Argentina’s post-paid penetration largest in Latin America
BNamericas, quoting local newspaper Infobae, says that at the end of September 2006, the proportion of post-paid mobile subscribers in Argentina had risen to 33%, making it the highest in Latin America. At the same time last year the figure was 19%. The rise is thought to be mainly due to the country’s economic recovery.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
America Movil sees Q3 EBITDA rise to MXP 21.34 mln
America Movil had MXP 21.34 million EBITDA in Q3 2006, up 40.4 percent vs the year-earlier period. The EBITDA margin rose to 36.8 percent. Revenue was MXP 58 billion, up 22.7 percent. Service revenue rose 24.4 percent. The company added 6.2 million mobile subscribers in Q3, with the mobile subscriber base topping 113.9 million by end-Q3, up 36.2 percent year-on-year. Along with the company’s fixed lines in Central America, it had a total of 116 million lines. America Movil had 1.6 million net additions in Mexico, raising its total there to 40.7 million, 1.2 million net additions in Brazil, raising its total there to 3.5 million, 948,000 net additions in Argentina, raising its total there to 9 million, and 786,000 in Colombia, raising its total there to almost 5 million. Operating profit was MXP 14.7 billion, up 50.3 percent. Net profit was MXP 10.97 billion, up 139 percent. Net debt was MXP 38.5 billion at end-Q3, vs MXP 57 billion at end-December.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Benq says overseas mobile-phone units on their own
Taipei – Taiwan’s top mobile-phone maker, Benq Corp, said Thursday that because it has stopped financing its overseas mobile-phone operations, they should decide their own fate.
Spokesman Eric Yu made the statement in response to news that Benq – after it stopped funding its German handset unit – had stopped operations in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and its operations in Chile and Brazil were in danger.
‘After we declared on September 28 that we would stop refinancing Benq Mobile Holding BV in the Netherlands, the handset manufacturing and sales units under it could decide their own fate,’ Yu said, referring to the Dutch holding company of the German unit.
‘They should review their own financial position and consult lawyers to decide if they will carry on,’ he said.
Taipei-based Benq founded Benq Mobile Holding after acquiring the loss-making unit from Siemens in October 2005 so Benq could finance its overseas mobile-phone manufacturing and sales units.
Since then, Benq Mobile had designed and launched two dozen lines of Siemens-BenQ mobile phones, but three weeks ago, Benq announced it would stop financing Benq Mobile Holding because it had lost 760 million US dollars on it.
Benq Mobile in Germany was the first to file for bankruptcy, leaving its 3,000 staff out of work. Its Dutch holding company, with fewer than 10 staff, and the Benq manufacturing plant in Brazil were still operating.
‘As for the branches or subsidiaries of Benq Mobile Holding in Latin America, it is up to their board to decide the next step,’ Yu said.
Benq said it would not abandon its mobile-phone business and its September 28 decision does not affect its production in China because the China plant is Benq’s directly invested operation.
Because of losses, however, Benq has shut down its mobile-phone production lines in Taiwan early this year, and it now has only one handset production base – in China.
‘We are restructuring and rebuilding our computer and logistics systems,’ Yu said. ‘BenQ will continue our handsets business, and we have not abandoned the European and Latin American markets.’
Source- http://news.monstersandcritics.com
Taiwan’s BenQ to shut down Argentine mobile unit in Nov
TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) – BenQ Corp (2352.TW) has decided to shut down its mobile unit in Argentina in November, exiting from the Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina markets, the Economic Daily News reported, citing BenQ senior vice president Eric Yu.
There is a possibility of more overseas units following suit, pending a review of their finances and legal requirements in their host countries, he said.
The move follows BenQ’s decision in late September to stop capital injections into its German mobile phone subsidiary, which then filed for insolvency protection.
Yu said BenQ’s operations in Asia, including those in Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia and India, will not be affected by the ongoing restructuring process.
Source- http://www.forbes.com
Private Media Group Signs Wireless Distribution Agreement With Mobile Streams Plc for Latin America, North America and Asia
BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Private Media Group Inc. Private Media Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PRVT — News), a worldwide leader in premium-quality adult entertainment products, services and new media content, has signed an agreement with Mobile Streams Plc (LSE: MOS – News) for the development and distribution of Private’s adult entertainment content throughout Latin America, North America and Asia, adding a potential 220 million customers to the existing 450 million customers currently able to access Private’s content via their operator portals.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mobile Streams will be responsible for the development and distribution of Private’s comprehensive portfolio of multimedia-rich products including streaming mobile TV channels, video clips, games, wallpapers and MMS content. Mobile Streams will utilize the full functionality of Vuesia, its highly acclaimed mobile content delivery platform to mobilize Private’s content.
