Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 05.17 PM
Published: 2010/07/28Share PDF
SINGAPORE: Apple's iPhone will likely dominate the high-end smartphone market in the next five years but faces strong competition from handsets using Google's Android platform, a research firm said yesterday.
By 2015, total mobile application downloads in the Asia-Pacific are forecast to reach 5.30 billion, of which 597.15 million, or about 11 per cent, will be for the iPhone, technology industry consultancy Ovum said.
Downloads of iPhone applications are estimated at US$62.16 million (US$1 = RM3.19) in 2010, Ovum said in an analysis released four days before the launch of the new-generation iPhone 4 in another 17 countries and cities worldwide on Friday.
The iPhone 4 is expected "to face much stiffer competition than its predecessors", Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach said in a statement.
"The rise of Google Android over the last two years has been phenomenal and is allowing manufacturers to create appealing alternatives to the iPhone, critically at cheaper prices," Leach said.
"The risk to Apple is that these devices offer greater freedom with available content and may prove more appealing, if it offers the right user and developer experience, than a device with Apple-approved content only," said Leach.
From July 30, customers can purchase the iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. - AFP
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/androy/Article/index_html
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ipoh-KL trip to cost not more than RM35
Wednesday July 28, 2010
BATU GAJAH: KTM Berhad will charge a fare of between RM30 and RM35 for the Electric Train Service (ETS) between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur scheduled to operate in the first week of August.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the fare was competitive as the Goverment had taken into consideration the welfare of commuters.
“The fare can be considered cheap. KTMB initially applied for a fare of RM50 but it was rejected by the Government.
“We want to encourage the public to use the service which is more comfortable and safe compared to express bus services. That is why we want the fare to be competitively priced,” he told reporters after the opening of the KTMB complex by Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah here yesterday.
Rail progress: Sultan Azlan Shah looking at the double track train model during the opening ceremony of the new KTMB complex in Batu Gajah yesterday, With him is Kong (right).
Kong added that there would be five ETS trains providing eight return trips for the Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh route daily.
The first train will leave at 5am and the last at 11pm.
He said KTM would increase the number of trips if there was great demand for the services especially during festivals.
With a speed of 140kph, the service is expected to reduce travel time between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur to about two hours from three hours previously.
Meanwhile, Kong said the new KTMB complex, built on a 75ha area, cost about RM400mil.
He said the project started in November 2006 and was completed in November 2008.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/nation/6748388&sec=nation
BATU GAJAH: KTM Berhad will charge a fare of between RM30 and RM35 for the Electric Train Service (ETS) between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur scheduled to operate in the first week of August.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the fare was competitive as the Goverment had taken into consideration the welfare of commuters.
“The fare can be considered cheap. KTMB initially applied for a fare of RM50 but it was rejected by the Government.
“We want to encourage the public to use the service which is more comfortable and safe compared to express bus services. That is why we want the fare to be competitively priced,” he told reporters after the opening of the KTMB complex by Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah here yesterday.
Rail progress: Sultan Azlan Shah looking at the double track train model during the opening ceremony of the new KTMB complex in Batu Gajah yesterday, With him is Kong (right).
Kong added that there would be five ETS trains providing eight return trips for the Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh route daily.
The first train will leave at 5am and the last at 11pm.
He said KTM would increase the number of trips if there was great demand for the services especially during festivals.
With a speed of 140kph, the service is expected to reduce travel time between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur to about two hours from three hours previously.
Meanwhile, Kong said the new KTMB complex, built on a 75ha area, cost about RM400mil.
He said the project started in November 2006 and was completed in November 2008.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/nation/6748388&sec=nation
Dr Mahathir calls on bloggers to adopt code of ethics
Published: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 2:22:00 PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on bloggers to adhere to a certain code of ethics and ensure their blog articles are backed by truth in order for blogs to become a respected medium for the betterment of the society.
The former prime minister said the blogging ethics should be voluntary because these were for the bloggers' own good and from which they would build their reputation in the eyes of the people.
Dr Mahathir, himself a blogger, said the society had access to blogs, a medium which he said was "almost beyond the control of any authority", and that if bloggers were ethical and wrote the truth, more people would make blogs their source of information.
If bloggers adhered to these ethics, he said, "I think eventually people will come to respect blogs."
"If we are not saying the truth, people will desert blogs like (how they desert) the ordinary media today," he said in his keynote address at the Asian Bloggers and Social Media Conference 2010, here Wednesday.
The two-day conference, themed "Reflections of the Social Media Revolution", is being attended by about 400 people across Asia.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/nation/20100728142756&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on bloggers to adhere to a certain code of ethics and ensure their blog articles are backed by truth in order for blogs to become a respected medium for the betterment of the society.
The former prime minister said the blogging ethics should be voluntary because these were for the bloggers' own good and from which they would build their reputation in the eyes of the people.
Dr Mahathir, himself a blogger, said the society had access to blogs, a medium which he said was "almost beyond the control of any authority", and that if bloggers were ethical and wrote the truth, more people would make blogs their source of information.
If bloggers adhered to these ethics, he said, "I think eventually people will come to respect blogs."
"If we are not saying the truth, people will desert blogs like (how they desert) the ordinary media today," he said in his keynote address at the Asian Bloggers and Social Media Conference 2010, here Wednesday.
The two-day conference, themed "Reflections of the Social Media Revolution", is being attended by about 400 people across Asia.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/nation/20100728142756&sec=nation
Vodafone introduces solar powered mobile phone to India
Published: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 7:35:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 8:03:42 AM
MUMBAI, India: Vodafone Essar Ltd. has unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses.
India has been adding nearly 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best.
A third of Indians don't have access to electricity, but they do get plenty of sun.
Samsung launched a solar-powered handset about a year ago, and Vodafone is now joining in the effort to bridge that infrastructure gap.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne displays the a solar powered mobile handset during its launch in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. Vodafone Essar Ltd. unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India Tuesday, in a bid to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses. India has been adding close to 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) "This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile," Vodafone Essar Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in a statement.
The VF 247 Solar Powered phone, priced at 1,500 rupees (US$32), should be available in stores next month.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support more than eight days of use on standby and four hours of talk time.
It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Vodafone Essar, a leading wireless provider in India, is a unit of Vodafone Group PLC. - AP
Latest business news from AP-Wire
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/business/20100728074023&sec=business
Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 8:03:42 AM
MUMBAI, India: Vodafone Essar Ltd. has unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses.
India has been adding nearly 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best.
A third of Indians don't have access to electricity, but they do get plenty of sun.
Samsung launched a solar-powered handset about a year ago, and Vodafone is now joining in the effort to bridge that infrastructure gap.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne displays the a solar powered mobile handset during its launch in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. Vodafone Essar Ltd. unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India Tuesday, in a bid to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses. India has been adding close to 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) "This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile," Vodafone Essar Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in a statement.
The VF 247 Solar Powered phone, priced at 1,500 rupees (US$32), should be available in stores next month.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support more than eight days of use on standby and four hours of talk time.
It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Vodafone Essar, a leading wireless provider in India, is a unit of Vodafone Group PLC. - AP
Latest business news from AP-Wire
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/business/20100728074023&sec=business
Monday, July 26, 2010
Axiata's unit jumps to record in Colombo
Published: 2010/07/27
Dialog Axiata Plc, Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile-phone operator, rose to a record in Colombo trading after turning to a second-quarter profit.
Dialog rose as much as 4.8 per cent to 11 rupees, and traded at 10.75 rupees at 9.38 am local time.
Net income was 1.37 billion rupees (US$12.2 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 7.7 billion rupees a year earlier, the unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd. said after the market closed yesterday. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100727131004/Article/index_html
Dialog Axiata Plc, Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile-phone operator, rose to a record in Colombo trading after turning to a second-quarter profit.
Dialog rose as much as 4.8 per cent to 11 rupees, and traded at 10.75 rupees at 9.38 am local time.
Net income was 1.37 billion rupees (US$12.2 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 7.7 billion rupees a year earlier, the unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd. said after the market closed yesterday. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100727131004/Article/index_html
AmResearch has Buy on TM, fair value RM3.90
Written by AmResearch
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 08:24
KUALA LUMPUR: AmResearch has a Buy call on Telekom Malaysia with a fair value of RM3.90.
It said TM’s Unifi attracted a total of over 7,000 subscribers since its launch almost five months ago. This encouraging subscriber base came in on back of 18 new areas covered, from just four areas during the launch.
“We find the speed of subscriber acquisition strong - we are also looking at a rather high year-end target for Unifi of 20,000 subscribers. To date, total number of premises passed has increased to at least 400,000, versus 750,000 targeted for December 2010,” it said.
AmResearch said the bandwidth of Unifi allows for greater amount of traffic within its fibre optic cables.
The research house maintained its preference on TM on its unique buffer dividend policy. It continues to rate TM a BUY with fair value of RM3.90/share on DCF-based valuation (terminal growth 1.5% and WACC 9.7%).
On dividend yield comparison, it said TM offers a slightly higher yield of 5.2% (versus 5.1% at DiGi and 4.7% in Maxis).
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170601-amresearch-has-buy-on-tm-fair-value-rm390.html
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 08:24
KUALA LUMPUR: AmResearch has a Buy call on Telekom Malaysia with a fair value of RM3.90.
It said TM’s Unifi attracted a total of over 7,000 subscribers since its launch almost five months ago. This encouraging subscriber base came in on back of 18 new areas covered, from just four areas during the launch.
“We find the speed of subscriber acquisition strong - we are also looking at a rather high year-end target for Unifi of 20,000 subscribers. To date, total number of premises passed has increased to at least 400,000, versus 750,000 targeted for December 2010,” it said.
AmResearch said the bandwidth of Unifi allows for greater amount of traffic within its fibre optic cables.
The research house maintained its preference on TM on its unique buffer dividend policy. It continues to rate TM a BUY with fair value of RM3.90/share on DCF-based valuation (terminal growth 1.5% and WACC 9.7%).
On dividend yield comparison, it said TM offers a slightly higher yield of 5.2% (versus 5.1% at DiGi and 4.7% in Maxis).
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170601-amresearch-has-buy-on-tm-fair-value-rm390.html
Long-term broadband growth
Tuesday July 27, 2010
By EUGENE MAHALINGAM
eugenicz@thestar.com.my
Research report says size of cellular segment indicates potential of domestic broadband market
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian broadband sector offers industry players long term growth given the number of postpaid cellular voice subscribers in the country, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.
“We estimate that Malaysia has one million mobile broadband subscribers as at March 2010. This is relatively low compared with 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers in Malaysia.
“Assuming each of the 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers eventually become broadband subscribers, the potential size of the wireless broadband industry can be five times its current size,” it said in a report yesterday.
This excluded the prepaid segment, where there were 24 million cellular SIMs in distribution, said HwangDBS Vickers.
“Assuming each prepaid subscriber holds two to three SIMs, there could still be 8 million to 12 million unique (individual) prepaid subscribers. Hence, we are looking at a potential broadband subscriber base of 15 million, a huge growth potential for celcos in Malaysia in the long term,” the research house said.
It added that with the low broadband penetration rate in Malaysia at present, celco players were likely to aggressively recruit as many subscribers as they could.
HwangDBS Vickers Research reckoned that Maxis had likely grown its broadband market share in the second quarter of 2010 (Q210), given its aggressive World Cup marketing campaign and the introduction of a RM48 plan at the start of the year.
“(However) with higher marketing and promotional expenses during the World Cup, it is likely that profit margins will be under some pressure.
“Hence, we expect A&P (advertising & promotional) spending to impact Maxis’ Q210 results,” the research house said, noting that Celcom also invested in a World Cup campaign although its marketing expenses were not expected to be as high as Maxis’.
An analyst from a local bank-backed brokerage said he was supportive of Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim’s statement recently that telecommunication (telco) providers should lower their charges to encourage more broadband users.
“There are several public holidays in the second half of the year, namely Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas. The festive season is always a good way (for telco players) to provide better rates and boost their (broadband) subscriber base,” he said.
Another analyst said he was optimistic about the local broadband segment.
“Within developing countries, having optimum broadband access is a good way for governments to attract investment,” she said.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/27/business/6737925&sec=business
By EUGENE MAHALINGAM
eugenicz@thestar.com.my
Research report says size of cellular segment indicates potential of domestic broadband market
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian broadband sector offers industry players long term growth given the number of postpaid cellular voice subscribers in the country, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.
“We estimate that Malaysia has one million mobile broadband subscribers as at March 2010. This is relatively low compared with 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers in Malaysia.
“Assuming each of the 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers eventually become broadband subscribers, the potential size of the wireless broadband industry can be five times its current size,” it said in a report yesterday.
This excluded the prepaid segment, where there were 24 million cellular SIMs in distribution, said HwangDBS Vickers.
“Assuming each prepaid subscriber holds two to three SIMs, there could still be 8 million to 12 million unique (individual) prepaid subscribers. Hence, we are looking at a potential broadband subscriber base of 15 million, a huge growth potential for celcos in Malaysia in the long term,” the research house said.
It added that with the low broadband penetration rate in Malaysia at present, celco players were likely to aggressively recruit as many subscribers as they could.
HwangDBS Vickers Research reckoned that Maxis had likely grown its broadband market share in the second quarter of 2010 (Q210), given its aggressive World Cup marketing campaign and the introduction of a RM48 plan at the start of the year.
“(However) with higher marketing and promotional expenses during the World Cup, it is likely that profit margins will be under some pressure.
“Hence, we expect A&P (advertising & promotional) spending to impact Maxis’ Q210 results,” the research house said, noting that Celcom also invested in a World Cup campaign although its marketing expenses were not expected to be as high as Maxis’.
An analyst from a local bank-backed brokerage said he was supportive of Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim’s statement recently that telecommunication (telco) providers should lower their charges to encourage more broadband users.
“There are several public holidays in the second half of the year, namely Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas. The festive season is always a good way (for telco players) to provide better rates and boost their (broadband) subscriber base,” he said.
Another analyst said he was optimistic about the local broadband segment.
“Within developing countries, having optimum broadband access is a good way for governments to attract investment,” she said.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/27/business/6737925&sec=business
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
TM rancang tingkat kemahiran usahawan kembang pasaran
2010/07/22
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) kini dalam proses meningkatkan lagi kemahiran lebih 1,000 usahawan dan vendor di bawah Program Pembangunan Usahawan TM (PPU TM) bagi mengembangkan lagi pasaran pelbagai produk telekomunikasi di bawah kumpulan itu.
Pengerusinya, Datuk Dr Halim Shafie berkata, langkah itu sejajar falsafah TM untuk menyumbang ke arah pembinaan keupayaan serta memperkasa kualiti usahawan Bumiputera di bawah TM. Beliau berkata, TM mempunyai perancangan jangka panjang dalam program pembangunan usahawan di bawahnya dengan tumpuan utama diberikan kepada usaha meningkatkan mutu perkhidmatan selain menjadikan mereka lebih kreatif dan inovatif. “Usaha membangunkan usahawan ini penting kerana mereka adalah sebahagian daripada ekosistem perniagaan TM, justeru kumpulan sentiasa berhasrat mewujudkan hubungan strategik ‘sama-sama menang’ antara kedua-dua belah pihak,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis penyampaian anugerah usahawan TM 2010 di Kuala Lumpur, malam tadi.
