High Tech Computer Corp (HTC, 宏達電), the world’s biggest maker of handsets that run Microsoft Corp’s system, yesterday said it was breaking into the South Korean market by supplying handsets to ST Telecom.
The move follows HTC’s successful foray into the Japanese market three years ago.
“HTC is excited to be entering the Korea market with the HTC Touch Dual. We want to tap into Korea’s high level of consumer sophistication by bringing in a portfolio of innovative phones that set new benchmarks for touch usage,” said Jack Tong (董俊良), a vice president of HTC’s Asia branch.
The handset maker is supplying a third-generation (3G) handset, HTC Touch Dual, to ST Telecom. The handset is available only at SK Telecom’s stores and priced at 500,000 won (US$475). SK Telecom subscribers can obtain the phone at a lower price by subscribing to the telecom operator’s packages.
ST Telecom is the second-largest mobile telecom operator in South Korea, with 22.37 million subscribers as of this year’s first quarter.
HTC plans to launch more handsets in South Korea in the second half of this year.
As part of a bigger ambition to build a better foothold in the South Korean market, HTC said it planned to set up a South Korean branch later this year.
In the Asia-Pacific region, HTC has set a sales target of 2 million phones this year, compared with 1 million last year.
HTC said the Asian-Pacific region was its fastest-growing market, but European and US markets are still the company’s biggest markets, accounting for 80 percent of the firm’s total revenues.
HTC shares jumped 2.94 percent to NT$700 yesterday, defying the broader market’s decline of 1.54 percent.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS