programmer prepares to launch a direct-to-consumer service, faces negotiations with legacy distributors and looks ahead to a Fox integration.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Broadcast Investor: Public trading multiples: TV stocks soar on news of Fox sale to Disney: In December, TV stock prices soared 10.4% on average as of Dec. 18 after news of Fox's $66.1 billion sale to Walt Disney on Dec. 14. Radio stock prices rose 2.3% on average through Dec. 18.
Economics of TV & Film: Films heading to home video faster in 2017: The 180 films Kagan tracked in 2017 were released on DVD/Blu-ray 98 days after their theatrical release, down from 114 days in 2016.
Global Multichannel: Premium TV Everywhere goes OTT with operator partnerships in LatAm: Premium is moving online: in Latin America, instead of going direct-to-consumer themselves, networks are partnering with operators to offer over-the-top services.
Nozomi Ibayashi, Myungran Ha, Emily Lai, Wil Hathaway and Ed Eduard 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.
