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IBM Poised To Dominate Asia-Pacific Cloud Computing Market

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:07:56 +0000

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM): its company motto is Think… and thinking was what it did when it discarded businesses it once dominated, such as personal computers, and transformed itself from a hardware manufacturer into the No.1 technology services company in the world. The old IBM, which sold large and costly mainframes, evolved into a new service-oriented business that helps customers manage their technology. The company’s services business now includes PwC, the technology consulting business IBM acquired for $3.9 billion in 2002, which was then absorbed into its own IBM Global Business Services. Today this consulting division employs more than half of IBM’s 427,000 employees.

In 2010, IBM’s consulting and technology services generated gross margins of 32%. The company’s software business, which accounts for 20% of revenue, had margins of 88% in the 3rd quarter of 2011. IBM also owns more patents than any other US based technology company. It invested $6 billion in R&D in 2010, the equivalent of 6% of its revenue, compared to $3 billion, or 2.4%, at its rival Hewlett-Packard.

The areas that IBM is focusing on now – cloud computing, analytics and emerging markets are part of its carefully planned strategies for global growth.

Earlier this year, IBM announced a $38 million investment to build a new Asia-Pacific Cloud Computing Data Center in Singapore to exploit the potential of cloud computing through its comprehensive solutions and services. The new facility in Singapore will extend IBM’s globally integrated cloud delivery network that includes centers in Canada, the United States and Germany. The company also has 13 global cloud labs, of which seven are based in Asia-Pacific countries namely China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and India.

Another cloud computing data center will be built in Langfang, a city near Beijing, under the collaborative efforts between IBM and the China-based Range Technology. The 620,000 square meter facility, which is to be owned by Range Technology, is scheduled to be completed in 2016. The data center, the largest in Asia by floor area, aims to serve mainly government departments from Beijing and across the country, but will also be open to major banks and private enterprises throughout China. According to IBM spokesperson Harriet Ip, the center is also designed to support the development of a new information technology hub being built in the area.

IBM’s data-center business in China has tripled in the last four years. In 2010, China overtook Japan as IBM’s second largest data center market, with the U.S. as the company’s number one market. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific market for cloud computing is set to grow 40% per annum through 2014 to $4.9 billion, according to IDC Asia Pacific. IBM is well positioned to take advantage of this growth by establishing regional data centers that will provide the necessary infrastructure for growth of key cloud computing areas.

IBM is headquartered in Armonk, New York. As of September 2011, IBM is the second-largest publicly traded technology company in the world by market capitalization. In 2011, Fortune ranked IBM the 18th largest firm in the U.S., as well as the 7th most profitable. Globally, the company was ranked the 31st largest firm by Forbes for 2011, and 18th most innovative company by Fast Company. IBM employs more than 427,000 employees in over 200 countries, with occupations including scientists, engineers, consultants, and sales professionals.

For 2010, IBM’s brand was valued at $64.7 billion. IBM’s closing value of $214 billion on September 29, 2011 surpassed Microsoft which was valued at $213.2 billion. It was the first time since 1996 that IBM exceeded its software rival based on closing price. However, IBM’s value is still less than two-thirds of Apple’s value of $362.1 billion.

Though faced with strong competitors such as Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL), Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and EMC Corp (NYSE:EMC), IBM is still viewed by many industry analysts to be a heavyweight in the cloud computing market. Its strong cash balance will no doubt help it acquire more companies with high intellectual property assets, which will drive further growth in the upcoming quarters. New CEO Virginia “Ginni” Rometty says that despite IBM’s deep pockets and $100 billion in 2010 sales, she plans to keep pressing her management team to take more risks and embrace change. “Whatever business you’re in, it’s going to commoditize over time, so you have to keep moving it to a higher value and change”.

JYP Entertainment Preps Korean Music Supergroups For The World

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:38:30 +0000

Suzy From The Korean Supergroup Miss A

JYP Entertainment Corporation (KOSDAQ: 035900) engages in the entertainment business in South Korea, Japan, China and other parts of the world. It is involved in the production of movies, TV dramas, and music recordings as well as the management of artists, including such famous Korean supergroups as Wonder Girls, 2AM, 2PM, Miss A, and Rain, under its various labels.

The company, originally named Tae-Hong Planning Corporation, was founded by Park Jin Young, an actor, singer and songwriter in 1997. It eventually became JYP Entertainment in 2001. J. Tune Entertainment Co. Ltd., a record label and artists management company founded by Rain, merged with JYP Entertainment and has operated under the umbrella brand JYP Entertainment Corporation since March 2011. JYP Entertainment is headquartered in Seoul, with offices in New York and Beijing.

Jo Dong-Won is the current Chief Executive Officer and a director of JYP Entertainment Corp. Son Goo-Ho, former managing director of Softbank Ventures Korea Inc., now serves as a director of JYP entertainment. Park Jin Young is also a director of this company.