Anugerah berkenaan diwujudkan bagi menghargai dan mengiktiraf usahawan di bawah PPU TM yang diwujudkan sejak 1993.
Anugerah disampaikan oleh Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir. Hadir sama Ketua Eksekutif TM, Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa.
Sementara itu, Mukhriz dalam ucapannya berkata, kemunculan pembekal perkhidmatan baru yang memberikan saingan hebat kepada TM menuntut kumpulan telekomunikasi itu menjadi lebih peka terhadap kehendak pengguna.
“Pengguna mahukan pilihan yang banyak serta menarik daripada pembekal perkhidmatan dan pada masa sama menuntut mutu perkhidmatan yang tinggi pada kadar bayaran yang rendah,” katanya.
Pada majlis malam tadi, Duramine Sdn Bhd dipilih sebagai pemenang Anugerah Usahawan Terbaik 2010.
http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/TMrancangtingkatkemahiranusahawankembangpasaran/Article
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) kini dalam proses meningkatkan lagi kemahiran lebih 1,000 usahawan dan vendor di bawah Program Pembangunan Usahawan TM (PPU TM) bagi mengembangkan lagi pasaran pelbagai produk telekomunikasi di bawah kumpulan itu.
Pengerusinya, Datuk Dr Halim Shafie berkata, langkah itu sejajar falsafah TM untuk menyumbang ke arah pembinaan keupayaan serta memperkasa kualiti usahawan Bumiputera di bawah TM. Beliau berkata, TM mempunyai perancangan jangka panjang dalam program pembangunan usahawan di bawahnya dengan tumpuan utama diberikan kepada usaha meningkatkan mutu perkhidmatan selain menjadikan mereka lebih kreatif dan inovatif. “Usaha membangunkan usahawan ini penting kerana mereka adalah sebahagian daripada ekosistem perniagaan TM, justeru kumpulan sentiasa berhasrat mewujudkan hubungan strategik ‘sama-sama menang’ antara kedua-dua belah pihak,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis penyampaian anugerah usahawan TM 2010 di Kuala Lumpur, malam tadi.
Anugerah berkenaan diwujudkan bagi menghargai dan mengiktiraf usahawan di bawah PPU TM yang diwujudkan sejak 1993.
Anugerah disampaikan oleh Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir. Hadir sama Ketua Eksekutif TM, Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa.
Sementara itu, Mukhriz dalam ucapannya berkata, kemunculan pembekal perkhidmatan baru yang memberikan saingan hebat kepada TM menuntut kumpulan telekomunikasi itu menjadi lebih peka terhadap kehendak pengguna.
“Pengguna mahukan pilihan yang banyak serta menarik daripada pembekal perkhidmatan dan pada masa sama menuntut mutu perkhidmatan yang tinggi pada kadar bayaran yang rendah,” katanya.
Pada majlis malam tadi, Duramine Sdn Bhd dipilih sebagai pemenang Anugerah Usahawan Terbaik 2010.
http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/TMrancangtingkatkemahiranusahawankembangpasaran/Article
Khazanah still owns 36.78% stake in Telekom Malaysia
Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 22 July 2010 13:03
KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd remains a major shareholder in TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] with a 36.78% stake after the disposal of 178.87 million shares.
A filing by Telekom Malaysia on Thursday, July 22 showed Khazanah had 1.31 billion shares of the telecommunications company after the disposal of 178.87 million shares on Wednesday.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) and Nomura Singapore Ltd had on Wednesday completed the private placement of 5% stake in TM on behalf of Khazanah.
The private placement was signed on Tuesday but was executed on Wednesday.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170396-khazanah-still-owns-3678-stake-in-telekom-malaysia.html
Thursday, 22 July 2010 13:03
KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd remains a major shareholder in TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] with a 36.78% stake after the disposal of 178.87 million shares.
A filing by Telekom Malaysia on Thursday, July 22 showed Khazanah had 1.31 billion shares of the telecommunications company after the disposal of 178.87 million shares on Wednesday.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) and Nomura Singapore Ltd had on Wednesday completed the private placement of 5% stake in TM on behalf of Khazanah.
The private placement was signed on Tuesday but was executed on Wednesday.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170396-khazanah-still-owns-3678-stake-in-telekom-malaysia.html
TM Told To Expand Cooperation With MITI On Entrepreneur Development
July 21, 2010 22:48 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Bernama) -- Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir told Telekom Malaysia (TM) to expand its cooperation with the ministry on entrepreneur development.
He said the company should work together with the ministry's Entrepreneur Development Division through the National Entrepreneur Development Institute whose role is to train and develop entrepreneurs in various fields including ICT and telecomunication.
"Perhaps, the cooperation in the areas of technology, skills and entrepreneur development funding can be optimised in realising the mission to produce true entrepreneurs," he said at the presentation of TM Entrepreneur Awards here.
He said TM had forged a close cooperation with the ministry with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April between SME Corp and the ministry to jointly develop entrepreneurs under the TM Entrepreneur Development Programme.
The programme, he said, was a platform to mould and guide entrepreneurs to become world-class players.
"Entrepreneurs under the programme have advantages as they are given special attention through various development schemes and exposure to new areas of business," he said.
-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=515475
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Bernama) -- Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir told Telekom Malaysia (TM) to expand its cooperation with the ministry on entrepreneur development.
He said the company should work together with the ministry's Entrepreneur Development Division through the National Entrepreneur Development Institute whose role is to train and develop entrepreneurs in various fields including ICT and telecomunication.
"Perhaps, the cooperation in the areas of technology, skills and entrepreneur development funding can be optimised in realising the mission to produce true entrepreneurs," he said at the presentation of TM Entrepreneur Awards here.
He said TM had forged a close cooperation with the ministry with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April between SME Corp and the ministry to jointly develop entrepreneurs under the TM Entrepreneur Development Programme.
The programme, he said, was a platform to mould and guide entrepreneurs to become world-class players.
"Entrepreneurs under the programme have advantages as they are given special attention through various development schemes and exposure to new areas of business," he said.
-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=515475
Khazanah sold 5pc of TM, say bankers
Published: 2010/07/21
Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, sold a RM581.3 million ($181 million) stake in state-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd as part of the government’s plans to reduce holdings, two bankers involved in the deal said.
Khazanah sold 178.9 million shares, or 5 percent of the fixed-line phone and Internet service provider, at a fixed price of RM3.25 apiece, the bankers said. That’s a 2.7 percent discount to the stock’s RM3.34 closing price in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The shares were sold to local and foreign institutional investors, one of the bankers said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on March 30 that state-linked institutions will cut public-company holdings to free up shares and attract foreign investors to Malaysia, part of a plan that may also almost halve its budget deficit in the next five years, reduce expenses and make Malaysia more competitive.
The divestiture plan “has been on the agenda for a while. They’re just timing it rightly,” said Pankaj Kumar, who oversees about $560 million as chief investment officer of Kurnia Insurans Malaysia Bhd. “It shows that investors now have an appetite for it.”
Asset Sales
Khazanah, a state investment agency whose investments climbed 63 percent in value to RM54.1 billion last year, trimmed its holdings in power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd, toll-road operator PLUS Expressways Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd in 2009. It also plans to sell its 32.2 percent stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd, a national postal company.
The Employees Provident Fund, a state-controlled pension fund, accounts for half of daily trading volume in Malaysia’s local equity and bond markets, Najib said.
Telekom rose 0.3 percent to RM3.35 at 11:15 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, while Malaysia’s benchmark index rose 0.5 percent.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and Nomura Holdings Inc managed placement, the people said. Khazanah spokesman Asuki Mohd Abas said the banks will make an announcement soon, declining to comment further.
The investment agency may raise RM3 billion to RM3.5 billion from divestments this year, Managing Director Azman Mokhtar said in January.
The agency, which currently makes 12 percent of its investments outside Malaysia, will explore more international acquisitions in Asia, Azman said on March 23. It is currently competing with Fortis Healthcare Ltd. to take over Singapore- listed Parkway Holdings Ltd., Asia’s biggest hospital operator.
Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100721162914/Article/
Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, sold a RM581.3 million ($181 million) stake in state-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd as part of the government’s plans to reduce holdings, two bankers involved in the deal said.
Khazanah sold 178.9 million shares, or 5 percent of the fixed-line phone and Internet service provider, at a fixed price of RM3.25 apiece, the bankers said. That’s a 2.7 percent discount to the stock’s RM3.34 closing price in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The shares were sold to local and foreign institutional investors, one of the bankers said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on March 30 that state-linked institutions will cut public-company holdings to free up shares and attract foreign investors to Malaysia, part of a plan that may also almost halve its budget deficit in the next five years, reduce expenses and make Malaysia more competitive.
The divestiture plan “has been on the agenda for a while. They’re just timing it rightly,” said Pankaj Kumar, who oversees about $560 million as chief investment officer of Kurnia Insurans Malaysia Bhd. “It shows that investors now have an appetite for it.”
Asset Sales
Khazanah, a state investment agency whose investments climbed 63 percent in value to RM54.1 billion last year, trimmed its holdings in power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd, toll-road operator PLUS Expressways Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd in 2009. It also plans to sell its 32.2 percent stake in Pos Malaysia Bhd, a national postal company.
The Employees Provident Fund, a state-controlled pension fund, accounts for half of daily trading volume in Malaysia’s local equity and bond markets, Najib said.
Telekom rose 0.3 percent to RM3.35 at 11:15 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, while Malaysia’s benchmark index rose 0.5 percent.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and Nomura Holdings Inc managed placement, the people said. Khazanah spokesman Asuki Mohd Abas said the banks will make an announcement soon, declining to comment further.
The investment agency may raise RM3 billion to RM3.5 billion from divestments this year, Managing Director Azman Mokhtar said in January.
The agency, which currently makes 12 percent of its investments outside Malaysia, will explore more international acquisitions in Asia, Azman said on March 23. It is currently competing with Fortis Healthcare Ltd. to take over Singapore- listed Parkway Holdings Ltd., Asia’s biggest hospital operator.
Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100721162914/Article/
Khazanah places out TM shares for RM581m
By Adeline Paul Raj
Published: 2010/07/21
The deal, valued at RM581.3 million, is believed to be the second largest share placement exercise in Malaysia so far this year
The government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd has placed out 5 per cent of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM)'s stock in a deal valued at RM581.3 million.
The deal, executed yesterday, is believed to be the second largest share placement exercise in Malaysia so far this year.
Maybank Investment Bank and Nomura Singapore were the joint placement agents for Khazanah.
Some 178.9 million of TM shares were placed out to local and foreign institutional investors at a fixed price of RM3.25 each, sources said.
The price represented a 2.7 per cent discount to TM's closing price of RM3.34 in the stock market yesterday.
"There was overwhelming demand from both domestic and foreign institutional investors. The transaction was covered very quickly," a source told Business Times.
TM's share price has gained about 9.2 per cent so far this year, peaking at RM3.54 in mid-May.
With the sale, Khazanah's 42 per cent stake in TM has now been reduced to 37 per cent.
Khazanah has been been making an effort to sell down its holdings in government-linked companies in a bid to boost their free float and draw foreign funds back into the stock market.
It last year placed out shares in airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
Last week, the world's biggest cement-maker Lafarge SA sold 11.2 per cent in Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd for RM594 million in the largest share placement deal in Malaysia this year. That deal was arranged by The Royal Bank of Scotland.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/telnom/Article/
Published: 2010/07/21
The deal, valued at RM581.3 million, is believed to be the second largest share placement exercise in Malaysia so far this year
The government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd has placed out 5 per cent of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM)'s stock in a deal valued at RM581.3 million.
The deal, executed yesterday, is believed to be the second largest share placement exercise in Malaysia so far this year.
Maybank Investment Bank and Nomura Singapore were the joint placement agents for Khazanah.
Some 178.9 million of TM shares were placed out to local and foreign institutional investors at a fixed price of RM3.25 each, sources said.
The price represented a 2.7 per cent discount to TM's closing price of RM3.34 in the stock market yesterday.
"There was overwhelming demand from both domestic and foreign institutional investors. The transaction was covered very quickly," a source told Business Times.
TM's share price has gained about 9.2 per cent so far this year, peaking at RM3.54 in mid-May.
With the sale, Khazanah's 42 per cent stake in TM has now been reduced to 37 per cent.
Khazanah has been been making an effort to sell down its holdings in government-linked companies in a bid to boost their free float and draw foreign funds back into the stock market.
It last year placed out shares in airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
Last week, the world's biggest cement-maker Lafarge SA sold 11.2 per cent in Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd for RM594 million in the largest share placement deal in Malaysia this year. That deal was arranged by The Royal Bank of Scotland.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/telnom/Article/
DiGi.Com: Neutral, target price RM23.10
Published: 2010/07/09
OSK Research Sdn Bhd said it expects DiGi.Com Bhd's (6947)cut of its monthly access fees for iPhone packages to be offset by lower iPhone handset subsidies, which can mitigate the near-term pressure on margins.
"The cheaper plans widen DiGi's addressable market for the iPhone by lowering the barriers to ownership, thus inducing more subscribers to upgrade and encouraging users from other networks to port-in," it said in a report yesterday.
OSK Research is sticking to its DiGi forecast, pending the release of its second-quarter results on July 20.
Since Wednesday, DiGi has cut the monthly access fees for iPhone plans by between 32 per cent and 35 per cent. The access fee for the entry level plan (iDigi88) has been lowered to RM60 from RM88 previously.
"We believe the new plans would ignite further interest and widen the addressable market for the iconic device, with DiGi cementing its best value proposition in the market."
While it reduced the monthly fees, DiGi has also cut the subsidy on iPhone handsets by 47 per cent to 80 per cent (up to RM1,500 per phone) and is doing without the free offer on iPhone's older 3G model.
"We estimate the net gain for a subscriber after deducting the higher cost of the phone at RM200 to RM400 compared with the previous plan," it said.
Digi.Com signed an agreement to sell Apple Inc's iPhone in Malaysia early this year, ending rival Maxis' monopoly in selling the smart handphone in the country.
The three-year agreement will help DiGi increase sales by more than 5 per cent this year, its chief executive said in March.
Smart phones are becoming increasingly popular for Internet access in Malaysia.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd said it expects DiGi.Com Bhd's (6947)cut of its monthly access fees for iPhone packages to be offset by lower iPhone handset subsidies, which can mitigate the near-term pressure on margins.
"The cheaper plans widen DiGi's addressable market for the iPhone by lowering the barriers to ownership, thus inducing more subscribers to upgrade and encouraging users from other networks to port-in," it said in a report yesterday.
