Chinese Luxury Shoppers Outspend Japanese 2-To-1 At South Korean Malls: Wealthy Chinese Travelers In Korea Favor Cosmetics, Children’s Supplies, Ginseng And Healthcare Products, Luxury Watches – This week, more news about free-spending mainland Chinese tourists came out of South Korea. As more Chinese tourists have headed outward, most of them staying relatively close to home, the Korean media has consistently framed news about tourist behavior as a sort of rivalry between China and Japan — a phenomenon Jing Daily discussed last fall. (’Tourist Profile: Japanese vs. Chinese‘) According to Tencent (via Yonhap), after a year in which the number (and profligacy) of Chinese tourists increased at Korean luxury malls, shoppers from mainland China now account for twice as many sales per capita as Japanese tourists.
Hummer price soars in Shanghai: Although Tengzhong failed in buying Hummer, the Hummer dealers are overjoyed, taking the opportunity to raise the price. On February 25, the reporter learned from Hummer dealers in Shanghai that after hearing the acquisition of Hummer failed, dealers immediately raised the price of Hummer, among which Hummer H3X produced in 2009 rose by 20,000 yuan, and Hummer H2 is planning to rise by 100,000 yuan. (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
Calvin Klein To Focus On Chinese Market In 2010: American fashion brand Calvin Klein has announced plans to open 60 new chain stores in Asia in 2010, mainly targeting its expansion in the Chinese market.
According to reports from Singapore’s Channel News Asia, Calvin Klein’s current revenues from the Asian areas account for 15% of its income worldwide. (Via ChinaRetailNews.com.)
Toyota chief’s testimony closely watched in Japan: Japan appeared largely relieved Thursday that much-anticipated testimony by Toyota’s chief executive before U.S. lawmakers was finally over, though analysts said the company’s recall woes are no closer to being solved. Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda’s appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was closely watched in Japan, where the company his grandfather founded is a national icon. It was the top item on local morning news programs. At least one channel briefly broadcast his testimony live, where it took place Wednesday in Washington. (AP) (Via News On Japan.)
Singapore Witnesses Record Number of Travelers in January: January of 2010 managed to see the highest ever recorded number of travels to Singapore for the month. Figures shared by the Singapore Tourism Board have revealed that as many as 908,000 travelers visited Singapore over the past month, which is a hike of nearly 17.5% compared to January of 2009. The top 5 markets for the month which generated visitors for Singapore were Indonesia with 173,000 visitors, China with 99,000 travelers, Australia with 90,000 travelers, 68,000 came in from Malaysia and 57,000 travelers were from India. (Via TopNews Singapore.)
Hyundai, Kia stocks accelerate on fallout from Toyota debacle: Shares of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors continue to thrive despite the recent erosion of global stock markets, fueled by strong financial performance and turmoil at rival Toyota. (Via South Korea News.)
Expert: China’s space technology close to moon landing capability: After years of development, China’s space technology is close to moon landing capability, said Fu Yiqing, space expert and consultant to the Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion (SISP). Fu, also a senior member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), said this during an interview with reporters from China News Service. New generations of Chinese taikonauts are studying moon landing technology. (Via China – People’s Daily Online.)
China seizes leading hacker training website: Police in central China’s Hubei Province have seized the country’s biggest hacker training website and arrested three suspects, the local public security department said. The three, who ran the Black Hawk Safety Net, were suspected of offering online hacker tools, a crime that was newly listed in China’s Criminal Law last year. Police have also frozen more than 1.7 million yuan (250,000 U.S. dollars) in assets and confiscated nine web servers, five computers and a Honda Accord. (Via China – People’s Daily Online.)
China Unicom Opens First 3G Mobile Phone Flagship Store In Beijing: Chinese telecom operator China Unicom has announced that its first flagship store under the company’s 3G brand ‘Wo’ has been opened in Beijing. Located in the southern hall of China Unicom’s headquarters building in Financial Street, the three-floor Wo flagship store covers a total area of about 800 square meters. (Via ChinaRetailNews.com.)
JAL to keep American Airlines link: Japanese media say Japan Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy last month, has decided to keep its current tie-up with American Airlines – the Oneworld Alliance. There had been widespread reports that it might defect to SkyTeam under Delta Air Lines. The carrier feared that the switch would confuse its passengers and that it could loose its antitrust immunity from US authorities because it would dominate the trans-Pacific market. (Via RTHK On Internet – Finance News.)
