trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/lxkPm1kVC8aNILzc8uPZkg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Alibaba Cloud's cybersecurity M&A; Huawei suppliers' license; Japan's tech probe

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

Blog

Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


Alibaba Cloud's cybersecurity M&A; Huawei suppliers' license; Japan's tech probe

TOP NEWS

* Alibaba Cloud Computing Co. plans to fully acquire Beijing-based cybersecurity startup Chaitin Tech. Under the deal, Chaitin Tech will operate independently but will leverage the support of Alibaba Cloud's technology, capital and businesses to expand the company, according to DealStreetAsia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

* The U.S. Commerce Department will furnish licenses to companies dealing with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. as long as their undertakings will not harm U.S. national security, according to The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. and China reached a partial deal Oct. 11, with U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing to delay the implementation of a tariff spike in the "very substantial phase one deal." The agreement does not however, include structural issues at the heart of the ongoing trade war, including forced technology transfer on the part of China, though Trump said that "some technology transfer" will be covered in this first phase.

* Japan's governing party is inviting executives from Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to hearings intended to examine how the Chinese tech giants collect and utilize personal information. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the move comes as Tokyo explores new tech regulations to protect consumers and businesses.

JAPAN

* SoftBank Group Corp. will invest several billion dollars in WeWork Cos. Inc.'s new equity and debt, becoming the latest funding option for the The We Co. unit which faces pressure to raise new financing following a recently postponed IPO, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. SoftBank's proposal would give the Japanese company, which already owns one-third of WeWork, control of the coworking giant.

* In other SoftBank news, company CEO Masayoshi Son is urging its portfolio companies to sharpen their focus on profitability before venturing into initial public offerings, Mint reported. Son's comments come shortly after analysts cited by Bloomberg News said that SoftBank's September-quarter losses from setbacks such as WeWork Cos. Inc.'s aborted IPO and a plunge in Uber Technologies Inc.'s share price could amount to more than US$5 billion.

SOUTH KOREA

* SK Telecom Co. Ltd. said it formally launched its global esports joint venture with Comcast Corp. Dubbed SK Telecom CS T1, the joint venture will use the companies' global networks, over-the-top services, 5G and media technologies, as well as content creation abilities to expand internationally.

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

* Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook defended the decision to withdraw HKmap.live app from its virtual store following strong criticism from the Chinese media, Variety reported. Cook said the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present.

* The National Basketball Association Inc. decided not to hold press conferences for the last leg of its 2019 China Games. According to ESPN, the preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in Shanghai was held only after the NBA agreed to a stipulation by the Chinese government to cancel media availability of any kind. The decision comes as the NBA grapples with the backlash from a now-deleted tweet by a Houston Rockets executive who expressed support for the Hong Kong protests.

* Huawei is building a research and development center in Shanghai, The Paper reported. The 2 billion yuan facility will house Huawei's chip subsidiary HiSilicon, as well as the company's internet of things and wireless units, according to National Business Daily.

* China Mobile Ltd. announced the resignation of its CEO, Li Yue, citing age-related reasons. The company has not yet disclosed the name of Li's successor.

* Tencent-backed Q&A website Zhihu launched a livestreaming function, enabling select content creators to use live videos to interact with users, KrASIA reported.

* Baidu Inc.'s self-driving unit Apollo moved part of its U.S. team to Beijing, 36Kr reported. The company said the move is to accelerate project commercialization in China and allow the U.S. team to focus on research and development.

* WeRide, a Chinese smart mobility company, appointed Wang Lei as executive director. Wang, formerly an engineering manager at Facebook Inc., will lead a prediction algorithms team in WeRide.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* Nokia Corp. is in discussions with Indian telecom operators for supply deals related to their respective 4G network expansion in rural areas, The Economic Times of India reported, citing Sanjay Malik, head of Nokia India. The Finnish gear-maker is also in talks with telcos such as Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd. to help them prepare for 5G technology by modernizing their backhaul and fronthaul networks.

* Following its decision to charge calls made to rival networks for 6 paise a minute, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. began offering 30 minutes of free talk time to pacify customers unhappy about the telco's new tariffs, The Economic Times (India) reported. Shortly after Jio's announcement, the hashtag #boycott-Jio trended on Twitter, with users reminding the Indian telco of its earlier promise of free lifetime voice calls.

* Dish TV India Ltd. launched an Android-based set-top box and voice-enabled Alexa built-in smart kit, Television Post reported. The new offerings from the direct-to-home service provider will support popular OTT platforms including Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.'s ZEE5, Balaji Telefilms Ltd.'s ALTBalaji and Google LLC's YouTube LLC.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* Indonesia-based cable TV operator PT Link Net Tbk signed an agreement with South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM CO. Ltd. to add the latter's tvN Movies channel to Link Net's paid TV service called First Media, Indotelko reported. The partnership will allow First Media customers to access tvN's content slate, which includes Korean blockbuster titles.

* Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. teamed up with digital wallet services Gopay and DANA to launch Samsung Pay in Indonesia, Merdeka reported.

* Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission plans to amend a local law to allow foreign satellite companies to provide their services to Thai clients, Matichon reported. The regulator will hold a public forum to discuss the proposed amendments to the law on Oct. 21.

* Thai satellite operator Thaicom PCL struck a bilateral cooperation deal with China Great Wall Industry Corp. to jointly work on unmanned aerial vehicle systems and China's BeiDou navigation satellite system applications, Krungthep Turakij reported.

* Laos state-owned mobile carrier Lao Telecommunications Co. Ltd. began testing 5G technology at its headquarters in Vientiane, Ejan reported.

* The Malaysian government will provide grants as incentives for companies to automate and digitalize their businesses, The Edge Markets reported. The incentives will be on top of the country's five-year National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan, which will be undertaken via a public-private partnership approach with a total investment of 21.6 billion ringgit.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Uniti Group Ltd. agreed to acquire fiber operator OPENetworks Pty. Ltd. for A$27.5 million. The Australian telecom services company will partly pay the transaction in cash and partly in Uniti shares. Uniti said that its agreement to acquire OPENetworks is "highly complementary" with its acquisition of LBN Co. Pty. Ltd., a builder and wholesale operator of private fiber networks.

* SKY Network Television Ltd. extended its broadcast deal with the International Cricket Council to deliver key cricket events to New Zealand viewers for the next four years. The deal extends until the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India and includes both men's and women's ICC Tournaments.

FEATURED NEWS

Data Dispatch: Regal, AMC bet on subscriptions to drive US admissions amid broad declines: Subscription movie ticket provider MoviePass is out of the business — at least for now — but major U.S. theater chains are counting on their own subscription services to keep admissions up amid broad declines in theater attendance.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Economics of TV & Film: Disney blockbusters top October VOD: A look at movies and events on video on demand and pay-per-view in October.

Joji Sakurai, 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.