OSK Research is sticking to its DiGi forecast, pending the release of its second-quarter results on July 20.
Since Wednesday, DiGi has cut the monthly access fees for iPhone plans by between 32 per cent and 35 per cent. The access fee for the entry level plan (iDigi88) has been lowered to RM60 from RM88 previously.
"We believe the new plans would ignite further interest and widen the addressable market for the iconic device, with DiGi cementing its best value proposition in the market."
While it reduced the monthly fees, DiGi has also cut the subsidy on iPhone handsets by 47 per cent to 80 per cent (up to RM1,500 per phone) and is doing without the free offer on iPhone's older 3G model.
"We estimate the net gain for a subscriber after deducting the higher cost of the phone at RM200 to RM400 compared with the previous plan," it said.
Digi.Com signed an agreement to sell Apple Inc's iPhone in Malaysia early this year, ending rival Maxis' monopoly in selling the smart handphone in the country.
The three-year agreement will help DiGi increase sales by more than 5 per cent this year, its chief executive said in March.
Smart phones are becoming increasingly popular for Internet access in Malaysia.
OSK keeps 'neutral' call on DiGi
Published: 2010/07/21
OSK has maintained its "neutral" recommendation but increased the target price on DiGi stock to RM24.40 (from RM23.10).
OSK noted that DiGi's first-half 2010 results "were in line with our/consensus expectations".
The key takeaways were:
(i) the strong 16 per cent quarter-on-quarter jump in postpaid revenue from maiden iPhone sales;
(ii) improved mobile broadband revenue traction, and
(iii) a second interim DPS of 35sen/share declared.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100721100411/Article/
OSK has maintained its "neutral" recommendation but increased the target price on DiGi stock to RM24.40 (from RM23.10).
OSK noted that DiGi's first-half 2010 results "were in line with our/consensus expectations".
The key takeaways were:
(i) the strong 16 per cent quarter-on-quarter jump in postpaid revenue from maiden iPhone sales;
(ii) improved mobile broadband revenue traction, and
(iii) a second interim DPS of 35sen/share declared.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100721100411/Article/
DiGi's net profit climbs 18.8pc in Q2
By Goh Thean Eu
Published: 2010/07/21
DIGI.COM Bhd (6947), the country's third largest mobile operator, said second-quarter net profit rose 18.8 per cent, mainly helped by growth in its postpaid, mobile Internet and mobile broadband segments.
"Our postpaid growth is mainly driven by our attractive device plans, that have also benefited the sub-segments of postpaid including the enterprise segment.
"We have seen strong take-up not only on our iPhones, but also the BlackBerrys and Androids," chief executive officer Henrik Clausen told Business Times in a phone interview yesterday.
The company posted a net profit of RM278 million in the second quarter, against RM234 million in the same period last year, which was one of its weakest quarterly net profit since third quarter 2006.
Revenue grew by almost 11 per cent to RM1.34 billion during the quarter under review. The growth was mainly driven by its mobile postpaid business, which rose by 25 per cent to RM379 million. Its prepaid revenue grew by 8 per cent to RM947 million.
During the quarter, the company added 157,000 new customers, comprising 55,000 postpaid customers and 102,000 prepaid customers.
It also added about 45,000 mobile broadband customers, bringing the total customers to 122,000.
In general, analysts said the company's second-quarter results were within their expectations.
"There's no surprises, nothing spectacular," said Maybank Investment Bank analyst Mohd Khair Mirza when contacted yesterday.
DiGi believes that the industry will grow by about 5 per cent this year, and hopes to outgrow the industry this year. The group also hopes its cost-saving initiatives are able to reduce the impact of increased handset bundles, resulting in stable margins.
Meanwhile, DiGi has appointed Terje Borge as chief financial officer (CFO) from August 2. Borge, who was the CFO in DTAC of Thailand for the past three years, will replace Stefan Carlsson who is resigning.
On the launch of iPhone 4, DiGi said the company has began pre-orders for the iPhone 4 and is looking into packages that allow existing 3GS customers to upgrade their phones.
Clausen said the company remains committed to launch the phone to its customers before year-end and will ensure that iPhone 4 meets expectations before launching.
The new iPhone has come under heavy criticism lately, after users complains about losing reception when they held their phones in the lower-left corner. Apple Inc is currently working to fix the issue.
The latest model of iPhone carries a metal antenna that surrounds the outside of the device, a design chosen by Apple executives because it can help the device be lighter and thinner. However, it has also resulted in dropped or degraded calls.
To date, more than three million units of iPhone 4 has been sold.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/digiq210/Article/
Published: 2010/07/21
DIGI.COM Bhd (6947), the country's third largest mobile operator, said second-quarter net profit rose 18.8 per cent, mainly helped by growth in its postpaid, mobile Internet and mobile broadband segments.
"Our postpaid growth is mainly driven by our attractive device plans, that have also benefited the sub-segments of postpaid including the enterprise segment.
"We have seen strong take-up not only on our iPhones, but also the BlackBerrys and Androids," chief executive officer Henrik Clausen told Business Times in a phone interview yesterday.
The company posted a net profit of RM278 million in the second quarter, against RM234 million in the same period last year, which was one of its weakest quarterly net profit since third quarter 2006.
Revenue grew by almost 11 per cent to RM1.34 billion during the quarter under review. The growth was mainly driven by its mobile postpaid business, which rose by 25 per cent to RM379 million. Its prepaid revenue grew by 8 per cent to RM947 million.
During the quarter, the company added 157,000 new customers, comprising 55,000 postpaid customers and 102,000 prepaid customers.
It also added about 45,000 mobile broadband customers, bringing the total customers to 122,000.
In general, analysts said the company's second-quarter results were within their expectations.
"There's no surprises, nothing spectacular," said Maybank Investment Bank analyst Mohd Khair Mirza when contacted yesterday.
DiGi believes that the industry will grow by about 5 per cent this year, and hopes to outgrow the industry this year. The group also hopes its cost-saving initiatives are able to reduce the impact of increased handset bundles, resulting in stable margins.
Meanwhile, DiGi has appointed Terje Borge as chief financial officer (CFO) from August 2. Borge, who was the CFO in DTAC of Thailand for the past three years, will replace Stefan Carlsson who is resigning.
On the launch of iPhone 4, DiGi said the company has began pre-orders for the iPhone 4 and is looking into packages that allow existing 3GS customers to upgrade their phones.
Clausen said the company remains committed to launch the phone to its customers before year-end and will ensure that iPhone 4 meets expectations before launching.
The new iPhone has come under heavy criticism lately, after users complains about losing reception when they held their phones in the lower-left corner. Apple Inc is currently working to fix the issue.
The latest model of iPhone carries a metal antenna that surrounds the outside of the device, a design chosen by Apple executives because it can help the device be lighter and thinner. However, it has also resulted in dropped or degraded calls.
To date, more than three million units of iPhone 4 has been sold.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/digiq210/Article/
'Cut mobile ownership tax to increase penetration'
Published: 2010/07/22
The government should consider reducing the tax on total cost of mobile ownership so as to help increase penetration, according to the GSM Association (GSMA).
Its Asia Pacific senior director Jaikishan Rajaraman said a tax reduction of 1 per cent from the current 6.1 per cent could increase mobile penetration by between 0.9 and 1.8 per cent, delivering between 260,000 and 530,000 new subscribers.
He said in a statement yesterday that such a measure could also create an additional contribution of between US$105 million (RM337.05 million) and US$1.44 billion (RM4.64 billion) to the gross domestic production (GDP) over a five-year period.
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, with its membership comprising nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators.
Jaikishan said according to the latest Telecom Advisory Services report, Malaysia's taxation on mobile broadband has been one of the most flexible in the world, providing a positive impact on the mobile broadband target of 50 per cent by end of this year.
"But there is a major need for the tax adjustment so that the potential of the industry can be unlocked, and more needs to be done to drive widespread availability across the country," he said.
Jaikishan said the government should consider developing a consistent plan for spectrum allocation, including the licensing of a 2.6 gigahertz spectrum for future long-term evolution deployment.
"With further support and commitment from the government facilitating these key spectrum levers, GSM mobile operators across Malaysia have the opportunity to become the key innovators driving broadband uptake across the country," he said. - Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/gasma/Article/
The government should consider reducing the tax on total cost of mobile ownership so as to help increase penetration, according to the GSM Association (GSMA).
Its Asia Pacific senior director Jaikishan Rajaraman said a tax reduction of 1 per cent from the current 6.1 per cent could increase mobile penetration by between 0.9 and 1.8 per cent, delivering between 260,000 and 530,000 new subscribers.
He said in a statement yesterday that such a measure could also create an additional contribution of between US$105 million (RM337.05 million) and US$1.44 billion (RM4.64 billion) to the gross domestic production (GDP) over a five-year period.
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, with its membership comprising nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators.
Jaikishan said according to the latest Telecom Advisory Services report, Malaysia's taxation on mobile broadband has been one of the most flexible in the world, providing a positive impact on the mobile broadband target of 50 per cent by end of this year.
"But there is a major need for the tax adjustment so that the potential of the industry can be unlocked, and more needs to be done to drive widespread availability across the country," he said.
Jaikishan said the government should consider developing a consistent plan for spectrum allocation, including the licensing of a 2.6 gigahertz spectrum for future long-term evolution deployment.
"With further support and commitment from the government facilitating these key spectrum levers, GSM mobile operators across Malaysia have the opportunity to become the key innovators driving broadband uptake across the country," he said. - Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/gasma/Article/
TeAM wants HSBB to be more inclusive
Written by TeAM
Monday, 07 June 2010 10:32
The Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM) welcomes the initiative by Telekom Malaysia and the Malaysian government to provide HSBB for the Malaysian public. We feel that it is timely that Malaysian citizens and business entities have access to HSBB as this will catalyse and enhance the environment for the digital economy in Malaysia. We are confident that this will also help with the government's initiative to create a New Economic
Model for the nation.
We are however concerned about a few matters:
1. Affordability is still an issue. On a comparative basis, HSBB is still very expensive in Malaysia. For example, per capita incomes in the UK and Australia are above US$35,000 per year and high-speed broadband access costs only around US$600 per year or around 0.02% of the average person's per capita income. In Malaysia, whose per capita income is US$14,500, the average annual HSBB cost is 2.5 times that of Australia and UK at 0.05% of per capita income. In fact, in a country with a lower per capita income we should have even cheaper access so we can encourage uptake. We feel that unless costs are lowered significantly, the benefits envisioned by the government will not be achieved. We therefore propose that HSBB be offered at RM99 for the 10Mbps package.
2. Since the government is subsidising the HSBB effort, Telekom Malaysia should not view HSBB as a pure commercial venture. There should be a social angle to this and this should be reflected in low prices for users.
3. Businesses should also be given better access at lower prices to encourage the growth of a digital economy that can contribute to the national income.
4. TM should also be more flexible with their packages and should allow consumers to select unbundled options. This will give them more choice and should be the way in which HSBB is offered. TM should not force consumers to take what is offered. This does not encourage high uptake as some consumers cannot afford a full package.
5. TM should also open up their infrastructure for use by other parties that can act as ISPs (independent service providers). This will foster healthy competition which is necessary for higher uptake of HSBB. This includes opening up the "last mile" to such ISPs.
6. As urban consumers are already broadband users, TM has to also focus on providing HSBB to suburban and rural areas at low prices. They should also speed up provision in these areas instead of focusing on high-income areas like Bangsar. HSBB should be a more inclusive programme and not only for the middle class or elite.
This article appeared in netv@lue2.0, the technology section of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 802 Apr 19 - 25 2010
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/technology/167420-team-wants-hsbb-to-be-more-inclusive.html
Monday, 07 June 2010 10:32
The Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM) welcomes the initiative by Telekom Malaysia and the Malaysian government to provide HSBB for the Malaysian public. We feel that it is timely that Malaysian citizens and business entities have access to HSBB as this will catalyse and enhance the environment for the digital economy in Malaysia. We are confident that this will also help with the government's initiative to create a New Economic
Model for the nation.
We are however concerned about a few matters:
1. Affordability is still an issue. On a comparative basis, HSBB is still very expensive in Malaysia. For example, per capita incomes in the UK and Australia are above US$35,000 per year and high-speed broadband access costs only around US$600 per year or around 0.02% of the average person's per capita income. In Malaysia, whose per capita income is US$14,500, the average annual HSBB cost is 2.5 times that of Australia and UK at 0.05% of per capita income. In fact, in a country with a lower per capita income we should have even cheaper access so we can encourage uptake. We feel that unless costs are lowered significantly, the benefits envisioned by the government will not be achieved. We therefore propose that HSBB be offered at RM99 for the 10Mbps package.
2. Since the government is subsidising the HSBB effort, Telekom Malaysia should not view HSBB as a pure commercial venture. There should be a social angle to this and this should be reflected in low prices for users.
3. Businesses should also be given better access at lower prices to encourage the growth of a digital economy that can contribute to the national income.
4. TM should also be more flexible with their packages and should allow consumers to select unbundled options. This will give them more choice and should be the way in which HSBB is offered. TM should not force consumers to take what is offered. This does not encourage high uptake as some consumers cannot afford a full package.
5. TM should also open up their infrastructure for use by other parties that can act as ISPs (independent service providers). This will foster healthy competition which is necessary for higher uptake of HSBB. This includes opening up the "last mile" to such ISPs.
6. As urban consumers are already broadband users, TM has to also focus on providing HSBB to suburban and rural areas at low prices. They should also speed up provision in these areas instead of focusing on high-income areas like Bangsar. HSBB should be a more inclusive programme and not only for the middle class or elite.
This article appeared in netv@lue2.0, the technology section of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 802 Apr 19 - 25 2010
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/technology/167420-team-wants-hsbb-to-be-more-inclusive.html
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
DiGi to pay 98pc of profit in dividends
Published: 2010/07/20
DiGi.Com Bhd plans to pay 98 percent of its second-quarter profit as a dividend to shareholders including Norway’s Telenor ASA, which holds a 49 percent stake in the Malaysian mobile-phone operator.
DiGi’s profit rose 19 percent to RM278.4 million in the three months ended June 30, up from RM234.5 million a year ago, the company said in a statement today. The company earlier said it would pay a minimum of 80 percent of its profit as a dividend.
The ratio is more than domestic rivals Maxis Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest mobile-phone operator, which is targeting a minimum 75 percent payout this year, and Axiata Group Bhd which retains all its profits to reinvest. Mobile phone subscriptions in Malaysia exceed the country’s population, suggesting few opportunities for expansion, a fund manager said.
“It’s good returns for investors, but also hints that there is limited scope for future growth,” said Ang Kok Heng, who oversees $150 million as chief investment officer at Philip Capital Management Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur.
DiGi’s shares rose 0.4 percent to close at RM23.66 in Kuala Lumpur after announcing its earnings, the highest since Sept. 2008.
Revenue rose 11 percent to RM1.34 billion, DiGi said. The company had 8.1 million customers, up from 7.9 million at the end of March, it said.
