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.

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.

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

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.

Copyright © 2011  Companies.asia   All Rights Reserved.

South Korea’s Shinsegae Group and Lotte Group square off in a battle for supremacy in the retail industry.

Last year, Shinsegae Group opened its latest luxury department store on the home turf of archrival Lotte Group, igniting another round of aggressive competitions for customers. Shinsegae Centum City, the 510,000 square meters (approximately 5.5 million square feet) colossal shopping and entertainment complex has eclipsed even Macy’s New York City Herald Square flagship store to set a new Guinness Record as the largest department store in the world.

Located on a former airport site in the coastal city of Busan, Korea, Shinsegae Centum City is comprised of a 14-story east wing which houses an 8-floor department store, restaurants, a gym and a golf driving range, as well as a 9-story west wing which features an indoor ice skating rink, concert hall, multiplex cinema, an art gallery, and spa facilities. It costs 1.025 trillion won (US$1.09 billion) to build.

Not to be outdone, Lotte Group is already building its own new colossal project, Lotte World, in Busan. It features a Las Vegas Bellagio like water fountain that is supposed to be the largest in the world. A planned skyscraper with a scheduled completion in 2016 would be among the tallest in Asia.

Shinsegae and Lotte have arrived at the top of the retail game through different paths. Lotte’s empire is built on its high-end department stores, a segment where it claims three times the market share of Shinsegae. The foundation of Shinsegae’s business empire is built on its discount E-Mart stores, and this lower end retail market is where Shinsegae claims three times the market share that the discount Lotte Mart attracts. In 2009, for the first time in its operating history, Shinsegae overtook Lotte in total revenue, posting $11.4 billion in sales compared to Lotte’s $10.7 billion.

This fierce domestic battle is continuing overseas. Shinsegae now operates 26 discount stores in china and plans to open another 100 stores there by 2015. Lotte operates 79 discount stores in China as well as many other outlets in Vietnam and Indonesia. This year, Lotte continues its expansion by opening a hotel in Russia, right next to the high-end department store it founded there in 2007.

Anyway, the Clash Of Titans Continues….