BMW sees fastest growth, best potentials in China: CEO: China has become BMW’s fourth largest market, where the German luxury car maker saw the fastest growth in auto sales in 2009, and great market potentials, a senior company official told Xinhua Wednesday. The company saw a 38 percent growth in sales last year in China against a 10 percent decline worldwide due to the international financial crisis, said Christoph Stark, president and CEO of the BMW Group in China. Stark said the company sold a total of 90,536 cars in China last year. (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
E-Mart To Open Shanghai Mall In Time For 2010 World Expo: According to E-Mart’s Chinese headquarters, the South Korean supermarket retailer plans to open its first shopping mall on Shanghai’s Caobao road. This project, with a total area of 50,000 square meters, is reported to be in progress and is expected to be opened before the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. (Via ChinaRetailNews.com.)
Coach CEO Banking On China Growth In 2010: Although Coach reported better-than-expected sales figures in its top two markets (North America and Japan) in its latest fiscal statement, the company has made clear that it is strongly committed to building more market share in the increasingly lucrative Chinese market. Over the last year, Coach has invested heavily both in the mainland and Hong Kong markets, announcing last spring that the company intends to open add nearly 50 retail outlets to the 37 it currently operates in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, appointing luxury veteran Andre Cohen as China Region President, and launching a large-scale Chinese-language online promotional campaign. (Via Jing Daily :.)
Suzuki head touts VW parts tieup: Suzuki Motor Corp. Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki stressed Thursday the importance of making common auto parts with its new alliance partner Volkswagen AG in emerging Asian markets. Suzuki also suggested he would not accept any future offer by the German auto giant to increase its share in Suzuki. (Via The Japan Times: News & Business.)
Data collection begins in Taipei for luxury home tax: (ChinaPost.com.tw) – The Taipei City Government has begun collecting data on the city’s luxury residential buildings in preparation for imposing a tax on such buildings in the future, the United Evening News reported, yesterday. (Via Taiwan Headlines – Business.)
South Korea’s Incheon airport strives to keep top position: INCHEON: Incheon International Airport in South Korea is rated the world’s best, according to a survey by British-based Skytrax. The 9-year-old facility has been voted number one by nearly 9 million passengers at 190 airports. (Via Channel NewsAsia Business News.)
China’s commerce minister stresses yuan stability, concerned about U.S. dollar value: China’s Commerce Minister Chen Deming said here Thursday the stability of the Chinese currency contributes to the recovery of the world economy while voicing concerns over the strength of the U.S. dollar. ‘The Chinese government has stated on many occasions it will keep the exchange rate of the yuan, or Renminbi, basically stable,’ said Chen during a visit to the Turkish capital Ankara, adding ‘We feel that is an important support and contribution for the world economy… (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
China’s Steel Industry Is a Big Problem for Both Climate and Trade: The United States is set to slap penalty duties on imported Chinese steel pipes, heightening trade tensions between the two powers. This is the largest countervailing duty case filed against China, based on the value of trade. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) said it had made a ‘final’ decision that the ’subsidized’ pipes adversely impacted the domestic steel industry, paving the way for the Commerce Department to impose countervailing duties of up to nearly 16 percent on the pipe. The ITC will forward in writing a formal determination to the Commerce Department in the first week after the New Year’s holiday. The ITC ruling comes amid rising trade tensions between the United States and China. In September, the United States announced it would place duties on Chinese-made tires to protect the local US industry, sparking the first major trade dispute under Barack Obama’s presidency. (Via ChinaStakes.)
Kempinski To Double Number Of Hotels In China By 2013: Polish luxury hoteliers the Kempinski Hotel Group, which currently manages 11 hotels in China, in cities like Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an, has announced that the company plans to more than double the number of hotels under its management within the next three years. Of these 12 new hotels, the first should be Kempinski Xiamen, which recently held its topping-out ceremony and is expected to open early next year. According to the China Economic Review, Kempinski’s expansion plan is part of its broader strategy to account for 20% of the hotel group’s total turnover and profits by 2013, over the current 15%. In addition to its expansion plan, 4Hoteliers says that the Kempinski Group is planning to open a ‘China-Only’ five-star hotel brand, Nuo. (Via Jing Daily :.)