DiGi still plans to invest in new products and network expansion, Chief Executive Officer Henrik Clausen said in the statement.
It aims to expand its 3G network reach to cover 50 percent of Malaysia’s population by the end of this year, up from around 35 percent, the statement said.
The dividend will be paid on Sept. 24, the company said.
Bloomberg
Read more: DiGi to pay 98pc of profit in dividends http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100720182937/Article/index_html#ixzz0uEnODEXi
DiGi.Com Bhd plans to pay 98 percent of its second-quarter profit as a dividend to shareholders including Norway’s Telenor ASA, which holds a 49 percent stake in the Malaysian mobile-phone operator.
DiGi’s profit rose 19 percent to RM278.4 million in the three months ended June 30, up from RM234.5 million a year ago, the company said in a statement today. The company earlier said it would pay a minimum of 80 percent of its profit as a dividend.
The ratio is more than domestic rivals Maxis Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest mobile-phone operator, which is targeting a minimum 75 percent payout this year, and Axiata Group Bhd which retains all its profits to reinvest. Mobile phone subscriptions in Malaysia exceed the country’s population, suggesting few opportunities for expansion, a fund manager said.
“It’s good returns for investors, but also hints that there is limited scope for future growth,” said Ang Kok Heng, who oversees $150 million as chief investment officer at Philip Capital Management Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur.
DiGi’s shares rose 0.4 percent to close at RM23.66 in Kuala Lumpur after announcing its earnings, the highest since Sept. 2008.
Revenue rose 11 percent to RM1.34 billion, DiGi said. The company had 8.1 million customers, up from 7.9 million at the end of March, it said.
DiGi still plans to invest in new products and network expansion, Chief Executive Officer Henrik Clausen said in the statement.
It aims to expand its 3G network reach to cover 50 percent of Malaysia’s population by the end of this year, up from around 35 percent, the statement said.
The dividend will be paid on Sept. 24, the company said.
Bloomberg
Read more: DiGi to pay 98pc of profit in dividends http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100720182937/Article/index_html#ixzz0uEnODEXi
DiGi Q2 net income rises to RM278.4m
Published: 2010/07/20
DiGi.Com Bhd, a Malaysian mobile- phone operator, said second-quarter net income rose to RM278.4 million from RM234.4 million a year ago.
Revenue climbed to RM1.3 billion, according to an exchange filing today. - Bloomberg
Read more: DiGi Q2 net income rises to RM278.4m http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100720130852/Article/index_html#ixzz0uEmKRMdy
DiGi.Com Bhd, a Malaysian mobile- phone operator, said second-quarter net income rose to RM278.4 million from RM234.4 million a year ago.
Revenue climbed to RM1.3 billion, according to an exchange filing today. - Bloomberg
Read more: DiGi Q2 net income rises to RM278.4m http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100720130852/Article/index_html#ixzz0uEmKRMdy
Sunday, July 18, 2010
CIMB Research maintains Outperform on Axiata
Tags: Axiata
CIMB Equities Research
Written by CIMB Equities Research
Monday, 19 July 2010 08:34
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its Outperform call and sum-of-parts based target price of RM4.95 for Axiata Group Bhd.
It said on Monday, July 19 that likely catalysts are further earnings surprises. While consensus estimates are rising, it still thinks that the market is behind the curve, it added.
“Our forecasts are 21%-23% above consensus although the gap is down from 30%-34% two months ago. Axiata remains our top Malaysian telco pick but XL Axiata is our favourite regional telco play,” it said.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170124-cimb-research-maintains-outperform-on-axiata.html
CIMB Equities Research
Written by CIMB Equities Research
Monday, 19 July 2010 08:34
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its Outperform call and sum-of-parts based target price of RM4.95 for Axiata Group Bhd.
It said on Monday, July 19 that likely catalysts are further earnings surprises. While consensus estimates are rising, it still thinks that the market is behind the curve, it added.
“Our forecasts are 21%-23% above consensus although the gap is down from 30%-34% two months ago. Axiata remains our top Malaysian telco pick but XL Axiata is our favourite regional telco play,” it said.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/170124-cimb-research-maintains-outperform-on-axiata.html
At least 4 suitors for Time?
Written by Fong Min Hun & Jose Barrock
Monday, 19 July 2010 11:20
KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Group Bhd has received at least four bids or offers to purchase its stake in Time Engineering Bhd, with prices ranging from 20 sen to 40 sen a share, sources said.
It is not clear how much of its 45.03% equity interest UEM is looking to part with, but a sale of more than 33.3% could trigger a mandatory general offer, if a waiver is not obtained.
The sources said the internal deadline for UEM to make a decision on the stake sale had been pushed back to the end of this month or early August.
Time Engineering officials declined to comment on the planned sale when contacted by The Edge Financial Daily.
A source said the bidders included an ICT company, which is interested in Time Engineering’s 27.1% stake in Time dotCom Bhd (TdC).
Last Thursday, Time Engineering announced that it had disposed of some 40.3 million TdC shares for RM20.83 million, which works out at about 51.7 sen apiece.
Time Engineering had received its shareholders’ mandate in July 2009 to sell its entire stake in TdC at no less than 48 sen a share.
The TdC shares are at present pledged to Bank Pembangunan as security for loan stocks issued by Time Engineering to satisfy some RM342 million of debt to the bank.
As at end-March this year, Time Engineering owed Bank Pembangunan some RM305.61 million, according to the company’s balance sheet.
TdC’s share price has been steadily rising, hitting a 28-month high of 54.5 sen last Friday.
UEM has denied that an announcement about the sale of its stake in Time Engineering will be made this week, refuting news reports last week.
According to its announcement to Bursa Malaysia last Friday, Time Engineering itself, responding to an article in The Edge Financial Daily, said it had not received any “formal notification” from UEM regarding the disposal of the latter’s 45.3% stake in the company.
Time Engineering, once the high-flying ICT arm of the debt-ridden Renong Group, saw its fortunes dwindle after the group was forced to dispose of its assets to UEM in a controversial rescue of the ailing conglomerate.
The company subsequently fell into PN17 status in 2008, resulting in many quarters writing it off. However, a subsequent turnaround in 2009 caught many by surprise.
Time Engineering restructured its debts, started securing projects overseas and managed its costs, resulting in a small profit in 2009.
Much of these improvements were attributed to current CEO Steven Lim Kee Seng.
Time Engineering paid a cash dividend for the first time in 13 years this year, raising hopes of investors that the worst is behind it.
In terms of valuation, Time Engineering’s key assets include the Dagang.Net group of companies, which has been appointed the service provider to develop the country’s National Single Window trade facilitation system by the finance ministry.
The source told The Edge Financial Daily that Time Engineering had received a bid to sell its 71.25% stake in Dagang.Net for RM90 million, but that was turned down, as the bid was too low.
Time Engineering’s stake in TdC is also seen as a valuable asset, particularly now as the latter’s share price has been rising.
At last Friday’s price of 54.5 sen per share, Time Engineering’s 27.3% stake or 685.9 million shares was worth RM373.8 million.
Time Engineering also has about RM100 million in cash, and no debts, except for the loan stocks issued to Bank Pembangunan.
The source said the valuation of the tangibles alone would price the company at between 20 and 30 sen, but this does not take into consideration the future revenue of the company.
Time Engineering is also understood to have amassed an orderbook of some RM1 billion, silently and steadily bagging jobs abroad.
Given the stiff competition and rapid changes in the ICT industry, UEM has never been able to realise the Time Engineering group’s potential.
In view of improving conditions and suitors at its doorstep, could this now present the right opportunity for UEM to finally dispose of the Time Engineering group, in line with the government’s asset disposal plan?
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 19, 2010.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/in-the-financial-daily/170158-at-least-4-suitors-for-time.html
Monday, 19 July 2010 11:20
KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Group Bhd has received at least four bids or offers to purchase its stake in Time Engineering Bhd, with prices ranging from 20 sen to 40 sen a share, sources said.
It is not clear how much of its 45.03% equity interest UEM is looking to part with, but a sale of more than 33.3% could trigger a mandatory general offer, if a waiver is not obtained.
The sources said the internal deadline for UEM to make a decision on the stake sale had been pushed back to the end of this month or early August.
Time Engineering officials declined to comment on the planned sale when contacted by The Edge Financial Daily.
A source said the bidders included an ICT company, which is interested in Time Engineering’s 27.1% stake in Time dotCom Bhd (TdC).
Last Thursday, Time Engineering announced that it had disposed of some 40.3 million TdC shares for RM20.83 million, which works out at about 51.7 sen apiece.
Time Engineering had received its shareholders’ mandate in July 2009 to sell its entire stake in TdC at no less than 48 sen a share.
The TdC shares are at present pledged to Bank Pembangunan as security for loan stocks issued by Time Engineering to satisfy some RM342 million of debt to the bank.
As at end-March this year, Time Engineering owed Bank Pembangunan some RM305.61 million, according to the company’s balance sheet.
TdC’s share price has been steadily rising, hitting a 28-month high of 54.5 sen last Friday.
UEM has denied that an announcement about the sale of its stake in Time Engineering will be made this week, refuting news reports last week.
According to its announcement to Bursa Malaysia last Friday, Time Engineering itself, responding to an article in The Edge Financial Daily, said it had not received any “formal notification” from UEM regarding the disposal of the latter’s 45.3% stake in the company.
Time Engineering, once the high-flying ICT arm of the debt-ridden Renong Group, saw its fortunes dwindle after the group was forced to dispose of its assets to UEM in a controversial rescue of the ailing conglomerate.
The company subsequently fell into PN17 status in 2008, resulting in many quarters writing it off. However, a subsequent turnaround in 2009 caught many by surprise.
Time Engineering restructured its debts, started securing projects overseas and managed its costs, resulting in a small profit in 2009.
Much of these improvements were attributed to current CEO Steven Lim Kee Seng.
Time Engineering paid a cash dividend for the first time in 13 years this year, raising hopes of investors that the worst is behind it.
In terms of valuation, Time Engineering’s key assets include the Dagang.Net group of companies, which has been appointed the service provider to develop the country’s National Single Window trade facilitation system by the finance ministry.
The source told The Edge Financial Daily that Time Engineering had received a bid to sell its 71.25% stake in Dagang.Net for RM90 million, but that was turned down, as the bid was too low.
Time Engineering’s stake in TdC is also seen as a valuable asset, particularly now as the latter’s share price has been rising.
At last Friday’s price of 54.5 sen per share, Time Engineering’s 27.3% stake or 685.9 million shares was worth RM373.8 million.
Time Engineering also has about RM100 million in cash, and no debts, except for the loan stocks issued to Bank Pembangunan.
The source said the valuation of the tangibles alone would price the company at between 20 and 30 sen, but this does not take into consideration the future revenue of the company.
Time Engineering is also understood to have amassed an orderbook of some RM1 billion, silently and steadily bagging jobs abroad.
Given the stiff competition and rapid changes in the ICT industry, UEM has never been able to realise the Time Engineering group’s potential.
In view of improving conditions and suitors at its doorstep, could this now present the right opportunity for UEM to finally dispose of the Time Engineering group, in line with the government’s asset disposal plan?
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 19, 2010.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/in-the-financial-daily/170158-at-least-4-suitors-for-time.html
Axiata sells Multinet Pakistan stake
Published: 2010/07/19
Axiata Group Bhd said it agreed to sell its 89 per cent stake in Multinet Pakistan (Private) Ltd, part of a plan to dispose of non-core assets.
Axiata will sell the stake for US$15 million to Adnan Asdar Ali, it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.
Adnan will also repay Axiata a shareholders advance of 973.3 million Pakistan rupees (US$11 million) as part of the agreement, it said. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100719125247/Article/index_html
Axiata Group Bhd said it agreed to sell its 89 per cent stake in Multinet Pakistan (Private) Ltd, part of a plan to dispose of non-core assets.
Axiata will sell the stake for US$15 million to Adnan Asdar Ali, it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.
Adnan will also repay Axiata a shareholders advance of 973.3 million Pakistan rupees (US$11 million) as part of the agreement, it said. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100719125247/Article/index_html
Buy TM stock, says Omega
Published: 2010/07/19
Telekom Malaysia Bhd and South Korean steelmaker Posco are among Asian companies offering bond investors a “great opportunity” as they’re paying yields much higher than their default risk, according to Omega Global Investors Pty Ltd.
Omega, which is based in Melbourne and manages about A$330 million (US$285 million), is also buying investment-grade bonds sold by South Korean lender Woori Bank and Hong Kong’s Li & Fung Ltd, the biggest supplier to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Investment Director Mat McCrum said in a July 16 interview in Sydney.
“That’s a great opportunity, because it doesn’t stack up with the fundamentals,” McCrum said. The firms have “really healthy balance sheets, they’re great companies to invest in, but they pay this huge spread.”
Relative yields on Asian investment-grade company bonds imply a default rate of more than 26 per cent, according to McCrum, while Moody’s Investors Service expects a default rate of 1 per cent this year for non-financial firms in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan. Asia, leading the recovery from the worst recession since World War II, is forecast to expand 7.75 per cent this year compared with global growth of 4.6 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Posco, Nucor
Posco, Asia’s third-biggest steelmaker, has US$300 million of 5.875 per cent notes due 2016 that are yielding 190 basis points more than Treasuries, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices show. The company holds the same A rating from Standard & Poor’s as US steelmaker Nucor Corp., whose US$600 million of 5.75 per cent notes due the following year pay a spread of 101 basis points, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Telekom Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur-based phone company that’s rated A- by S&P, pays a 195 basis-point spread on its 5.25 per cent notes due in September 2014, according to BNP Paribas prices. France Telecom SA’s US$1.25 billion of notes due July 2014 with the same debt grade offer an 87 basis-point spread, the prices show.
Telekom Malaysia, which is developing a high-speed broadband network, has had a higher profit margin than France Telecom for at least the past four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Asia offers investors the chance to profit from “thriving, healthy, dynamic economies with good companies,” McCrum said. Omega’s global credit fund has about 30 percent of its assets invested in Asian debt and may increase it to as much as 34 percent, he said.
Omega, founded in 2008 and 19.9 per cent owned by a unit of Macquarie Group Ltd, manages money for institutional clients including Telstra Corp’s pension fund, according to its website. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100719091902/Article/index_html
Telekom Malaysia Bhd and South Korean steelmaker Posco are among Asian companies offering bond investors a “great opportunity” as they’re paying yields much higher than their default risk, according to Omega Global Investors Pty Ltd.
Omega, which is based in Melbourne and manages about A$330 million (US$285 million), is also buying investment-grade bonds sold by South Korean lender Woori Bank and Hong Kong’s Li & Fung Ltd, the biggest supplier to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Investment Director Mat McCrum said in a July 16 interview in Sydney.
“That’s a great opportunity, because it doesn’t stack up with the fundamentals,” McCrum said. The firms have “really healthy balance sheets, they’re great companies to invest in, but they pay this huge spread.”
