In June, former Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered the drafting of a bill to legalize entertainment complexes in the country, a move that could boost tourism spending, increase employment, and revive the economy again. Apart from state lottery or licensed horse betting, gambling is currently illegal in Thailand.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is now Thailand’s new prime minister, but analysts all agree that the bill will still likely be passed. If that likely outcome becomes a reality, Thailand’s casinos could generate 187 billion Thai baht ($5.5 billion) in revenues, or 1% of the country’s GDP, according to Maybank research. The country could be Macao and Singapore’s largest competitor by the end of the decade. “The Thai government has seen the positive impact on the economy by opening up gambling/casinos as in the case for Singapore, and the power of the gaming dollar in Macau. This move could boost Thailand’s attraction as a tourist destination,” said Tim Tsang, CEO of Companies.Asia, a business consultancy for Corporate Asia.

KTP GLOBAL CONSULTING
KTP Global, a consultancy with emerging dominance in Asia, sees the legalization of gambling in Thailand, and the associated development of the hotel and entertainment industry will offer almost unlimited opportunities for profits and growth that would last at least until the end of this and next decade.

For more information on how we can help, please contact us: consulting@ktpglobal.ca

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”.

Copyright © 2011 …Companies.asia ….All Rights Reserved.

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.

Copyright © 2011  Companies.asia

SGX CEO Magnus Bocker (L) and ASX CEO Robert Elstone shake hands on the merger

Australia’s Stock Exchange (ASX) has entered into an agreement to be acquired by and to merge with the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX), creating the fifth largest exchange in the world with a bourse market capitalization of US$12.3 billion, and whose listed companies have a combined market value of US$1.9 trillion.

The acquisition-merger deal values ASX at A$8.4 billion, or $48 per ASX share. Under this deal, SGX will buy all the shares in ASX by paying $22 cash and 3.473 new SGX shares for each ASX share. The combined holding company, ASX-SGX Ltd., will be listed on both the Singapore and Australian exchanges.

Australian PM Julia Gillard

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said recently that she had discussed the planned merger with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during talks at the ASEAN summit in Hanoi. She said that both sides understood the community interest in the merger which would require approval from Australia and Singapore authorities. “The combination leverages the strengths of ASX through its listings, stock options and fixed income franchises, with SGX, the Asian gateway for international listings, equity futures and OTC clearing, to create the region’s preeminent exchange group,” ASX said in a statement. SGX Chief Executive Magnus Bocker thinks that the merger will be good for Australia by allowing global investors access to over 2700 listed companies from over 20 countries, and to the world’s second largest grouping of resource stocks.

Industry analysts are in general consensus that the combined exchange will be better positioned to compete against electronic venues as well as other Asian exchange powerhouses, such as Tokyo and Hong Kong. Incidentally, the Hong Kong Exchanges (HKEX) is Asia’s second largest stock exchange with a market capitalization of US$24.9 billion. The companies trading on the exchanges, including HSBC Holdings Plc, China Mobile Ltd., and Li Ka Shing’s flagship company Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd., have a total market value of $2.6 trillion.

The merger of ASX and SGX, both already powered by Nasdaq OMX’s Genium INET trading technology, is anticipated to result in lower trading costs, increased technical efficiencies, and improved access to the market. The M & A, if approved, could also trigger a series of consolidation and alliances in the sector. Over $68 billion in acquisitions among global exchanges had already occurred since January 2007, including NYSE Group Inc.’s purchase of Euronext NV to form NYSE Euronext, and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.’s takeover of the Swedish-Finnish OMX AB to form the Nasdaq OMX Group.

The proposed merger, scheduled to be completed by mid 2011, would have to overcome significant regulatory hurdles in Australia and in Singapore, including approvals from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan, who will be advised by the Foreign Investment Review Board. A serious hurdle could be the 15% ownership limit of Australian companies by foreign governments. Given that the Singapore government owns a 23.5% stake in the SGX, the Australian Parliament would have to pass an amendment on the ASX ownership rules before the actual merger could go ahead.

Good Luck.

Copyright © 2010 Companies.Asia …… All Rights Reserved.