JYP Nation 2010 (JY Park, Wonder Girls, 2PM, Miss A, Lim Jeong Hee)

JYP Entertainment’s total revenue for the year ended June 2010 was 10.16 billion KRW (USD 8.51 million), according to its annual report, with a net income/loss of 10.36 billion KRW (USD 8.685 million) compared to a 6.35 billion KRW loss for the previous year 2009. Year on year, the company net income fell 63.24% despite revenues that grew 12.15% from 9.06 billion Won to 10.16 billion. An increase in the selling, general and administrative costs as a percentage of sales from 25.2% to 32.86% was a component in the falling net income despite rising revenues.

Many industry analysts believe that the marketing prowess of Wonder Boy Park Jin Young and the global brand value of all the artists and groups managed by JYP Entertainment are underrated company assets that could turn the company around in the future.

Subway Overtakes McDonald’s As World’s Largest Restaurant Chain

admin — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:17:33 +0000

Unusual Location For Subway Sandwiches In China

The Subway sandwich group, operated by privately held Doctor’s Associates Inc., has officially overtaken McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) as the world’s largest restaurant chain in terms of number of restaurant outlets, according to the year-end store count filed by Subway to the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of February 2011.

Subway has reported that it has a total of 33,749 restaurants worldwide at the end of year 2010, compared to the 32,737 restaurant units of McDonald’s. That number has already increased to 34,246 units according to Subway’s own corporate count as of March 10, 2011.

Both companies have aggressively expanded into international markets using successful franchise business models during recent years. Subway was founded by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck in 1965 when they opened the first store in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It now has restaurants in 95 countries. McDonald’s Restaurant as a franchise concept was established by Ray Kroc in 1955 and sold 100 million burgers in just 3 years’ time. It now has restaurants in 117 countries around the world. From a revenue perspective, McDonald’s is still leader of the pack with a global revenue of US$24 billion compared to Subway’s US$15.2 billion for the year 2010.

As of March 2011, Subway has 1000 restaurant outlets operating across Asia, including 17 in Hong Kong, 199 in India, 236 in Japan, 63 in Malaysia, 14 in Philippines, 92 in Singapore, 38 in South Korea, 118 in Taiwan, 36 in Thailand, 1 in Vietnam and 199 in China. According to Don Fertman, Subway’s Chief Development Officer, the company is looking towards China for its future expansion plans. It is expected that the number of outlets in China will surpass 500 by the year 2015.

Other major restaurant chains are also looking for expansion into Asia, and to China in particular, as part of their overall strategic plans. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), already the largest coffeehouse chain in the world with 16,858 outlets in over 50 countries, plans to triple its café outlets in China. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) with 16,200 restaurant outlets in 105 countries, also the largest and fastest growing restaurant chain in mainland China today with over 3,200 restaurants in more than 700 cities, and Pizza Hut, the largest pizza chain in the world with 13,100 restaurants, and Taco Bell with over 6000 franchise locations, are all operated by Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM), which plans to increase its dominance in the global fast food market by opening significantly more stores across Asia in the near future.

Panasonic Corporation Leader In International Patent Filings

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:31:24 +0000

International Patent Filings Dominated By Asia

China, Japan, and South Korea show dominating growth in international patent filings and exhibit a significant shift of economic, competitive and scientific power to Asia, based on data released in February 2011 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The World Intellectual Property Organization said China had increased its international patent filings in 2010 by 56.2% to 12,337, tripling its 2006 figure and elevating China into fourth place in global rankings. These figures include a 33% increase in patent filings in electrical engineering and 220% increase in nanotechnology.

South Korea, ranked 5th with 9,686 filings, grew 20.5%, and Japan, a country with a mature economy, still attained growth of 7.9% with 32,156 applications to place 2^nd, and Germany, with 17,171 applications, ranked 3^rd on the list.

The United States is stilled ranked number one, although it experienced a drop of 1.7% to 44,855 filings, some 20% below its 2007 level. International patent applications by universities are still dominated by U.S. schools. Leading the pack is the University of California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas, and University of Florida. Under this ranking, the University of Tokyo follows closely at number 5.

The top 10 companies by filings include 3 from Japan, 2 from China, and 1 from South Korea, with 1 U.S. and 3 European firms completing the list.

Looking at the data from a corporate perspective, Japanese consumer electronics group Panasonic Corporation (NYSE: PC; TYO: 6752) again led the list with 2,154 applications, and China’s telecommunications giant, ZTE Corporation (SZSE: 000063; SEHK: 0763), jumped into 2^nd place with 1,863 applications. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was in 3^rd place with 1,677 filings, and Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is in 4^th place with 1,528 applications. LG Electronics Inc. (KRX: 066570; LSE: LGLD) of Korea takes the 7^th place with 1,298 applications. Of the top 10 corporate applicants, 6 are from Asia. The U.S. juggernaut Google Inc. is ranked only 80^th with 171 applications.

Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the WIPO offers inventors and industry an easier route for obtaining patent protection internationally. By filing one “international” patent application under the PCT, protection of an invention may be established simultaneously in each of the current 142 treaty member countries.

Both applicants and patent offices of PCT member states benefit from the uniform formality requirements, the international search and preliminary examination reports, and the centralized international publication provided by the PCT system.

Lawson To Buy HMV Japan From Daiwa Group

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:55:17 +0000

HMV Japan Flagship Store at Shibuya Closes In 2010

Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc. (TYO: 2651) announced on October 28, 2010 that it will acquire music retailer HMV Japan K.K. from Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Co. Ltd. for 1.8 billion Yen (US$21.9 million).

The acquisition will allow Lawson to strengthen its stores’ weak music CD and DVD sales. According to Lawson’s own press release, this purchase will enable Lawson to create extensive entertainment merchandise and full range services in all formats, by enhancing the merchandise offerings through its Lawson & HMV stores, Loppi (Lawson’s multi media kiosks) and all its online storefronts, and by utilizing HMV Japan’s highly reliable brand for music and video software, as well as HMV’s leading market share in Japan for these products in both actual store and Internet sales. Industry analysts concur that this strategic move will likely attract more young consumers, the largest segment of customers of convenient stores, by tapping HMV Japan online sales expertise and its more than 4.7 million loyal members.

HMV Japan posted a net profit of 877,000 yen for the fiscal term that ended in April, 2009, but saw a net loss of 4.6 billion yen for the 2010 fiscal year. In an attempt to turn around its business, the company has initiated many cost-cutting measures including the reduction of the number of its stores from 57 to 37 in April of 2010. Its parent company, Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments Co. Ltd. has been looking for a buyer for its struggling subsidiary since the recent slump in the music retail industry.

Culture Convenience Club (TYO: 4756), operator of Japan’s Tsutaya movie and music rental chain, had shown strong interest in buying HMV Japan earlier this year, but negotiations had broken down after both parties failed to agree on a purchase price.

Lawson stores form the 2nd largest convenience (Konbini) store chain (after 7-Eleven) in Japan and currently operate in all 47 prefectures of Japan and in Shanghai, China. It actually originated in the U.S. as Lawson’s Milk Company in 1939. It expanded into a chain of Lawson’s stores throughout the 40s and 50s and was bought by Consolidated Foods in 1959. In 1975, Consolidated signed a deal with Daiei Inc. to establish a series of Lawson stores in Japan. The first Lawson convenience store opened in Osaka in June 1975 and was operated by Daiei Lawson Co. Ltd. which later changed its name to Lawson Japan, Inc.

In 1985, Consolidated Foods changed its name to Sara Lee and sold all its Lawson stores in the U.S. to Dairy Mart which then renamed all the Lawson stores to Dairy Mart stores. From that time on, Lawson stores no longer existed on U.S. soil. In 2002, Dairy Mart was purchased by Quebec based Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) which then proceeded to rebrand all the Dairy Mart stores as Circle K stores.

Lawson posted a net profit of 12.56 billion yen for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2010 and has a fiscal forecast of 22 billion yen in profit for 2011.

DoCoMo Releases New Galaxy S To Take On iPhone

admin — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 06:25:34 +0000

NTT Docomo Inc. announced that it would start selling Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S smartphone customized for the increasingly competitive Japanese market on October 28, 2010. Docomo plans to increase its market share as well as to challenge the current market domination by iPhone and its exclusive service provider Softbank Corp.

The Galaxy S features a 4-inch, ultra bright super AMOLED high resolution mult-touch screen that can display full high-definition video. The phone is powered by Google’s Android 2.2 operating system and is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera. The phone also supports Flash based web content and games.

Docomo’s President & CEO Ryuji Yamada hopes that the Galaxy S will give the iPhone a serious run for its money and expects that Galaxy sales will easily match the half million units sales by that of Sony Ericsson’s Experia, another smartphone introduced earlier by Docomo in April.

NTT Docomo is a leading mobile operator as well as a developer of cutting-edge mobile technologies in the world. In Japan, Docomo serves over 56 million customers, of which 48 million subscribe to its i-mode services, the world’s most popular mobile email/Internet platform, and 54 million customers subscribe to its FOMA, the world’s original 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA technology.

In November 2008, NTT Docomo acquired a 26% stake in Tata Teleservices which ranked number 6 in the Indian telecom industry. India is the world’s fastest growing cellular market, with a rate of increase of as many as 9 million new customers a month. The newly formed Tata Docomo venture was launched in India in June 2009 and had signed up about 33 million users by the end of June 2010.

NTT Docomo is listed in Tokyo (TYO: 9437), New York (NYSE: DCM), and London (LSE: NDCM). NTT Docomo is a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. Docomo announced on October 28, 2010 that its net income rose 22 percent to 167.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30.