Relative yields on Asian investment-grade company bonds imply a default rate of more than 26 per cent, according to McCrum, while Moody’s Investors Service expects a default rate of 1 per cent this year for non-financial firms in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan. Asia, leading the recovery from the worst recession since World War II, is forecast to expand 7.75 per cent this year compared with global growth of 4.6 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Posco, Nucor
Posco, Asia’s third-biggest steelmaker, has US$300 million of 5.875 per cent notes due 2016 that are yielding 190 basis points more than Treasuries, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices show. The company holds the same A rating from Standard & Poor’s as US steelmaker Nucor Corp., whose US$600 million of 5.75 per cent notes due the following year pay a spread of 101 basis points, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Telekom Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur-based phone company that’s rated A- by S&P, pays a 195 basis-point spread on its 5.25 per cent notes due in September 2014, according to BNP Paribas prices. France Telecom SA’s US$1.25 billion of notes due July 2014 with the same debt grade offer an 87 basis-point spread, the prices show.
Telekom Malaysia, which is developing a high-speed broadband network, has had a higher profit margin than France Telecom for at least the past four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Asia offers investors the chance to profit from “thriving, healthy, dynamic economies with good companies,” McCrum said. Omega’s global credit fund has about 30 percent of its assets invested in Asian debt and may increase it to as much as 34 percent, he said.
Omega, founded in 2008 and 19.9 per cent owned by a unit of Macquarie Group Ltd, manages money for institutional clients including Telstra Corp’s pension fund, according to its website. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100719091902/Article/index_html
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Transforming Axiata
Saturday July 17, 2010
By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my
Can Jamaludin Ibrahim make the group a regional champion?
SCEPTICS were doubtful if Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim could make any real change to Axiata Bhd apart from the branding perspective when he returned to the world of technology and communications.
This silver-haired corporate chief quit Maxis Communications Bhd in July 2007 to take a break and spend time with his family. Little did he know that his retreat would be short-lived.
At that point Axiata had also just finished spending millions of ringgit to widen its geographical footprint in Asia and those assets needed to be consolidated. Axiata has operations in 10 countries including two populous countries, India and Indonesia, where cellular growth has been phenomenal.
It is indeed a challenging job given his mandate to turn Axiata into a regional champion, pitting it against giant Singapore Telecommunications that has struck that pose in Asia.
What lured Jamaludin to dump his beach wear and the white sandy beaches for the job was the chance of “having a nice platform to develop talent for Malaysia and internationally,’’ besides doing national service.
“That really motivated me,’’ he says in an interview. He is the managing director, president and group CEO of Axiata and formerly group CEO of Maxis.
The call may have been tough, the sceptics unconvinced, but he just moved in to take the bull by its horns.
Enter Jamal
He looks at the group and felt “enough of inorganic growth”. That came just less than two months at the job.
He also closed the doors to new acquisitions. Moreover, opportunities were also limited in Asia and assets becoming increasingly pricey.
“I also felt then and even now that we had this nice bunch of companies and if we bring the right management team and strategy, it would be better,’’ he says.
A simple branding exercise was not the way to go.
The obvious first step was the need to strengthen the management team. To do that the bar needed to be raised, standards improved, operational models revamped, cost reduced to raise the return to stakeholders.
“Good is not good enough,’’ he says.
Of course, change is often difficult when it concerns people and that was one of the most difficult parts of the change process, admits Jamaludin.
Engage the talent
Among the first things he did was engage with the staff to build talent and that was tough.
It was not a question of Axiata not having talent but managing that, retaining, rewarding and at the same time axing what did not jell. The thought process then was “build for the future.’’
Jamaludin says: “We had the wrong notion that people don’t work hard, so we were pleasantly surprised that Axiata had a good set of people. That was good news (from the onset).’’
“It is diversity and our strategy is supportive of that,’’ Jamaludin says.
But getting 25 newcomers in was not easy because of resistance from within, especially from those who thought they were candidates for the posts.
The way he handled the situation was via discussions and engaging with the employees. He explained the need to bring in talent and the need to drive Axiata into a regional champ. Recently Axiata announced some management changes and these were intended to give people a chance to learn new things and this move helps minimise vertical promotion.
“We asked them to go somewhere else or do something else, such as from finance to non-finance before they move up,’’ he says.
By 2015 he wants 100 CxOs, and he is well on track to achieving that. Half would be Malaysians.
The makeover
Legacy issues were a given. The name change was a necessity to reflect the dynamism of a cellular company which evolves at a fast pace. Logically, the separation from TM was critical for it to stand alone.
Axiata was picked from the 700-odd names on its list. It does not mean anything but it reflects “an international company.’’ Its theme now is “advancing Asia’’ and that is about connecting Asia to the rest of the world.
“It is not a jaguh kampung. We were quite worried about the name change, about its sensitivity and trying to find a name that reflects a bit of Malaysian (yet) not so Malaysian,’’ explains Jamaludin.
To stay further away from the image of TM and to cut links, Axiata moved to its spanking new address at Sentral KL where its corporate office is located and so is the shared training facility known as “Celcom Axiata Infinity Centre.’’ It has 120 people at its corporate office and the total staff strength of the group is 25,000 people.
Axiata’s crown jewel, Celcom Axiata Bhd, has been a major contributor to earnings. That remains, but increasingly the overseas operations are contributing more. Indonesia’s PT XL Axiata tbk (XL) is seemingly fast becoming a favourite as its contribution has been staggering the past one year.
Axiata found its way to Bursa Malaysia in April 2008 and has been a pick of fund managers who see this as a pure cellular play competing with the likes of Singapore Technologies, SK Telecom and several other regional players.
Fast forward to today
Axiata’s market capitalisation today has tripled from RM12bil before the demerger to RM34.7bil as at this week. Its share price has never hit the RM4 mark until this week. It hit RM4.12 on Monday. The stock has outperformed the KLCI by 35.1%. The stock closed at RM411 yesterday for a year-to-date gain of more than 30%.
In terms of subscribers, the change has been drastic from 40 million when he took over, to 130 million of which 10 million is in Malaysia alone.
Celcom has been a major contributor towards Axiata’s coffers but change is happening as the overseas operations are now contributing positively.
The revenue contribution equation of 45:55 (Malaysian:international) will change to 35:65 by 2015.
“We have targets for both revenue and profit for 2015, and we are not far from that,’’ he says.
It is no wonder Jamal feels Axiata is undervalued.
At RM34.7bil, its market value is still below the re-listed Maxis (sans its foreign operations) whose market value is RM39.8bil. Should Axiata then re-consider a re-listing of Celcom to get into the same league as Maxis in terms of market cap?
“In the short term it is tempting, but in the longer term that may not be the best vision. We need to have complete control to spurt our growth,’’ Jamaludin said.
Its India operations from Spice has been merged with Ideal Cellular, giving Axiata a 20% stake in a much bigger company that has business in seven out of the 22 circles in India from three previously. The book value of this investment in India is about US$2bil now.
Axiata wants a bigger stake in India, but may have to wait as “right now there is none.’’
Jamaludin says the source of future earnings will be from its overseas business and product-wise, data and broadband services will bring in the returns the market has been talking about for over a decade. Its data business contribution should be about 40% over the next 3-5 years from 30% currently.
There is cash in the coffers to the tune of RM2.85bil (cash and bank balances at at end-March 2010) and a dividend policy is in the works. But Jamaludin is not saying anything for the moment.
But analysts are betting on it for this year. Let’s see if he shocks the market later this year.
Profit forecast for this year is well “on track’’, he says.
The hurdle ahead
While Jamaludin may have done things smartly by bringing in people, getting the processes in order and bringing the cost down, the job is far from complete.
Axiata’s challenge will be to bring innovations to the market place and video-based applications. It is working with partners but the call would be tough given the fact that Maxis, its biggest rival, is going to combine content with sister company Astro for its future offerings.
Perhaps this is the time for Axiata to go back to TM, both of whom share common shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
It works to Axiata and TM’s advantage to team up as one lacks a fibre network and the other is a cellular outfit. The fit could bode well for both but content will be the biggest challenge and video-based services will be the theme of the future.
Axiata is also not about to pour in millions of ringgit to build a fibre network. Jamaludin is not for it, saying “we have the licences to roll out fixed broadband but it is not economical.’’
Elsewhere its operations will be subject to regulations, geopolitical issues and competition. The emergence of over the top non-traditional players such as Google and Skype that can offer free voice and other services will be something to watch out for.
Building partnerships to reduce cost, like it is contemplating with DiGi.Com Bhd, for sharing of transmission facilities will help reduce costs and duplication.
It would also need more spectrum locally and abroad and there is a price for that as seen in the recent intense price war in spectrum auctions in India. All this requires funding but Jamaludin says “according to our plan, all the operations are self-funding and we do not see the need to raise funding over the next one to 1½ years.’’
Could the entire transformation of Axiata be done differently or at a faster speed?
Says Jamaludin: “It could have been done slightly faster, be it in talent management, leadership programmes, strengthening of the company etc.
“However, we do not simply make changes as we are dealing with people’s lives. We have to respect that.’’
The real champ
Yes, he has made changes beyond mere re-branding change. It is a total revamp, and if the people and systems are the right ones and at the right places, there is more than a decent chance that Axiata will become one of Malaysia’s regional champions.
“I have to hand it to him as there was sceptism earlier that he will not make it,’’ says an analyst.
But for now, we will have to wait as the finishing line is still miles ahead. Regional champ in 2015 – that is five years from now, and there is already talk of a second economic slowdown.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/17/business/6669764&sec=business
Friday, July 16, 2010
Oops ... he’s at it again
16 July 2010
FRIDAY REFLECTIONS
SOMEONE made a remark recently that “he is at it again’’.
The person was referring to the Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who wants broadband rates be brought down.
That is a fair request and rates should come down with the entry level packages reduced further.
The call made this week is not his first nor will it be his last but at the same time, access to broadband should not be confined to urban centres. There should be equal offering in the rural areas and he wants that done too.
He wants the service providers to offer broadband to the 7.5 million 3G and Internet dial-up users so that the migration can take place.
Currently, almost all celcos and telcos and even the WiMAX players are offering broadband services. The question is at what price and where?
Most of them concentrate on urban centres, big towns and big cities, leaving the rural folks with slow speed or no Internet connectivity at all.
From an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) perspective, celcos in the country have margins of 40% to 50%. That is high considering the fact that most industries’ margins are in the 30%-40% range.
These EBITDA margins are perhaps the highest ever recorded in Asia if not the world and at 50%. Maxis Communications Bhd is perhaps the only celco globally with that kind of margins.
Surely these celcos can still make a lot of money if rates are dropped further but where is the push or incentive for them to drop rates? Logically, why should they? It is a demand-driven market and even if quality is questionable, consumers live with it.
What could drive rates is actually fierce competition.
And to get these operators slugging it out to keep their turf will require a neutral network where all operators ride on to offer services. They do not have to invest millions to build the network, they just focus on the service level and offer the services. In that way, the investment is lesser and the fight is really on the service level.
Singapore is adopting that and frankly speaking, it should be the model for Malaysia to adopt to avoid duplication of infrastructure. At the same time, it offers a network that all can ride on and not be subject to conditions by any operator. And the issue of the stifling of growth of others will not arise.
That kind of network is lacking here and that is why the broadband infrastructure in the country is not complete for all to enjoy as Malaysia marches to become a knowledge and innovative nation.
Today, all the operators are investing a lot of money to build their own network. Then they worry about return on investment as the gestation period is long.
A neutral network will definitely drive competition. To make it easier for the operators, they can be owners in a consortium that owns and operates the network.
There is also no need to build a brand new network to call it neutral. Time dotCom Bhd’s network is one that can be re-deployed as neutral. What needs to be done is some adjustments so that it can cater for all players.
By doing so, the minister does need not cajole the operators to drop rates. Competition will force rates down and the fight will also drive and determine the quality of access to consumers.
That is the type of network planning those in charge should be looking at.
Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu is all for rates to drop and she believes the entry level packages should be no more than RM20 a month, as this will get more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/16/business/6675947&sec=business
FRIDAY REFLECTIONS
By B.K. SIDHU
SOMEONE made a remark recently that “he is at it again’’.
The person was referring to the Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who wants broadband rates be brought down.
That is a fair request and rates should come down with the entry level packages reduced further.
The call made this week is not his first nor will it be his last but at the same time, access to broadband should not be confined to urban centres. There should be equal offering in the rural areas and he wants that done too.
He wants the service providers to offer broadband to the 7.5 million 3G and Internet dial-up users so that the migration can take place.
Currently, almost all celcos and telcos and even the WiMAX players are offering broadband services. The question is at what price and where?
Most of them concentrate on urban centres, big towns and big cities, leaving the rural folks with slow speed or no Internet connectivity at all.
From an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) perspective, celcos in the country have margins of 40% to 50%. That is high considering the fact that most industries’ margins are in the 30%-40% range.
These EBITDA margins are perhaps the highest ever recorded in Asia if not the world and at 50%. Maxis Communications Bhd is perhaps the only celco globally with that kind of margins.
Surely these celcos can still make a lot of money if rates are dropped further but where is the push or incentive for them to drop rates? Logically, why should they? It is a demand-driven market and even if quality is questionable, consumers live with it.
What could drive rates is actually fierce competition.
And to get these operators slugging it out to keep their turf will require a neutral network where all operators ride on to offer services. They do not have to invest millions to build the network, they just focus on the service level and offer the services. In that way, the investment is lesser and the fight is really on the service level.
Singapore is adopting that and frankly speaking, it should be the model for Malaysia to adopt to avoid duplication of infrastructure. At the same time, it offers a network that all can ride on and not be subject to conditions by any operator. And the issue of the stifling of growth of others will not arise.
That kind of network is lacking here and that is why the broadband infrastructure in the country is not complete for all to enjoy as Malaysia marches to become a knowledge and innovative nation.
Today, all the operators are investing a lot of money to build their own network. Then they worry about return on investment as the gestation period is long.
A neutral network will definitely drive competition. To make it easier for the operators, they can be owners in a consortium that owns and operates the network.
There is also no need to build a brand new network to call it neutral. Time dotCom Bhd’s network is one that can be re-deployed as neutral. What needs to be done is some adjustments so that it can cater for all players.
By doing so, the minister does need not cajole the operators to drop rates. Competition will force rates down and the fight will also drive and determine the quality of access to consumers.
That is the type of network planning those in charge should be looking at.
Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu is all for rates to drop and she believes the entry level packages should be no more than RM20 a month, as this will get more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/16/business/6675947&sec=business
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Time dotCom rises to 2-year high
Published: 2010/07/12
Time dotCom Bhd rose to its highest level in more than two years after CIMB Investment Bank Bhd said investors should buy the Malaysian fiber-optic capacity provider, which will gain from the “explosive” growth of the wireless broadband and mobile data market.
