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SoftBank unit's smart home deal; new LG CEO; Foxconn founder's presidential bid

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SoftBank unit's smart home deal; new LG CEO; Foxconn founder's presidential bid

TOP NEWS

* Mosaic Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company majority owned by SoftBank Group Corp.'s Fortress Investment Group LLC, agreed to merge a subsidiary with Blackstone Group Inc.'s smart home technology company Vivint Inc. to form Vivint Smart Home Inc. The new company is expected to have an initial enterprise value of US$5.6 billion and an initial market capitalization of approximately US$3.1 billion.

* LG Display Co. Ltd. named LG Chem Ltd. President Jeong Ho-young as its new CEO. Current CEO Han Sang-beom offered to step down due to mounting losses, Reuters reported, citing a company statement. Jeong is also CFO and internal accounting control system officer at LG Chem.

* Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn Technology Group Co. Ltd., decided not to run in Taiwan's 2020 presidential election, Reuters reported. Gou, who stepped down as Foxconn's chairman to prepare for his presidential run, said his decision to no longer run in the elections does not mean he has given up politics.

JAPAN

* NTT Docomo Inc. is moving to introduce new mobile plans that eliminate penalties for breaking service contracts, Asahi reported. The move comes amid new telco rules that require mobile carriers to separate payments for mobile contracts and handsets. Docomo rival KDDI Corp. is setting contract break fees at ¥1,000, while SoftBank Corp. has decided to waive penalties.

* SoftBank Corp. plans to complete the initial stage of building its 5G network two years ahead of schedule, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The Japanese carrier will increase staffing and ramp up construction in a bid to reach the goal by early 2023 instead of the original 2025 target.

SOUTH KOREA

* Upcoming over-the-top platform Wavve, the entity resulting from the merger of SK Telecom Co. Ltd.'s mobile media platform Oksusu with video service POOQ, plans to invest a total of 300 billion won by 2023 to produce original content, ZDNet Korea reported. Wavve's first investment will be the local production, "The Tale of Nokdu." When the series airs in KBS2, Wavve will take exclusive streaming rights.

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

* Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s payment service was fined 1.49 million yuan by China's central bank for violating payment clearing and consumer financial protection regulations, CE news reported.

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. participated in a US$100 million funding round for AutoX Inc., a U.S.-based self-driving company, Iyiou reported. The investment will be used by the company to build a team of autonomous vehicles and hire more research talents.

INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA

* Global Cloud Xchange, a subsidiary of embattled telecom operator Reliance Communications Ltd., has filed for bankruptcy. According to sources cited by The Economic Times (India), the U.S.-based undersea cable company filed for bankruptcy after it failed to pay on its US$350 million on 7% bonds that matured in August.

* Eros Now, an over-the-top platform owned by Eros International PLC, announced a partnership with Rokki Sdn. Bhd., the in-flight Wi-Fi service provider of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd. Powered by ROKKI, AirAsia Wi-Fi will host a variety of Eros Now content that guests can watch for free.

* India's telecom department is aiming to give the country's uncovered villages telecom connectivity by 2022, The Economic Times (India) reported.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

* Temasek Holdings (Pte.) Ltd.'s venture capital arm Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd. held a final close for its most recent fund at US$290 million, Bloomberg News reported. Vertex Growth Fund, which targets investments in technology startups, surpassed its initial target of US$250 million.

* Axiata Group Bhd. and Telenor ASA are not ruling out future partnerships despite calling off their merger plan, The Edge Markets reported. Regulatory hurdles and antitrust issues were among the reasons for the termination of the deal, the report said.

* LINE Mobile, a virtual network operator under Total Access Communication PCL, is changing its name to FINN Mobile. The company said that despite the name change, all services would remain the same.

* Thailand state-owned telco TOT PCL is proposing a 400 million baht strategic plan to transform the company into a digital organization, Krungthep Turakij reported.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Facebook Inc. has responded to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platforms Inquiry final report with both criticism and support, according to The Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece by Mia Garlick, Facebook's director of policy for Australia and New Zealand. Facebook, which is backing 20 of the 29 findings, said more action is needed to support privacy and that "there is more work to do" to identify the best policy frameworks for the internet.

* Foxtel Cable Television Pty. Ltd. announced it will focus on its Foxtel GO mobile app to provide a simplified experience for Foxtel and Foxtel Now customers. Beginning Sept. 17, customers using the Foxtel Now mobile app will be directed to download the Foxtel GO app via Apple Inc.'s App Store or Google LLC's Play store.

FEATURED NEWS

Data Dispatch: Analysts debate AT&T's M&A strategy as shareholder agitates for change: While debt analysts agreed AT&T is in a precarious leverage position, they also said its diversification strategy could yield positive outcomes in an evolving media landscape.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Economics of Advertising: Farm publications remain indispensable, smaller role later in buying lifecycle: The use of print farm publications diminishes later in a farmer's purchasing process, and dwindling advertising and circulation metrics for farm publications continues.

Joji Sakurai, Frances Wang, Hyegyu Park, Kevin Osmond and Wil Hathaway 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.