Japan to allow more flights from China, Russia at Hokkaido airport: Japan decided Friday to ease security restrictions in March on the number of flights to and from China, Hong Kong and Russia at a Hokkaido airport to boost the number of tourists to the northernmost island prefecture. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry and the Defense Ministry agreed to extend hours to accommodate flights to and from the countries at Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport, which is adjacent to the Air Self-Defense Force’s Chitose Base, according to government officials. (Via Kyodo News (Business).)
He said iPhone sales reached 100 units per day at his two KT stores, accounting for around 80 percent of total handset sales there. “It’s a war. iPhone sales are explosive,” Lee told The Korea Herald.
He said his store is running short of iPhones because of strong demand. Korean customers snapped up 70,000 iPhones as of Sunday – just eight days after its release in Korea, according to a KT spokesperson.
This is rare in the Korean handset market, which has been dominated by Samsung and LG. Global handset makers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson have posted poor sales here.
It remains to be seen whether the initial strong sales of Apple’s iPhone, driven by pent-up demand, will continue. But for now, the small gadget is rattling the country’s mobile market.
The iPhone launch appears to have hit LG harder than Samsung. Sales of LG’s flagship phone Chocolate slumped this month, and the company has few competitive smartphone models.
“Sales of the Chocolate phone are meager,” a KT spokesperson said yesterday, without giving the figure.
Top mobile carrier SK Telecom also said yesterday daily sales of the Chocolate slumped to 250 units this month, from 400 units last month.
This contrasts with Samsung’s new smartphone Omina 2, whose daily sales reached a whopping 5,000 units per day this month, SK said. SK Telecom, which does not offer the iPhone, sharply increased its subsidies for Omnia 2, to stave off the challenge from the iPhone.
The iPhone, which is offered exclusively via second-ranked KT, also posted 5,000 units of daily sales this month, according to a local report yesterday. – read more at The Korea Herald…
A model tests the three-dimensional (3D) images beamed on Samsung Electronics’ latest 55-inch liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen developed for 3D-enabled televisions. (Korea Times)
Samsung Electronics, the leader in the chip and flat-screen industries, has increased the number of its staff specializing in patent issues by 300 to 550 since 2005, according to company representatives.
It says patent-related issues have emerged as one of the company’s top concerns in the face of intensified competition among rivals in the consumer electronics industry.
A growing number of patent trolls is another problem.
These individuals or companies enforce patents as an investment to collect royalties, rather than manufacture products or delivering services based on them.
LG Electronics is planning to increase the number of its patent staff by a “certain percentage” in 2010, while LG Display, the world’s No. 2 maker of LCD panels, is also reviewing the possibility of expanding its legal affairs capability, according to industry sources.
“It’s necessary for LG to constantly expand the number of patent staff to reinforce the negotiation power in international patent lawsuits,” an LG representative said.
Samsung Electronics has been involved in a years-long patent war with Rambus in chips. At the same time, the company has been tied up in a patent litigation with Japan’s Sharp in flat-screens and Finland’s Nokia in mobile phones.
“Samsung and Sharp have many patents related to LCD technology so these kinds of lawsuits will continue to occur as long as they make TVs,” said Kim Yoo-jin, an analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities. – read more at The Korea Times…
Apple's iPhone is a big hit in its first week of release in South Korea
Daum, which operates the eponymous Web portal that trails only Naver (www.naver.com) in online traffic, is having all of its 1,000 employees choose between the newly released Apple iPhone and Samsung’s flagship smart phone, T-Omnia II, in the company’s free phone program.
Daum is desperate to get ahead in mobile Internet services, and by providing data-enabled handsets to employees for free and paying for their data expenses for the first two years, the company is looking to source innovation in-house.
It remains to be seen which between the iPhone and T-Omnia II end up as the phone of choice for Daum employees, and Samsung seems eager to advise them on their happy headache.
According to Daum officials, Samsung sent sales personnel to Daum’s Seoul headquarters to convince the company’s employees that T-Omnia II represents the better device.
The iPhone is released by KT, the country’s second-biggest mobile operator, while T-Omnia II is pitched by SK Telecom, the top wireless carrier that has a 50-percent-plus market share.