The stock climbed 5 per cent to 52.5 sen at 10:56 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since April 23, 2008. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100712110818/Article/
Time dotCom Bhd rose to its highest level in more than two years after CIMB Investment Bank Bhd said investors should buy the Malaysian fiber-optic capacity provider, which will gain from the “explosive” growth of the wireless broadband and mobile data market.
The stock climbed 5 per cent to 52.5 sen at 10:56 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since April 23, 2008. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100712110818/Article/
Buy Time dotCom shares: CIMB
Published: 2010/07/12
Investors should buy shares of Time dotCom Bhd, a Malaysian provider of fiber-optic capacity, which will benefit from the “explosive” growth of the wireless broadband and mobile data market, according to CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.
Time dotCom is an “emerging threat” to rival Telekom Malaysia Bhd, CIMB analyst Kelvin Goh said in a report today.
Time dotCom climbed 5 per cent to 52.5 sen at 10:56 am local time in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since April 23, 2008. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100712101731/Article/
Investors should buy shares of Time dotCom Bhd, a Malaysian provider of fiber-optic capacity, which will benefit from the “explosive” growth of the wireless broadband and mobile data market, according to CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.
Time dotCom is an “emerging threat” to rival Telekom Malaysia Bhd, CIMB analyst Kelvin Goh said in a report today.
Time dotCom climbed 5 per cent to 52.5 sen at 10:56 am local time in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since April 23, 2008. -- Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100712101731/Article/
Hypp TV may have over 30 channels by year-end
Published: 2010/07/14
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) (4863) aims to offer more than 30 channels through its HyppTV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service by year-end from 22 channels currently.
TM is negotiating with content providers and hopes to have over 30 contents by year-end, executive vice president, consumer and chief executive officer of TM Net, Jeremy Kung, told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday
Kung also urged local content providers to use the IPTV platform as an avenue to showcase their contents, adding that the government has put in seed money to help them establish their contents.
HyppTV was launched on March 24 together with TM's high-speed broadband (HSBB) service, UniFi.
HyppTV is available to all UniFi HSBB residential customers as part of its triple-play offering comprising phone, IPTV and high-speed Internet services on a basic, premium and pay-per-view of video-on-demand (VoD) package basis.
Kung said UniFi subscribers currently enjoyed 22 free linear TV channels and over 20 new VoD titles, refreshed every month as a value-added service.
"We are excited about HyppTV's potential reach in conjunction with UniFi's service expansion to more areas, and TM will be ramping up efforts to woo more customers," Kung said.
Kung said TM expected six to eight per cent of the 750,000 premises to be connected to UniFi by year-end and to become the subscribers of HyppTV.
Currently, TM has 5,000 UniFi customers.
The HyppTV is offered via the residential packages - VIP5 at RM149 per month, VIP10 at RM199 per month and VIP20 at RM249 per month.- Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/hypp/Article/
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) (4863) aims to offer more than 30 channels through its HyppTV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service by year-end from 22 channels currently.
TM is negotiating with content providers and hopes to have over 30 contents by year-end, executive vice president, consumer and chief executive officer of TM Net, Jeremy Kung, told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday
Kung also urged local content providers to use the IPTV platform as an avenue to showcase their contents, adding that the government has put in seed money to help them establish their contents.
HyppTV was launched on March 24 together with TM's high-speed broadband (HSBB) service, UniFi.
HyppTV is available to all UniFi HSBB residential customers as part of its triple-play offering comprising phone, IPTV and high-speed Internet services on a basic, premium and pay-per-view of video-on-demand (VoD) package basis.
Kung said UniFi subscribers currently enjoyed 22 free linear TV channels and over 20 new VoD titles, refreshed every month as a value-added service.
"We are excited about HyppTV's potential reach in conjunction with UniFi's service expansion to more areas, and TM will be ramping up efforts to woo more customers," Kung said.
Kung said TM expected six to eight per cent of the 750,000 premises to be connected to UniFi by year-end and to become the subscribers of HyppTV.
Currently, TM has 5,000 UniFi customers.
The HyppTV is offered via the residential packages - VIP5 at RM149 per month, VIP10 at RM199 per month and VIP20 at RM249 per month.- Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/hypp/Article/
Call for minimal charges for broadband
Published: 2010/07/13
The Information Communication and Culture Ministry has called on telecommunication companies to impose minimal charges to encourage people to subscribe to broadband facilities and help achieve the 50 per cent broadband penetration by year-end.
He said that as of July 7, the penetration rate was 37.7 per cent with 2.3 million household subscribers.
"The lowest charge of RM38 is currently provided by TM. We hope that telecommunication companies can provide rates which are affordable to the people," he told reporters after launching the national broadband awareness programme here today.
Rais said that out of 16 million Internet users in the country, 2.3 million households were broadband subscribers, 7.5 million 3G subscribers and one million dial-up subscribers which had the potentials to become broadband users.
"We are confident that the target is achievable but this can be achieved faster if the existing 3G and dial-up users convert their subscriptions to broadband," he said.
He also called for improvement in the provision of broadband facilities in rural areas.
"I was told recently that there is already a cost-effective technology where access points can be installed in public telephone booths with a coverage of 2km radius," he said.
On the broadband tour programme, Rais said it would cover 500 locations nationwide, with focus on states which had low broadband penetration such as Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.
He said that through the campaign, expedition members would give explanation on the importance of broadband on the people's daily lives, and the latest information on the service. -- Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100713160556/Article/
The Information Communication and Culture Ministry has called on telecommunication companies to impose minimal charges to encourage people to subscribe to broadband facilities and help achieve the 50 per cent broadband penetration by year-end.
He said that as of July 7, the penetration rate was 37.7 per cent with 2.3 million household subscribers.
"The lowest charge of RM38 is currently provided by TM. We hope that telecommunication companies can provide rates which are affordable to the people," he told reporters after launching the national broadband awareness programme here today.
Rais said that out of 16 million Internet users in the country, 2.3 million households were broadband subscribers, 7.5 million 3G subscribers and one million dial-up subscribers which had the potentials to become broadband users.
"We are confident that the target is achievable but this can be achieved faster if the existing 3G and dial-up users convert their subscriptions to broadband," he said.
He also called for improvement in the provision of broadband facilities in rural areas.
"I was told recently that there is already a cost-effective technology where access points can be installed in public telephone booths with a coverage of 2km radius," he said.
On the broadband tour programme, Rais said it would cover 500 locations nationwide, with focus on states which had low broadband penetration such as Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.
He said that through the campaign, expedition members would give explanation on the importance of broadband on the people's daily lives, and the latest information on the service. -- Bernama
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100713160556/Article/
TM targets 60,000 UniFi users by end of this year
By Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi
Published: 2010/07/03
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) (4863) expects to secure up to 60,000 subscribers for its high speed broadband (HSBB) service, or better known as UniFi, by the end of this year.
"We understand that UniFi will not be delivering big numbers this year, but the numbers are increasing. We aim for 6-8 per cent of the total premises of 750,000 to account for our customers," said HSBB programme director Ahmad Azhar Yahya.
Speaking to the media after the launching of its new areas in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Ahmad Azhar said it will be a gradual increase as UniFi is still new to Malaysians and limited to selected areas.
TM, which will launch a customer online portal soon to draw more subscribers, currently has some 4,700 residential and business UniFi customers.
"Therefore, we are now expanding to an additional 18 areas nationwide, including Nothern and Southern parts of Malaysia starting July 1," said Ahmad Azhar.
The 18 new areas include industrial sites such as Kulim Hi-Tech in Kedah, Bayan Baru in Penang, Senai and Permas in Johor as well as more areas in Klang Valley.
In March 2010, TM launched UniFi in Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
The rollout now covers more than 375,000 premises. UniFi is expected to reach 750,000 premises by the end of the year and 1.3 million premises by 2012.
Ahmad Azhar also said that TM plans to spend RM2 billion on its capital expenditure (capex) for its current financial year for UniFi's rollout.
TM's total expenditure for its HSBB project as at April 30 2010 has reached RM2.3 billion.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/tmunifi02/Article/
Published: 2010/07/03
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) (4863) expects to secure up to 60,000 subscribers for its high speed broadband (HSBB) service, or better known as UniFi, by the end of this year.
"We understand that UniFi will not be delivering big numbers this year, but the numbers are increasing. We aim for 6-8 per cent of the total premises of 750,000 to account for our customers," said HSBB programme director Ahmad Azhar Yahya.
Speaking to the media after the launching of its new areas in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Ahmad Azhar said it will be a gradual increase as UniFi is still new to Malaysians and limited to selected areas.
TM, which will launch a customer online portal soon to draw more subscribers, currently has some 4,700 residential and business UniFi customers.
"Therefore, we are now expanding to an additional 18 areas nationwide, including Nothern and Southern parts of Malaysia starting July 1," said Ahmad Azhar.
The 18 new areas include industrial sites such as Kulim Hi-Tech in Kedah, Bayan Baru in Penang, Senai and Permas in Johor as well as more areas in Klang Valley.
In March 2010, TM launched UniFi in Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
The rollout now covers more than 375,000 premises. UniFi is expected to reach 750,000 premises by the end of the year and 1.3 million premises by 2012.
Ahmad Azhar also said that TM plans to spend RM2 billion on its capital expenditure (capex) for its current financial year for UniFi's rollout.
TM's total expenditure for its HSBB project as at April 30 2010 has reached RM2.3 billion.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/tmunifi02/Article/
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
TM sasar lebih 30 saluran di HyppTV menjelang akhir tahun
KUALA LUMPUR 13 Julai - Telekom Malaysia Bhd. (TM) berhasrat menawarkan lebih daripada 30 saluran menerusi perkhidmatan Televisyen Protokol Internet HyppTVnya menjelang akhir tahun daripada 22 saluran pada masa ini.
"Kami kini sedang berunding dengan penyedia kandungan dan mengharapkan lebih daripada 30 kandungan menjelang akhir tahun," kata Naib Presiden Eksekutif Pengguna, Jeremy Kung, dalam taklimat media di sini hari ini.
Kung turut menggesa agar penyedia kandungan tempatan menggunakan platform IPTV sebagai wadah untuk mempertontonkan kandungan mereka, sambil menambah yang kerajaan telah menyediakan wang permulaan bagi membantu mereka mewujudkan kandungan mereka.
HyppTV dilancarkan pada 24 Mac bersama-sama dengan perkhidmatan jalur lebar berkelajuan tinggi (HSBB) TM, UniFi.
HyppTV boleh diperolehi oleh semua pengguna kediaman UniFi HSBB sebagai sebahagian daripada tawaran triple-play terdiri daripada telefon, IPTV dan perkhidmatan internet berkelajuan tinggi.
Kung berkata, para pelanggan UniFi pada masa ini menikmati 22 saluran TV linear percuma dan lebih daripada 20 jodol VoD baru yang menarik, yang ditambahkan setiap bulan sebagai perkhidmatan tambah nilai.
"Kami amat teruja dengan potensi langkauan HyppTV berseiringan dengan pengembangan perkhidmatan UniFi ke lebih banyak kawasan dan TM akan meningkatkan usaha untuk menarik lebih ramai pengguna," kata Kung.
Kung berkata, TM menjangkakan enam hingga lapan peratus daripada 750,000 premis akan dihubungkan ke UniFi menjelang akhir tahun dan menjadi pelanggan kepada HyppTV.
Pada masa ini, TM mempunyai 5,000 pengguna UniFi.
HyppTV ditawarkan menerusi pakej kediamannya - VIP5 pada RM149 sebulan, VIP10 pada RM199 sebulan dan VIP20 pada RM249 sebulan.
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0714&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_03.htm
"Kami kini sedang berunding dengan penyedia kandungan dan mengharapkan lebih daripada 30 kandungan menjelang akhir tahun," kata Naib Presiden Eksekutif Pengguna, Jeremy Kung, dalam taklimat media di sini hari ini.
Kung turut menggesa agar penyedia kandungan tempatan menggunakan platform IPTV sebagai wadah untuk mempertontonkan kandungan mereka, sambil menambah yang kerajaan telah menyediakan wang permulaan bagi membantu mereka mewujudkan kandungan mereka.
HyppTV dilancarkan pada 24 Mac bersama-sama dengan perkhidmatan jalur lebar berkelajuan tinggi (HSBB) TM, UniFi.
HyppTV boleh diperolehi oleh semua pengguna kediaman UniFi HSBB sebagai sebahagian daripada tawaran triple-play terdiri daripada telefon, IPTV dan perkhidmatan internet berkelajuan tinggi.
Kung berkata, para pelanggan UniFi pada masa ini menikmati 22 saluran TV linear percuma dan lebih daripada 20 jodol VoD baru yang menarik, yang ditambahkan setiap bulan sebagai perkhidmatan tambah nilai.
"Kami amat teruja dengan potensi langkauan HyppTV berseiringan dengan pengembangan perkhidmatan UniFi ke lebih banyak kawasan dan TM akan meningkatkan usaha untuk menarik lebih ramai pengguna," kata Kung.
Kung berkata, TM menjangkakan enam hingga lapan peratus daripada 750,000 premis akan dihubungkan ke UniFi menjelang akhir tahun dan menjadi pelanggan kepada HyppTV.
Pada masa ini, TM mempunyai 5,000 pengguna UniFi.
HyppTV ditawarkan menerusi pakej kediamannya - VIP5 pada RM149 sebulan, VIP10 pada RM199 sebulan dan VIP20 pada RM249 sebulan.
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0714&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_03.htm
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Judge OKs iPhone class action against Apple, AT&T
Published: Monday July 12, 2010 MYT 8:42:00 AM
Updated: Monday July 12, 2010 MYT 9:00:46 AM
SAN JOSE, California: A federal judge says a monopoly abuse lawsuit against Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc.'s mobile phone unit can move forward as a class action.
The lawsuit consolidates several filed by iPhone buyers starting in late 2007, a few months after the first generation of Apple's smart phone went on sale.
An amended complaint filed in June 2008 takes issue with Apple's practice of "locking" iPhones so they can only be used on AT&T's network, and its absolute control over what applications iPhone owners can and cannot install on the gadgets.
The lawsuit also says Apple secretly made AT&T its exclusive iPhone partner in the U.S. for five years.
Consumers agreed to two-year contracts with the Dallas-based wireless carrier when they purchased their phones, but were in effect locked into a five-year relationship with AT&T, the lawsuit argued.
The actions hurt competition and drove up prices for consumers, the lawsuit claims. Apple and AT&T have not commented on the terms of their deal.
In its response to the complaint, Cupertino, California-based Apple said it did not hurt competition.
In court documents filed July 8, Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said parts of the lawsuit that deal with violations to antitrust law can continue as a class action.
The class includes anyone who bought an iPhone with a two-year AT&T agreement since the device first went on sale in June 2007.
Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones in the last three years.
The company does not specify how many have gone to U.S. customers.
