TOP NEWS
* Tencent Holdings Ltd. acquired 27.64% of TV and film producer New Classics Media Corp. for 3.32 billion Chinese yuan from Beijing Enlight Media Co. Ltd., bringing the producer's valuation to 12 billion yuan. Tencent will become the second-largest shareholder, with veteran producer Cao Huayi remaining as largest shareholder with a 33.3% stake.
* The Australian defense department banned staff and serving personnel from installing Tencent's social media and messaging app WeChat on their work phones amid concerns of Chinese espionage activities, The Australian Financial Review reports, citing a spokesman from the department. The agency said it allowed limited use of Facebook Inc., but not WeChat.
* Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s board of directors approved the Indian telco's plans to issue up to 100 billion Indian rupees' worth of nonconvertible debentures on a private placement basis and the issuance of foreign currency bonds of up to US$1 billion in one or more tranches. Funds raised will be allocated for "routine treasury activities" such as refinancing existing debt and spectrum liabilities.
JAPAN
* KDDI Corp. will invest ¥3 billion in Tokyo-based cooking video streaming service provider Every Inc. to make it a company accounted for using the equity method.
* Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. said that its Vice President Hiromichi Shinohara would concurrently serve as vice chairman, The Nikkei reports.
* U.K.-based activist fund Asset Value Investors Ltd. wants Japan's key TV broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System to sell cross-holdings and return the cash to shareholders, The Nikkei reports. Asset Value Investors CEO Joe Bauernfreund claimed that TBS has no fundamental business relationship with 72% of its securities portfolio and that Asset Value Investors will present a proposal at its June annual meeting.
* SoftBank Group Corp. appointed the CEO of its US mobile network Sprint Corp., Marcelo Claure onto the board of U.K. semiconductor company ARM Holdings PLC in February, Bloomberg News reports. Claure is also expected to hold a seat on the board of Uber Technologies Inc., which SoftBank also acquired.
SOUTH KOREA
* Trading halt period of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. due to stock split has been shortened to 3 days from the average 15 days in order to minimize the market impact, the Korea Exchange said. In a regulatory filing, the Samsung Group unit said it expects to list the newly split shares May 16.
* The Korea Communications Commission has put a cap on the daily donation amount to multichannel businesses. Starting June, AfreecaTV Co. Ltd. will lower the daily donation limit to 1 million South Korean won, and Kakao Corp.'s Kakao TV and Pop Kon TV will limit the donation amount to a similar level soon. The Commission has also set out a voluntary guideline for multichannel broadcasting jockeys and creators including an ethics code and content production standards.
* Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp. are set to go through leadership changes, E Daily reports. Naver's Founder and Global Investment Officer Lee Haejin will resign as CEO, and Business Leader Choi In-hyeok will be appointed as the new CEO. Kakao's CEO Rim Ji-hoon will resign, and Yeo Min-soo and Cho Soo-yong will be appointed as co-CEOs.
CHINA
* TCL Corp. disclosed in the interactive platform of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that the company is in partnership with Xiaomi Inc. for mobile phone screens and TV manufacturing. On another note, chairman and CEO Li Dongshen told China Daily that the company plans to build an artificial intelligence research center in Eastern Europe this year.
* Baidu Inc. restructured its businesses to merge the mapping department into the AI group, Sina reports. Senior Director Li Ying will become manager of the maps department following the resignation of Deputy Director Li Dongmin, who managed the maps team.
INDIA
* Infosys Ltd. intends to voluntarily delist its American depositary shares from the Euronext Paris and Euronext London exchanges, citing the low average daily trading volume of the company's ADS on the exchanges. Infosys ADSs will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
* Tata Sons Ltd. is selling 28.27 million shares representing a 1.48% stake in its flagship company Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. in a price range of 2,872 Indian rupees to 2,925 rupees per share, Mint reports, citing terms of the transaction. Tata Sons will use the proceeds to pay creditors of its wireless unit as well as increase its stake in some of its subsidiaries to reduce cross-holdings, a person with knowledge of the matter told Mint.
* Ericsson AB's CEO Borje Ekholm told The Economic Times (India) that the company is "investing to be competitive in India," and that success in the Indian market can be a template for success in other markets. The chief executive also said the company is ramping up production at the Pune facility to serve the needs of both local and key Asian export markets such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
* New York hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. acquired 1.855 million American depositary receipts, or about 0.04% of Wipro Ltd.'s share capital, Bloomberg News reports, citing a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Indonesian telco XL Axiata announced changes to its board of directors and commissioners during its annual general meeting, which includes the appointment of Dian Siswarini as the new president director and Muhamad Chatib Basri as the president commissioner.
* Malaysian telco Digi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd. partnered with Malaysian local bank CIMB Bank Bhd. to launch wireless payment terminals, The Star reports. Digi will support the solution through its 4G Plus network throughout Malaysia.
* Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon (US) partnered with Indonesia's Telkomsel to launch Nickelodeon Play in Indonesia. Nickelodeon Play is an app which allows its users to play games and stream video content and animation.
* Thai mobile operator Total Access Communication Public Co. Ltd., or Dtac, affirmed that its customers will not be affected by its ending spectrum concession, Matichon reports. Previously, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said it would postpone new spectrum auctions indefinitely until the new board could be elected.
* Yoshito Kodama has been appointed managing director of Hitachi Ltd.'s Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Co. Ltd., which markets a wide range of products and services for numerous sectors, including information and telecom systems in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
AUSTRALIA
* The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched an investigation into Seven West Media Ltd.'s moves to trigger a transfer of Ten Network Holdings Ltd.'s share in TX Australia Pty Ltd, a digital broadcast joint venture owned by Australian TV networks Seven, Ten and Nine Entertainment Co., The Australian reports.
* Indian ride-hailing app Ola, or ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., officially went live in Sydney after a successful launch in Perth.
FEATURED NEWS
Analysis: Diversifying distribution, content key for Spotify to compete: Spotify must expand on its core business to stave off competitive threats from tech giants and reach profitability in the wake of its planned initial public offering, industry observers said.
The Week Ahead: Senate committee tackles broadband during infrastructure week: The Senate Commerce Committee will focus on infrastructure spending during the week of March 12, kicking off with a hearing dedicated specifically to broadband deployment.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Economics of TV & Film: Broadcast pilot orders fall again for 2018-2019 season: As original content flourishes and competitors seem to enter the space daily, broadcast networks ordered fewer pilots for next season with the total dropping to 70, a 10-year low.
Nozomi Ibayashi, Nicole Shiwon Kim, Emily Lai, 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.
