SingTel divests its entire stake in Far EasTone (Singapore)
Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) announced that it has divested its entire 3.98 per cent equity interest in Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
A total of 129,571,696 shares were sold at an average price of $2.1 per share, for a cash consideration of approximately $272.8 million. The transaction was by way of an on-market sale. SingTel will recognise a gain of approximately $95 million in the first quarter ending 30 June 2012.
China Mobile’s Taiwanese unit to allow Far EasTone investment
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A way for an investment of $567 million in rival Taiwanese telecom operator Far EasTone Telecommunications Co will be made by the establishment of a unit by China Mobile in Taiwan. China Mobile is the world’s biggest telecom operator by subscribers
The operator also has plans to seek approval for its planned investment of a 12% stake in Far EasTone through the unit, called Zong Co. The move is aimed at facilitating expansion of Far Eastone into mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
According to Emile Chang, deputy executive secretary of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission, the government has no plans currently to loosen restrictions to allow Chinese firms to invest in its telecommunications sector and it has given approval for Zong to be engaged “in the import and export of electronic products.”
Far EasTone shares to be sold to China Mobile
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Taiwanese company plan to sell new shares to mainland-based China Mobile has been approved by Far EasTone Telecommunication’s (FET) in an unusual deal that looks unlikely to proceed in the near-term. The plan was originally approved in April 2009 wherein the company was allowed to sell up to 444.34 million new shares to China Mobile for up to TWD17.77 billion (USD567 million).
This would have given 12% stake to China Mobile. As the one-year period for private placement was about to expire, Far EasTone’s board had to re-approve the plan for the private placement with China Mobile.
The planned deal has been strongly opposed by some people in Taiwan who worry that Taiwan’s growing economic interaction with China gives Beijing political leverage over the island.
Nokia unveils tablet-style smartphone, N8
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: N8, the latest tablet-style smartphone of Nokia has been launched by the company. The handset has 12 megapixel cameras. The device is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2010 while the price of the handset is expected to be EUR 370, before applicable taxes or subsidies.
Nokia N8 offers the ability to make HD-quality videos and edit them with a built-in editing suite and apart from this, it has several other interesting features like free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, guiding people to places and points of interest in more than 70 countries worldwide.
The gadget will also be laden with Q8, offering multiple, personalizable home screens which can be loaded with apps and widgets.
China Mobile partners FTE for LTE
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the world’s largest mobile network operators, China Mobile and Far EasTone (FET) to jointly construct a Time Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) trial network along with the promotion of the development of TD-LTE technologies in Taiwan.
Softening of the government’s stance towards China Mobile might be indicated by the agreement after the operator was given approval to open a subsidiary in Taiwan last month. FET’s plan to sell a 12% stake to China Mobile was blocked by the Taiwanese government last year.
Both the companies will co-operate in the construction of a TD-LTE trial network in Taipei. The network is designed for handset makers, equipment suppliers, chip makers and other companies to test new products.
China Mobile receives green signal for Taiwan unit
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China mobile has been given the permission to establish a subsidiary in Taiwan, expected to pave the way for the telco to buy a stake in local operator Far EasTone.
The application received by Taiwanese government states that China Mobile’s new unit plans to wholesale electronics materials and it has been claimed that the subsidiary will be used as a vehicle for investing in local player Far EasTone. 100% stake in a new company in Taiwan has been revealed by China Mobile’s chairman Wang Jianzhou.
Intentions of China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers to buy a stake in Far EasTone first came into light in April 2009 and it was announced by the operator that it had agreed to pay $527 million for a 12% holding.
100 countries were opened in Taiwan for investment by companies based in mainland China in which telecom sector was not included and even after winning the approval of Far EasTone’s board in June, the government never approved its deal with China Mobile.
Terms of Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is still being discussed by the two countries. ECFA is a trade deal considered particularly contentious by Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which views the deal as an underhand attempt to unify the island with mainland China.
Taiwan’s subscribers base to reach 28m in 2014
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Due to multiple SIM accounts, rise in the subscriber’s base has been predicted in Taiwan from 26 million in 2009 to 28 million in 2014.
Chunghwa Telecom’s subscriber is forecasted to be increased from 9.1 million in 2009 to 10 million in 2014 while Taiwan Mobile will remain in the second place with 7.1 million subscribers in 2014, and Far EasTone will remain in the third place with 6.2 million subscribers in 2014.
It has also been predicted that subscriber market shares of Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile will be increasing slightly over the next several years to reach 35.8% and 25.3% respectively in 2014.
However, EBITDA margin is said to decrease from 40.1% in 2009 to 38.1% in 2014 but Chunghwa Telecom will continue to enjoy the highest profitability in Taiwan’s mobile operator space.
WiMAX launched by FET in Taichung (Taiwan)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: WiMAX network of Far EasTone (FET) of Taiwan has been commercially launched in Taichung. The operator soft launched the network on December 23, 2009, charging users a monthly fee of TWD599 (USD18.50) for the service in a limited trial.
US-based equipment supplier Motorola has designed supplied and deployed the network for FET. WiMAX-based networks will be rolled out in Tainan and Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan during the first quarter of 2010.
Ericsson Mobile Platform to Open Greater China Headquarters in Taiwan
Taipei, Sept. 11, 2006 (CENS)–Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP) recently decided to open its Greater China headquarters in Taiwan as the first step of its plan to shoot for shares of Chinese markets for mobile phones, according to the company’s chief- executive-officer, Carl-Henric Svanberg.
Executives of the company’s
Taiwan
branch pointed out that Taiwan-designed mobile phones account for 15% of the phones shipped worldwide. They said expanding world market share through
Taiwan
‘s ODM (original design manufacturing) capability is a good approach. They noted that opening the headquarters in
Taiwan
instead of in mainland
China
was based on the consideration that Taiwan-made mobile phones go global whereas China-made phones are mostly for domestic sales.
The executives added that Ericsson’s WCDMA chips are used in 30% of third-generation (3G) mobile phones shipped worldwide. EMP has signed an agreement to license its 3G technology to
Taiwan
mobile-phone makers Compal Communications Inc. and Arima Communication Corp.
EMP has transformed itself from an in-house technology development group into a leading supplier of 3G mobile system technology for mobile phones.
Svanberg pointed out that 3G had emerged as the focal point of the world telecommunications industry and his company is laying ultra-speedy 3G networks called HSDPA for customers including the cellular provider Far Eastone Telecom in
Taiwan
.
He noted that his company began offering commercialized HSDPA last year. The system pumps data at 3.6 megabits per second. His company supports telecomm providers in 19 countries with a total number of 23 HSDPA systems.
Source- http://news.cens.com
Technorati : 3G, Ericsson, Far Eastone, Mobile, Taiwan
Ice Rocket : 3G, Ericsson, Far Eastone, Mobile, Taiwan