Ware dismissed other claims against Apple, among them allegations that the company broke laws when an update to the iPhone's operating software caused some phones to stop working and deleted programs that users had purchased.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to keep Apple from selling locked iPhones in the U.S. and from determining what iPhone programs people can install.
It also seeks damages to cover legal fees and other costs. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/12/business/20100712084841&sec=business
Updated: Monday July 12, 2010 MYT 9:00:46 AM
SAN JOSE, California: A federal judge says a monopoly abuse lawsuit against Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc.'s mobile phone unit can move forward as a class action.
The lawsuit consolidates several filed by iPhone buyers starting in late 2007, a few months after the first generation of Apple's smart phone went on sale.
An amended complaint filed in June 2008 takes issue with Apple's practice of "locking" iPhones so they can only be used on AT&T's network, and its absolute control over what applications iPhone owners can and cannot install on the gadgets.
The lawsuit also says Apple secretly made AT&T its exclusive iPhone partner in the U.S. for five years.
Consumers agreed to two-year contracts with the Dallas-based wireless carrier when they purchased their phones, but were in effect locked into a five-year relationship with AT&T, the lawsuit argued.
The actions hurt competition and drove up prices for consumers, the lawsuit claims. Apple and AT&T have not commented on the terms of their deal.
In its response to the complaint, Cupertino, California-based Apple said it did not hurt competition.
In court documents filed July 8, Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said parts of the lawsuit that deal with violations to antitrust law can continue as a class action.
The class includes anyone who bought an iPhone with a two-year AT&T agreement since the device first went on sale in June 2007.
Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones in the last three years.
The company does not specify how many have gone to U.S. customers.
Ware dismissed other claims against Apple, among them allegations that the company broke laws when an update to the iPhone's operating software caused some phones to stop working and deleted programs that users had purchased.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to keep Apple from selling locked iPhones in the U.S. and from determining what iPhone programs people can install.
It also seeks damages to cover legal fees and other costs. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/12/business/20100712084841&sec=business
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Axiata announces several appointments
Published: 2010/07/07
AXIATA Group Bhd today announced the appointment of Donald James Rae as the new Senior Vice President for Group Business Development and Regional Operations, effective July 1.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim was quoted as saying, in a statement, that the appointment was part of the group's effort to harness internal talent.
Eric Chong was also appointed Hello Axiata's Chief Marketing Officer in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, effective June 21.
Suresh Sidhu, Head of Regional Development, will move from the Corporate Centre to Sri Lanka as Chief Officer, Enterprise and Global Business. Replacing him will be Thivanka Rangala.
Jamaludin said Axiata was developing a management bandwidth in order to complete and provide flexible deployment of resources to respond to new opportunities and challenges. - Bernama
Read more: Axiata announces several appointments http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100707170351/Article/index_html#ixzz0szMcR4IZ
AXIATA Group Bhd today announced the appointment of Donald James Rae as the new Senior Vice President for Group Business Development and Regional Operations, effective July 1.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim was quoted as saying, in a statement, that the appointment was part of the group's effort to harness internal talent.
Eric Chong was also appointed Hello Axiata's Chief Marketing Officer in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, effective June 21.
Suresh Sidhu, Head of Regional Development, will move from the Corporate Centre to Sri Lanka as Chief Officer, Enterprise and Global Business. Replacing him will be Thivanka Rangala.
Jamaludin said Axiata was developing a management bandwidth in order to complete and provide flexible deployment of resources to respond to new opportunities and challenges. - Bernama
Read more: Axiata announces several appointments http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100707170351/Article/index_html#ixzz0szMcR4IZ
Sunday, July 4, 2010
TM belanja RM2 bilion bagi HSBB tahun ini
Oleh Azli Ayob
2010/07/03
4,700 langgan khidmat UniFi sejak dilancarkan Mac lalu
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) akan membelanjakan sejumlah RM2 bilion tahun ini bagi pelbagai kerja berkaitan projek perkhidmatan jalur lebar berkelajuan tinggi (HSBB) syarikat itu yang dikenali sebagai UniFi.
Setakat 30 April lalu, TM telah membelanjakan RM2.3 bilion bagi projek membabitkan perbelanjaan keseluruhan RM11.3 bilion itu yang meliputi penyediaan akses sambungan akhir, pelaksanaan teras Protokol Internet (IP) dan penambahan kapasiti bagi rangkaian antarabangsa. Pakej jalur lebar UniFi TM itu terdiri daripada perkhidmatan internet berkelajuan tinggi; siaran televisyen dan video menerusi internet protokol (IPTV) serta telefon internet. Ia ditawarkan pada harga bermula RM149 sebulan. Pengarah Program (Projek HSBB) TM, Ahmad Azhar Yahya, berkata sejak dilancarkan Mac lalu, jumlah pelanggan UniFi adalah seramai 4,700 dan ia dijangka terus meningkat menerusi usaha pemasaran agresif yang sedang dilaksanakan TM ketika ini.
“Jumlah pelanggan juga akan bertambah sejajar dengan peningkatan kawasan liputan perkhidmatan,” katanya pada sidang media sempena promosi perkhidmatan UniFi di Bangsar Shopping Center, Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Ahmad berkata, bermula kelmarin, perkhidmatan UniFi sudah diperluaskan ke 18 lagi kawasan di seluruh negara daripada empat kawasan ketika dilancarkan Mac lalu.
Pada peringkat awal pelancarannya, perkhidmatan itu hanya disediakan di Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail dan Bangsar di Kuala Lumpur.
Beliau berkata, kawasan terbaru termasuklah kawasan industri Kulim Hi-Tech Park di Kedah, Bayan Baru di Pulau Pinang, Senai dan Gelang Patah di Johor, Wangsa Maju, Sungai Buloh, Puchong dan Cyberjaya di Selangor serta Putrajaya dan Damansara di Wilayah Persekutuan.
“Dengan 18 kawasan baru ini, perkhidmatan UniFi kini boleh dipasang di 375,000 premis dan akan ia akan meningkat kepada 750,000 premis menjelang akhir tahun ini dan 1.3 juta pada akhir 2012,” katanya.
Ahmad berkata, TM juga sedang berusaha meningkatkan lagi kandungan bagi perkhidmatan UniFi untuk menarik lebih ramai pelanggan.
“Kami akan mendapatkan lebih banyak penyedia kandungan tempatan dari semasa ke semasa daripada 10 penyedia kandungan ketika ini,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, sehingga kini TM masih lagi memberikan beberapa insentif bagi menarik pelanggan baru seperti pengecualian caj pemasangan, peralatan atau pengaktifan.
“Bagaimanapun pelanggan lama yang sebelum ini menikmati perkhidmatan secara percuma akan mula membayar bil mereka mulai bulan ini,” katanya
http://www.bharian.com.my/articles/TMbelanjaRM2bilionbagiHSBBtahunini/Article/
2010/07/03
4,700 langgan khidmat UniFi sejak dilancarkan Mac lalu
TELEKOM Malaysia Bhd (TM) akan membelanjakan sejumlah RM2 bilion tahun ini bagi pelbagai kerja berkaitan projek perkhidmatan jalur lebar berkelajuan tinggi (HSBB) syarikat itu yang dikenali sebagai UniFi.
Setakat 30 April lalu, TM telah membelanjakan RM2.3 bilion bagi projek membabitkan perbelanjaan keseluruhan RM11.3 bilion itu yang meliputi penyediaan akses sambungan akhir, pelaksanaan teras Protokol Internet (IP) dan penambahan kapasiti bagi rangkaian antarabangsa. Pakej jalur lebar UniFi TM itu terdiri daripada perkhidmatan internet berkelajuan tinggi; siaran televisyen dan video menerusi internet protokol (IPTV) serta telefon internet. Ia ditawarkan pada harga bermula RM149 sebulan. Pengarah Program (Projek HSBB) TM, Ahmad Azhar Yahya, berkata sejak dilancarkan Mac lalu, jumlah pelanggan UniFi adalah seramai 4,700 dan ia dijangka terus meningkat menerusi usaha pemasaran agresif yang sedang dilaksanakan TM ketika ini.
“Jumlah pelanggan juga akan bertambah sejajar dengan peningkatan kawasan liputan perkhidmatan,” katanya pada sidang media sempena promosi perkhidmatan UniFi di Bangsar Shopping Center, Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Ahmad berkata, bermula kelmarin, perkhidmatan UniFi sudah diperluaskan ke 18 lagi kawasan di seluruh negara daripada empat kawasan ketika dilancarkan Mac lalu.
Pada peringkat awal pelancarannya, perkhidmatan itu hanya disediakan di Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail dan Bangsar di Kuala Lumpur.
Beliau berkata, kawasan terbaru termasuklah kawasan industri Kulim Hi-Tech Park di Kedah, Bayan Baru di Pulau Pinang, Senai dan Gelang Patah di Johor, Wangsa Maju, Sungai Buloh, Puchong dan Cyberjaya di Selangor serta Putrajaya dan Damansara di Wilayah Persekutuan.
“Dengan 18 kawasan baru ini, perkhidmatan UniFi kini boleh dipasang di 375,000 premis dan akan ia akan meningkat kepada 750,000 premis menjelang akhir tahun ini dan 1.3 juta pada akhir 2012,” katanya.
Ahmad berkata, TM juga sedang berusaha meningkatkan lagi kandungan bagi perkhidmatan UniFi untuk menarik lebih ramai pelanggan.
“Kami akan mendapatkan lebih banyak penyedia kandungan tempatan dari semasa ke semasa daripada 10 penyedia kandungan ketika ini,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, sehingga kini TM masih lagi memberikan beberapa insentif bagi menarik pelanggan baru seperti pengecualian caj pemasangan, peralatan atau pengaktifan.
“Bagaimanapun pelanggan lama yang sebelum ini menikmati perkhidmatan secara percuma akan mula membayar bil mereka mulai bulan ini,” katanya
http://www.bharian.com.my/articles/TMbelanjaRM2bilionbagiHSBBtahunini/Article/
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Google to buy air ticket booking company for US$700mil
Published: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:26:00 AM
Updated: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:27:35 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc. plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc. in a US$700 million deal that would enable the Internet search leader to steer more of the airline reservations booked on the Web.
The all-cash deal announced Thursday signals Google's intention to challenge flight-comparison services that are ITA customers, including Kayak, FareCompare, Hotwire and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing Travel.
The deal is likely to face a rigorous review by federal antitrust regulators.
"There is clearly more room for competition and innovation" in online travel, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call.
"We will improve the way flight information is organized."
ITA Software, a 500-employee company created in 1996 by computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sells technology that helps run the reservation systems of many airlines, including American, Southwest, Alaska and Continental.
Its software also powers the tools that other travel websites use to track air fares.
The widespread reliance on ITA's technology means federal regulators are likely to spend six months to a year trying to determine whether the acquisition will give Google an unfair advantage in the rapidly growing online travel market, said Ted Henneberry, an antitrust lawyer in Washington for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
"This is going to raise a lot of eyebrows," he said.
Schmidt did not predict when the deal might close, but said he expected Google would ultimately win approval after regulators take a "fair amount" of time to review the deal.
"We are pretty confident that this is pro-competitive and pro-consumer," Schmidt said. Both the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Thursday.
Google is counting on ITA's expertise to improve the quality of its search results when people are looking to make airline reservations.
Schmidt predicted the biggest winners in this deal would be consumers, but he also predicted Google would be able to drive more traffic to airlines and travel agencies such as Orbitz and Expedia.
Google would profit from ITA's technology by selling more ads alongside the flight data.
Bing has been picking up more traffic with features that help people figure out whether the prices of airline prices are likely to increase or decrease.
Like other search engines specializing in travel, Bing checks multiple sites at once for the best deals and sends users to those sites to book there.
Google intends to honor all of ITA's existing contracts if the acquisition is approved.
It's unclear whether Google would still want to work with some of its rivals after the contracts expire.
This isn't the first Google acquisition to come under intense scrutiny.
Regulators took nearly a year to approve the company's $3.2 billion purchase of online ad service DoubleClick in 2008 and six months to OK its recent $750 million takeover of mobile ad service AdMob.
Those successes may have emboldened Google to buy ITA Software, too, Henneberry said. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702073125&sec=business
Updated: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:27:35 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc. plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc. in a US$700 million deal that would enable the Internet search leader to steer more of the airline reservations booked on the Web.
The all-cash deal announced Thursday signals Google's intention to challenge flight-comparison services that are ITA customers, including Kayak, FareCompare, Hotwire and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing Travel.
The deal is likely to face a rigorous review by federal antitrust regulators.
"There is clearly more room for competition and innovation" in online travel, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call.
"We will improve the way flight information is organized."
ITA Software, a 500-employee company created in 1996 by computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sells technology that helps run the reservation systems of many airlines, including American, Southwest, Alaska and Continental.
Its software also powers the tools that other travel websites use to track air fares.
The widespread reliance on ITA's technology means federal regulators are likely to spend six months to a year trying to determine whether the acquisition will give Google an unfair advantage in the rapidly growing online travel market, said Ted Henneberry, an antitrust lawyer in Washington for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
"This is going to raise a lot of eyebrows," he said.
Schmidt did not predict when the deal might close, but said he expected Google would ultimately win approval after regulators take a "fair amount" of time to review the deal.
"We are pretty confident that this is pro-competitive and pro-consumer," Schmidt said. Both the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Thursday.
Google is counting on ITA's expertise to improve the quality of its search results when people are looking to make airline reservations.
Schmidt predicted the biggest winners in this deal would be consumers, but he also predicted Google would be able to drive more traffic to airlines and travel agencies such as Orbitz and Expedia.
Google would profit from ITA's technology by selling more ads alongside the flight data.
Bing has been picking up more traffic with features that help people figure out whether the prices of airline prices are likely to increase or decrease.
Like other search engines specializing in travel, Bing checks multiple sites at once for the best deals and sends users to those sites to book there.
Google intends to honor all of ITA's existing contracts if the acquisition is approved.
It's unclear whether Google would still want to work with some of its rivals after the contracts expire.
This isn't the first Google acquisition to come under intense scrutiny.
Regulators took nearly a year to approve the company's $3.2 billion purchase of online ad service DoubleClick in 2008 and six months to OK its recent $750 million takeover of mobile ad service AdMob.
Those successes may have emboldened Google to buy ITA Software, too, Henneberry said. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702073125&sec=business
Google says China partially blocks search service
Published: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 9:10:00 AM
BEIJING: A Google search feature was blocked in China on Thursday, the company said as it awaited Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.
Google Inc. said mainland users were unable to use the search giant's "suggest" feature, which offers possible results as they start to type a query.
When it works, the feature may offer Chinese users a reminder that "tiananmen square massacre pictures" are available - but perhaps blocked - when they simply start typing in "tiananmen."
"It appears that search queries produced by Google Suggest are being blocked for mainland users in China," Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell said in an e-mail.
"Normal searches that do not use query suggestions are unaffected."
Although Google services such as YouTube do get blocked from time to time, the new constraints are the latest example of the Chinese government using its power to make Google's search engine a less convenient option on the mainland.