Tim Clausen, Director of Wireless at Private Media Group said: “We are extremely happy to expand our footprint in these markets and believe this agreement further demonstrates Private’s ability to attract mainstream content distributors in the wireless arena. It is estimated that the global mobile adult content market will grow to $3.3 billion by 2011 (Juniper Research, Mobile to Adult — Personal Services, white paper, September 2006 (1)) and we believe that our ability to attract partners such as Mobile Streams places us in a unique position to benefit from this growth.”
“We are delighted to be representing Private, a highly reputable tier one adult brand and to be distributing their content via our carrier partners,” said Simon Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Streams.
Private’s content is currently available to mobile consumers via 59 operators in 28 countries, of which 33 operators went live since September 2005. The Company is expecting to go live with 13 additional operators before the end of 2006.
Mobile Streams is a leading provider of music, comedy, sport and entertainment content to handsets and other wireless devices, whose mobile expertise and distribution platform, “Vuesia,” is used globally by some of the world’s largest media groups and mobile phone networks including Vodafone, and 3 in the UK, America Movil, Movistar & TIM in Latin America, Fido & Rogers in Canada and Dobson in the US. “Vuesia” is Mobile Streams’ full service enterprise mobile media management solution. “Vuesia” facilitates content ingestion, management, delivery, billing and reporting. The Company creates, licenses and delivers quality content to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and consumers in the form of ringtones, graphics, video clips and other products. It has developed relationships with both content owners and MNOs which enable it to act as an intermediary, providing an end-to-end service encompassing a broad range of elements from content licensing to content production, account management and channel management. Mobile Streams has subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Australia and Hong Kong.
About Private Media Group
With its 40 year track record, NASDAQ listed Private Media Group is a world leading adult lifestyle company which distributes a wide range of erotic and semi-erotic multimedia content over several platforms, including wireless and broadcasting technologies, narrow and broadband Internet, DVD and Magazines. Private Media Group also licenses its Private and silver girls trademarks internationally for a range of luxury consumer products and owns the worldwide rights to the largest archive of high quality adult content in the world, which it distributes all over Europe, North America, Latin America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Asia.
Source- http://biz.yahoo.com
Siemens Wins $1 Billion Argentina Plant Order, Reuters Says
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — Siemens AG won an order valued at about $1 billion to construct two power plants in Argentina, Reuters said, citing a statement by Argentina’s government.
The two plants will help the country to meet rising demand for energy, the newswire quotes the government as saying. Munich- based Siemens is Germany’s largest maker of turbines that produce electricity.
Source- http://www.bloomberg.com
Siemens in Negotiations to Build Two Power Plants in Argentina
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) — Siemens AG, Germany’s largest maker of turbines that produce electricity, said it’s in talks with Argentina’s government to build two power plants in the country.
Siemens is the last remaining negotiating partner for the contract after rivals Alstom SA of France and Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan dropped out of the bidding, Konstanze Tauber, a Siemens spokeswoman, said via telephone today.
Citing a statement by Argentina’s government, newswire Reuters had reported that the authorities already awarded the contract to Siemens. The order is worth about $1 billion ($1.3 billion), Reuters said.
No contract has been signed yet, Tauber said. She declined to speculate about the potential value of the contract. Argentina wants to build one plant in the Santa Fe province and the other one in the Buenos Aires province, Tauber said.
Source- http://www.bloomberg.com
Mexico’s America Movil registers in Chile for debt
SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Mexican cellular phone giant America Movil officially registered for a $1 billion shelf to issue debt on the Chilean market, although there were no immediate plans to issue the bonds.
The company announced its plan to issue debt on the Chilean market in June.
“This is an official registration of the program…,” a spokesman said in Mexico City. “But let it be clear that we are not issuing debt (now). We don’t see the conditions (for that) yet.”
America Movil (AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) (AMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), controlled by Carlos Slim, the world’s third-richest man, ended the first half of the year with almost 108 million wireless subscribers from the United States to Argentina.
It plans to add between 13 and 14 million more customers through December, with a fourth of them stemming from its anchor Mexican operation.
Over the past 10 months, America Movil has been issuing debt in South America as it cuts exposure to dollar swings.
Source- http://today.reuters.com
Technorati : America Movil, Chile, Mexico, Mobile
Ice Rocket : America Movil, Chile, Mexico, Mobile
Pantech unveils phones for Argentina market
SEOUL, South Korea-Aiming to carve out a 10 percent share of the Latin American mobile phone market, South Korean handset maker Pantech Group has begun selling three mobile phones for carrier CTI Movil in Argentina.
CTI Movil is the Argentine affiliate of America Movil, the largest mobile communications service carrier in Latin America.
Pantech has became one of top selling brands in Argentina during the first half of this year, less than six months after its initial market launch.
The telecom carrier started its Latin American expansion in 2004 in Mexico. Besides Mexico and Argentina, Pantech also expanded into Chile in August, inking a deal with Claro, the nation’s third largest mobile communications service provider, to supply several cell phone models. –>
Source- http://www.eetimes.com
Technorati : Mobile, Pantech, South Korea
Ice Rocket : Mobile, Pantech, South Korea