“We thought we were getting iPhones at first, but with T-Omnia II later becoming an option, there are more things to think about,” said a Daum employee.
“In the past few years, we have been putting much emphasis on delivering mobile Internet services and Apple’s mobile Internet devices, such as the iPhone and iPod Touch, were greatly considered when we developed new applications. So there has been a buzz in anticipation of an iPhone release among us for years, but you would have to say that T-Omnia II is an impressive device in its own right.”
Although it would be over-the-top to call the event the “Judgment of Daum,” it is easy to understand why the normally unflappable Samsung is touchy about the results.
Less than a week after its release, iPhones are flying off Korean shelves and showing promise to shake the hierarchy of the local handset market where Samsung and its bitter industry rival, LG Electronics, have been enjoying a near-duopoly. – read more at The Korea Times…
Samsung's NAND flash memory chips are used in Apple's iPhone
And there is not much that Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest flash memory maker, and Hynix Semiconductor, the industry’s No. 3 player, can do about Apple’s moves, as the American company increasingly gains leveraging power due to the global popularity of its iPhone handsets and other consumer electronics products.
The summary of the arguments goes as this ― Apple is contributing to the suppression in flash memory prices by ordering more chips from semiconductor makers than the amount it actually buys from them.
“Apple should certainly be blamed for deteriorating the supply and demand cycle in the global NAND flash market,” a senior industry official told The Korea Times, refusing to be named.
“Apple has asked Korean semiconductor makers to produce a certain amount of chips for its digital products, only to actually purchase a smaller volume eventually. The company doesn’t make immediate purchases, but waits until chip prices to fall to the level the company has internally targeted.”
The chip industry had hoped Apple would increase purchases of NAND flash memory chips to boost the output of iPhone and other flagship devices.
The global iPhone craze currently has Apple drenched in robust earnings.
NAND flash memory chips are primarily used in memory cards and storage drives in mobile devices, computers and other consumer electronics products.
Another industry official, also reluctant to be identified, used the words “absurd” to describe Apple’s purchasing strategies.
“Samsung and Hynix both provide chips to Apple and have less of an edge in deciding prices and volume. Apple’s strategy could hurt the industry’s health,” he said.
Both Samsung and Hynix refused to officially comment, as did officials from Apple’s Korean office.
“We already knew about this,” a Samsung official said, without elaborating further. – read more at The Korea Times…
Korea International Trade Association Vice Chairman Oh Young-ho, second from right, shows buyers around the “Big Buyer Exhibition” at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of KITA
The two-day event ― “Export to China, Export to the World 2009/2010” ― is being held at the COEX Mall in southern Seoul.
KITA teamed up with China’s Alibaba.com, the world’s largest business-to-business online marketplace, to offer opportunities to market products from Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Participants in the fair include 12 of the world’s 500 biggest companies selected by U.S. magazine Fortune, such as Walmart, Levis, Nestle, Best Buy and French-based international retail group Auchan.
Some Chinese conglomerates are also taking part in the exhibition, including the Vanguard Group, China’s No. 1 retail chain.
The fair is part of the joint program between KITA and Alibaba.com, which will run for a year, and aims to give Korean SMEs a better chance to export their products and open up new markets for them in China and other overseas destinations.
Also as part of the program, Alibaba.com opened a channel featuring products from Korean suppliers, the third specialty country channel launched on their Web site following China and India.
KITA estimates contracts valued at $440 million will be signed at the fair. – read more at The Korea Times…
A source claimed Wednesday that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which has been touted as the top contender to buy Daewoo Construction, is indifferent to the Seoul-based builder.
‘Daewoo is not something that the ADIA is looking at. The ADIA has no interest in the firm,” said a person who is close to the sovereign-wealth fund owned by Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates.
‘For the sellers, it would be helpful to put the ADIA on the list of potential buyers to get higher prices. But the ADIA is not involved this time,” he said.
This means that the auction on Daewoo might collapse as, out of the four short-listed candidates, only the ADIA consortium had been reported to have sufficient capacity to snap up Daewoo.
‘We should wait until the deadline of the final bidding, which falls next week. But if the ADIA does not participate in the bidding, it is bad news for Kumho Asiana,” said Yoon Jin-il, an analyst at IBK Securities. – read more at The Korea Times
