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China - Cellphone maker Ningbo Bird to offload joint venture stake Source: China Daily, 4 March 2008 Chinese cellphone maker Ningbo Bird will sell its 50% joint venture stake to French partner Sagem for RMB159 million (US$22.4 million). Zhejiang-based Ningbo Bird set up Ningbo Bird Sagem Electronics with Paris-based Sagem in 2005 to develop and produce cellphones for domestic sales and exports. Many local cellphone manufacturers are facing cash flow pressure as operating costs rise and prices fall. According to the Ministry of Information Industry, 548 million cellphones were made in China in 2007, up 14% from 2006, but phone prices have dropped an average 85%. Japan - Mitsubishi Electric to exit cell phone market Source: Japan Times, 4 March 2008 Japan's Mitsubishi Electric will stop making mobile telephones because of a bleak outlook for the loss-making business, which is facing tough competition. Japan's mobile telephone market has limited room for further growth as most people already own a cellphone and the population is shrinking. Japan, a nation of 127 million people, has more than 100 million mobile phones in operation, creating a major challenge for service providers to achieve growth. Mitsubishi Electric will shift resources to areas with brighter prospects, such as communication infrastructure, home and business security systems, and factory automation systems. The move is the latest case of a Japanese firm realigning its operations, axing or spinning off weak businesses to focus on areas of strength. It comes only weeks after rival Sanyo Electric decided to sell its mobile handset production operations to rival Kyocera. Philippines - Telecom industry to grow at modest pace Source: The Manila Times, 3 March 2008 The Philippines' telecommunications industry is projected to grow at a modest pace in 2008. According to Fitch Rating, core mobile services are rapidly approaching maturity in terms of addressable market and new growth engines are unlikely to deliver significant contributions to earnings. As of 2007, the country's mobile phone penetration stood at 57% or 50 million subscribers. Fixed line subscribers' penetration rate remains stagnant last year at 18.6%. Major operators are turning to new growth areas such as consumer broadband. Fitch said the addressable market for broadband services is expanding rapidly, underpinned by rising personal computer penetration, which stands at 58% in 2006 or 1.4 million units presenting a penetration of 8%. In 2007, the country's broadband penetration rate went up to 4% from 2% in 2006 and 0.8% in 2005.  View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles.  Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter, providing a round-up of the week's Asia-Pacific news from our core industry practices. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.

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