TOP NEWS
* Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa agreed to sell the majority of his shares in Zozo Inc. to Yahoo Japan Corp., which launched a ¥400 billion bid for control of the online fashion retailer. Yahoo Japan, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., offered to acquire up to 50.1% of the shares in Zozo for ¥2,620 each. Maezawa, who agreed to tender 30.37% of the outstanding shares in Zozo, will retain a 6.39% stake after the transaction is completed.
* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. may sell its 5G technology to a Western buyer in a transaction that could be valued at tens of billions of dollars, The Economist reported. Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said the Chinese company would offer its 5G technology, including patents, licenses, codes, technical blueprints and production knowledge, for a one-time fee through the transaction.
* Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Kuaishou is considering filing for an IPO in the U.S. in 2020 and is raising more than US$1 billion in a pre-IPO round at a US$25 billion valuation, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Chinese startup, which operates a short video app, plans to expand its business and beat competition from Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd.'s TikTok. Kuaishou also added movie production and distribution into its line of businesses, according to Tianyancha.
JAPAN
* Japan and the U.S. will agree in their upcoming bilateral trade deal not to force tech companies to disclose software secrets except when related to potential antitrust violations, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to sign the trade pact later this month.
* NTT Communications Corp. is teaming up with Fujitsu Ltd. and Fanuc Corp. to develop a new digital utility cloud service that aims to streamline internal operations and improve customer service through cloud innovation.
* SKY Perfect JSAT Corp., a pay TV operator in Japan, tapped U.S.-based network infrastructure provider CommScope Inc. to supply it with set-top boxes for its SKY PerfecTV! Premium Service.
SOUTH KOREA
* LG Electronics Inc. announced the pricing and immediate availability of what the company claims is the world's first 8K OLED TV and the LG 8K NanoCell TV. The 88-inch LG Signature 8K OLED and 75-inch LG 8K NanoCell, with suggested prices of $29,999 and $4,999 respectively, have been made available at select LG authorized retailers in the U.S.
* The U.K. will soon make a decision on whether to allow Huawei in the country's 5G networks build-out, but will expect a "code of behavior" from China if the equipment maker is allowed to participate, Reuters reported, quoting U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
* Tencent Holdings Ltd. is developing a virtual credit card to challenge Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Huabei, Xinliu Caijing reported. The product will be available on Tencent's social media app WeChat as an alternative option to WeChat Pay in the fourth quarter of 2019.
* In other Tencent news, the company led a US$100 million funding round for Smart Fabric Textile Technology, a Shenzhen-based internet startup focused on the textile industry. According to KrASIA, other investors in the round include Sequoia Capital China, Matrix Partners China and IDG Capital Partners.
* Alibaba's healthcare unit launched Lu Xiao Jia, a smart speaker for families, NetEase News reported. The speaker answers general questions about diseases and gives advice on drug use.
* ByteDance has acquired Biu Xiaoyuan, a social media app that targets students but declined to comment on the deal, 36Kr reported.
* Taiwanese company ALi Corp. will integrate Norway-based streaming and hybrid TV solutions provider Vewd Software AS' cloud-based Vewd Atom solution on its set-top box platform. The integration will bring full OTT functionality to entry-level set-top boxes, enabling them to run modern TV apps.
INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
* Indian audio streaming platform JioSaavn received a new capital infusion worth 1.40 billion Indian rupees from its parent company Reliance Industries Ltd. According to Inc42, Reliance invested in JioSaavn in three tranches this year: a 1.42 billion rupees share purchase in January, a 2.43 billion rupees capital infusion in June and its most recent 1.40 billion rupees investment in August.
* ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair has resigned from his position to "pursue new adventures," the executive announced through his LinkedIn Corp. account. Nair, who joined the company in June 2015, said his last day at the media company would be on Sept. 30. ALTBalaji is a subscription video-on-demand service owned by Balaji Telefilms Ltd.
* Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.'s over-the-top platform ShemarooMe launched Bollywood Premiere, a new offering for Bollywood fans in the U.S. and India, Television Post reported. The new offering will premiere critically acclaimed Bollywood films every Friday for the next 52 weeks, starting Sept. 13.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
* Thailand-based broadband provider 3BB signed a memorandum of understanding with Mono Technology Public Co. Ltd. and South Korean telco KT Corp. to collaborate on an internet protocol TV service, Prachachat reported.
* Telkom Indonesia will collaborate with Singaporean e-commerce company Shopee Ltd. to expand its fiber network and pay TV business IndiHome, IndoTelko reported. Telkom customers will be able to activate the services through Shopee's platform.
* Singtel will allocate S$45 million over a three-year period to improve the digital skills of its employees. The company will collaborate with the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore to implement the initiatives.
* Thailand's Minister of Digital Economy and Society met with the national telecom regulator National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to discuss plans for setting up a 5G strategy committee to ensure that the new network technology is launched in 2020, Thai PBS reported.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* News Corp. CFO Susan Panuccio said the company remains confident on its long-term goal of listing Foxtel Cable Television Pty. Ltd. to turn around the declining profits of the Australian pay TV service, IBC reported. News Corp. has a 65% shareholding in Foxtel, while the remaining 35% stake is owned by Telstra Corp. Ltd.
* Special Broadcasting Service Corp. unit SBS Media appointed Teri Lawson as digital sales manager for its Melbourne operations. According to AdNews, Lawson has worked in several roles at companies including Authentic Entertainment Inc., Vevo LLC and Allure Media Pty. Ltd.
FEATURED NEWS
Apple TV+ faces tough competition from established streaming services: While analysts believe Apple's strong ecosystem could help the company attract Apple TV+ viewers early on, they note the service faces tough competition from rivals that are more established.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Technology: Tethered VR tied to lofty price points in 2019: HTC announced Sept. 12 that the Vive Cosmos VR headset will retail for $699, keeping the manufacturer near the top of the consumer virtual reality headset market in terms of price.
Joji Sakurai, Frances Wang, Kevin Osmond 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.