Google this week stopped automatically redirecting traffic from mainland China to its Hong Kong site after the government warned the maneuver could result in the loss of the company's Internet license in the country.
Google's relations with Beijing have been deteriorating since the U.S.-based search giant took a stand against the government's online censorship rules in response to computer hacking attacks that the company traced to China.
Google closed its China-based search engine March 22 and began routing users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong.
With the shift, Google hoped to be able to maintain its technological toehold in one of the Internet's most important markets while sticking to its free-speech principles.
But the Chinese government's threats to take away Google's license indicate it may punish Google for its defiance, even if the retaliation undermines the country's efforts to encourage more technological innovation.
Losing the Chinese license would be a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year.
China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.
Anything that hinders Google's ability to mine the China's growth potential would likely hurt its stock price, which has already fallen by nearly 30 percent since the start of the year.
The shares were down $3.81 to $441.14 in afternoon trading Thursday.
Although Google's China license runs until 2012, it must be renewed annually.
The company applied for renewal before Wednesday's filing deadline. Google hasn't received any indication when regulators will rule on the application.
The official Xinhua News Agency said "there will be a result soon" and Google was "very late" in submitting the application. Phone calls to the regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, were not answered.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, did not answer directly when asked whether Google would be allowed to operate in China.
"Internet operating companies, while doing business in China, should abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said.
"We hope all foreign companies, including Internet companies, should comply with Chinese laws and regulations."
The China site, Google.cn, was operating Thursday with a tab that said "we have moved to google.com.hk." Clicking on that took users to the Hong Kong site.
If Chinese regulators decide the new linking technique still isn't enough to renew Google's license, Web surfers could still reach the Chinese-language Hong Kong site by typing in its ".hk" address directly. Industry analysts, though, believe many people would defect to Chinese competitors such as Baidu Inc.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has about 30 percent of China's search market, compared with Baidu's 60 percent.
Analysts say the rerouting of mainland China search requests so far has had little effect on revenue, but the outright closure of Google.cn could hurt advertising sales.
Google opened its China site in 2006 to attract more Chinese users after the government filters slowed their access to its main U.S. site, Google.com.
In a letter requesting Google's license renewal, the company's local partner, Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd., pledged to "abide by the Chinese law" and "provide no lawbreaking contents," Xinhua reported.
Also Thursday, a state-run newspaper said Google is not on the first list of companies that the government plans to approve to provide online mapping services.
Twenty-three domestic companies including Baidu, portal Sohu Inc. and e-commerce site Alibaba are among those expected to be approved, the China Daily said, citing the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
Asked for comment on Google's situation, a U.S. State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said Wednesday in Washington, "I think there are negotiations ongoing, and these are a matter between China and Google." - AP
Online:
Google China site (in Chinese):
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702091516&sec=business
BEIJING: A Google search feature was blocked in China on Thursday, the company said as it awaited Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.
Google Inc. said mainland users were unable to use the search giant's "suggest" feature, which offers possible results as they start to type a query.
When it works, the feature may offer Chinese users a reminder that "tiananmen square massacre pictures" are available - but perhaps blocked - when they simply start typing in "tiananmen."
"It appears that search queries produced by Google Suggest are being blocked for mainland users in China," Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell said in an e-mail.
"Normal searches that do not use query suggestions are unaffected."
Although Google services such as YouTube do get blocked from time to time, the new constraints are the latest example of the Chinese government using its power to make Google's search engine a less convenient option on the mainland.
Google this week stopped automatically redirecting traffic from mainland China to its Hong Kong site after the government warned the maneuver could result in the loss of the company's Internet license in the country.
Google's relations with Beijing have been deteriorating since the U.S.-based search giant took a stand against the government's online censorship rules in response to computer hacking attacks that the company traced to China.
Google closed its China-based search engine March 22 and began routing users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong.
With the shift, Google hoped to be able to maintain its technological toehold in one of the Internet's most important markets while sticking to its free-speech principles.
But the Chinese government's threats to take away Google's license indicate it may punish Google for its defiance, even if the retaliation undermines the country's efforts to encourage more technological innovation.
Losing the Chinese license would be a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year.
China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.
Anything that hinders Google's ability to mine the China's growth potential would likely hurt its stock price, which has already fallen by nearly 30 percent since the start of the year.
The shares were down $3.81 to $441.14 in afternoon trading Thursday.
Although Google's China license runs until 2012, it must be renewed annually.
The company applied for renewal before Wednesday's filing deadline. Google hasn't received any indication when regulators will rule on the application.
The official Xinhua News Agency said "there will be a result soon" and Google was "very late" in submitting the application. Phone calls to the regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, were not answered.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, did not answer directly when asked whether Google would be allowed to operate in China.
"Internet operating companies, while doing business in China, should abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said.
"We hope all foreign companies, including Internet companies, should comply with Chinese laws and regulations."
The China site, Google.cn, was operating Thursday with a tab that said "we have moved to google.com.hk." Clicking on that took users to the Hong Kong site.
If Chinese regulators decide the new linking technique still isn't enough to renew Google's license, Web surfers could still reach the Chinese-language Hong Kong site by typing in its ".hk" address directly. Industry analysts, though, believe many people would defect to Chinese competitors such as Baidu Inc.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has about 30 percent of China's search market, compared with Baidu's 60 percent.
Analysts say the rerouting of mainland China search requests so far has had little effect on revenue, but the outright closure of Google.cn could hurt advertising sales.
Google opened its China site in 2006 to attract more Chinese users after the government filters slowed their access to its main U.S. site, Google.com.
In a letter requesting Google's license renewal, the company's local partner, Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd., pledged to "abide by the Chinese law" and "provide no lawbreaking contents," Xinhua reported.
Also Thursday, a state-run newspaper said Google is not on the first list of companies that the government plans to approve to provide online mapping services.
Twenty-three domestic companies including Baidu, portal Sohu Inc. and e-commerce site Alibaba are among those expected to be approved, the China Daily said, citing the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
Asked for comment on Google's situation, a U.S. State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said Wednesday in Washington, "I think there are negotiations ongoing, and these are a matter between China and Google." - AP
Online:
Google China site (in Chinese):
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702091516&sec=business
YTL Comms to extend 4G campus network
Friday July 2, 2010
By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my
20 public universities will be covered by year-end
JOHOR BARU: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms), the telecommunications arm of YTL Corp Bhd, will extend its 4G campus-wide network to other public universities nationwide by the year-end.
YTL Comms executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said that by then more than 400,000 students in 20 public universities would benefit from the high-speed wireless broadband connectivity.
The 4G campus-wide network is a high-performance, high-capacity wireless network that is optimised for dense mobile broadband access with voice services.
Yeoh said the 4G campus-wide network coverage was part of the company’s RM2.5bil investment in its 4G network infrastructure to reach at least 65% of the populated areas nationwide.
“After the public universities, we are extending the coverage to selected private universities and later to other parts of the country,” he said.
Yasmin Mahmood signing the MoA as (2nd from left) Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Prof Dr Zaini Ujang look on.
Yeoh was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between YTL Comms and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
YTL Comms executive director Yasmin Mahmood signed on behalf of the company while UTM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Zaini Ujang represented the university. Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim witnessed the event.
Yeoh said the MoA was the first initiative headed by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service – offering data, voice and mobility – to all public universities in the country.
He said the extension of the 4G campus-wide network coverage to universities would allow students to access the Intranet and Internet anytime, anywhere within their campuses.
“We are confident that when our nationwide 4G network is rolled out by the fourth quarter of the year, the target of achieving 50% broadband penetration rate under the National Broadband Initiative will have been brought closer to reality,” Yeoh said.
Under the MoA, the company will at its own cost design, build, operate and manage a 4G campus-wide network for the provision of data and voice services within UTM’s campus in Skudai.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/6590159&sec=business
By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my
20 public universities will be covered by year-end
JOHOR BARU: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms), the telecommunications arm of YTL Corp Bhd, will extend its 4G campus-wide network to other public universities nationwide by the year-end.
YTL Comms executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said that by then more than 400,000 students in 20 public universities would benefit from the high-speed wireless broadband connectivity.
The 4G campus-wide network is a high-performance, high-capacity wireless network that is optimised for dense mobile broadband access with voice services.
Yeoh said the 4G campus-wide network coverage was part of the company’s RM2.5bil investment in its 4G network infrastructure to reach at least 65% of the populated areas nationwide.
“After the public universities, we are extending the coverage to selected private universities and later to other parts of the country,” he said.
Yasmin Mahmood signing the MoA as (2nd from left) Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Prof Dr Zaini Ujang look on.
Yeoh was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between YTL Comms and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
YTL Comms executive director Yasmin Mahmood signed on behalf of the company while UTM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Zaini Ujang represented the university. Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim witnessed the event.
Yeoh said the MoA was the first initiative headed by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service – offering data, voice and mobility – to all public universities in the country.
He said the extension of the 4G campus-wide network coverage to universities would allow students to access the Intranet and Internet anytime, anywhere within their campuses.
“We are confident that when our nationwide 4G network is rolled out by the fourth quarter of the year, the target of achieving 50% broadband penetration rate under the National Broadband Initiative will have been brought closer to reality,” Yeoh said.
Under the MoA, the company will at its own cost design, build, operate and manage a 4G campus-wide network for the provision of data and voice services within UTM’s campus in Skudai.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/6590159&sec=business
YTL: 4G diperkenal suku ke-4
Utusan Online : 2 Julai 2010
JOHOR BAHARU 1 Julai - YTL Communications akan memperkenalkan rangkaian 4Gnya di seluruh negara pada suku keempat tahun ini, kata Pengerusi Eksekutifnya, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping.
Beliau berkata, syarikat itu telah melabur RM2.5 bilion untuk memajukan infrastruktur 4G bagi menyediakan liputan kepada sekurang- kurang 65 peratus daripada kawasan yang berpenduduk di negara.
"Saya yakin bila kita perkenalkan rangkaian 4G ini ke seluruh negara menjelang suku keempat tahun ini, hasrat Perdana Menteri untuk sebuah "negara berjalur lebar" dan unjuran 50 peratus kadar penembusan jalur lebar Inisiatif Jalur Lebar Negara (NBI) menjelang akhir tahun boleh menjadi kenyataan," kata beliau.
Sock Ping berkata demikian pada majlis memeterai perjanjian kerjasama antara YTL Communications dan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia UTM) untuk menyediakan akses rangkaian 4G keseluruhan kampus utama universiti di Skudai, dekat sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir ialah Menteri Penerangan Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim dan Naib Kanselor UTM, Prof. Datuk Dr. Zaini Ujang.
Sock Ping berkata, syarikat telahpun memperlihatkan rangkaian 4G canggihnya kepada para pegawai kanan Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (MCMC) minggu lepas. - Bernama
Beliau berkata, para pegawai turut melawat Pusat Operasi Rangkaian YTL Communications di Sentul Park untuk mengkaji rangkaian jalur lebar 4G berkelajuan tingginya itu.
Mereka turut menyaksikan fasa pertama prestasi peranti 4G.
"Kami bekerjasama dengan mereka yang terbaik dana rakan niaga di dalam dan luar negara untuk membawa satu platform lengkap penawaran yang akan merevolusasikan pengalaman 4G untuk semua pengguna di dalam negara," kata beliau. - Bernama
Mengenai majlis hari ini, Sock Ping berkata, YTL Communications telah mewujudkan secara khusus "Program Rakan Pendidikan" (EPP) agar institusi pendidikan tinggi dan para pelajar mereka boleh menjadi antara yang pertama di Malaysia mendapat manfaat daripada spektrum 4G paling berkuasanya.
Program EPP YTL Communications menyediakan akses ke IntraNet dan Internet pada bila-bila masa dan di mana juga dalam lingkungan kampus.
Sock Ping berkata, syarikat turut mengadakan perbincangan dengan beberapa universiti berhubung Program EPP kepada mereka.
"Matlamat akhir kami ialah menjadikan saling hubung jalur lebar tanpa wayar berkelajuan tinggi diperoleh menjelang akhir tahun untuk semua 400,000 pelajar universiti awam di dalam negara," tambah beliau.
— Bernama
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0702&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_10.htm
JOHOR BAHARU 1 Julai - YTL Communications akan memperkenalkan rangkaian 4Gnya di seluruh negara pada suku keempat tahun ini, kata Pengerusi Eksekutifnya, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping.
Beliau berkata, syarikat itu telah melabur RM2.5 bilion untuk memajukan infrastruktur 4G bagi menyediakan liputan kepada sekurang- kurang 65 peratus daripada kawasan yang berpenduduk di negara.
"Saya yakin bila kita perkenalkan rangkaian 4G ini ke seluruh negara menjelang suku keempat tahun ini, hasrat Perdana Menteri untuk sebuah "negara berjalur lebar" dan unjuran 50 peratus kadar penembusan jalur lebar Inisiatif Jalur Lebar Negara (NBI) menjelang akhir tahun boleh menjadi kenyataan," kata beliau.
Sock Ping berkata demikian pada majlis memeterai perjanjian kerjasama antara YTL Communications dan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia UTM) untuk menyediakan akses rangkaian 4G keseluruhan kampus utama universiti di Skudai, dekat sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir ialah Menteri Penerangan Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim dan Naib Kanselor UTM, Prof. Datuk Dr. Zaini Ujang.
Sock Ping berkata, syarikat telahpun memperlihatkan rangkaian 4G canggihnya kepada para pegawai kanan Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (MCMC) minggu lepas. - Bernama
Beliau berkata, para pegawai turut melawat Pusat Operasi Rangkaian YTL Communications di Sentul Park untuk mengkaji rangkaian jalur lebar 4G berkelajuan tingginya itu.
Mereka turut menyaksikan fasa pertama prestasi peranti 4G.
"Kami bekerjasama dengan mereka yang terbaik dana rakan niaga di dalam dan luar negara untuk membawa satu platform lengkap penawaran yang akan merevolusasikan pengalaman 4G untuk semua pengguna di dalam negara," kata beliau. - Bernama
Mengenai majlis hari ini, Sock Ping berkata, YTL Communications telah mewujudkan secara khusus "Program Rakan Pendidikan" (EPP) agar institusi pendidikan tinggi dan para pelajar mereka boleh menjadi antara yang pertama di Malaysia mendapat manfaat daripada spektrum 4G paling berkuasanya.
Program EPP YTL Communications menyediakan akses ke IntraNet dan Internet pada bila-bila masa dan di mana juga dalam lingkungan kampus.
Sock Ping berkata, syarikat turut mengadakan perbincangan dengan beberapa universiti berhubung Program EPP kepada mereka.
"Matlamat akhir kami ialah menjadikan saling hubung jalur lebar tanpa wayar berkelajuan tinggi diperoleh menjelang akhir tahun untuk semua 400,000 pelajar universiti awam di dalam negara," tambah beliau.
— Bernama
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0702&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_10.htm
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