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  • IFC Provides $70 Million for Shared Mobile Infrastructure Project in Philippines

    IFC Provides $70 Million for Shared Mobile Infrastructure Project in Philippines

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced that it is providing $70 million to fund a shared mobile infrastructure project in the Philippines.

    In a press release, the organization said it is collaborating with Renewable Energy Infrastructure (CREI) Phils Inc. to help address the digital gap in the country through tower-sharing.

    The $70 million financing package consists of a $25.5 million loan from IFC and the provision of a facility worth $44.5 million.

    IFC’s investment will allow CREI Phils, a newly formed tower company in the Philippines, to fund the construction of over 600 w towers by next year. For the first time in the country’s history, these towers will be shared on an open-access basis. Aside from creating a competitive market for tower colocations, the loan will help increase mobile network capacity, allowing operators to expand high-speed mobile networks (4G and 5G) across the country, offering better services at more affordable rates.

    According to the 2020 Global Digital Overview, the number of internet users in the Philippines has more than tripled from 23 million (2010) to 73 million (2020). Yet, the quality of mobile connectivity is inadequate given its pervasive network congestion. The country ranks 95th out of 142 countries for mobile internet download speed. Further, the number of mobile subscribers per tower – a measure of network congestion – is more than double the regional average. According to market estimates, to fill the gap, the Philippines would need a significant number of new towers built in the next seven to eight years to support the government’s network capacity requirements.

    “We are thrilled to be working alongside IFC in supporting the government of the Philippines’ development of its mobile infrastructure sector,” stated Kadri Hakim, CEO of CREI. “Despite the challenging market conditions triggered by the pandemic, IFC’s long-term funding will allow us to meet our ambitions of expanding our digital infrastructure portfolio in the Philippines. Our management team’s extensive knowhow gained through 15 years of telecoms operations across South-East Asia and Africa combined with IFC’s deep knowledge of the country’s telecoms regulatory regime and its experience as an investor in tower companies, will enable us to effectively develop and grow our operations in the country.”

    The company’s entry into the Philippines telecoms market brings robust expertise in the design, construction and operation of towers, as well as the provision of efficient energy solutions that help displace and reduce the use of diesel fuel on towers connected to the grid. In line with the nation’s climate goals, this project will lead to significant greenhouse-gas (GHG) savings. IFC will also assist the company align its environmental and social practices with IFC’s performance standards.

    “Digital connectivity is more important than ever for businesses and people to thrive,” said Jean-Marc Arbogast, IFC Country Manager for the Philippines. “By supporting the entry of a new company, IFC’s investment will contribute to a strong independent tower market in the Philippines, increasing competition, creating jobs, spurring economic growth and help cut emissions.”

  • Telegram will soon launch subscription service to disable ads

    Telegram will soon launch subscription service to disable ads

    Telegram is one of the services that gained a lot of customers due to the Facebook/WhatsApp outage, but it remains to be seen how many will become loyal users or will return to their “first love.”

    The messaging service has been adding many new features in the last few weeks and we’re certain more will be coming soon. Over the weekend, Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov made a few announcements concerning the ads that appear on large channels with more than 1000 users.

    If you’re following one or more of these channels and you’re seeing ads, you’ll be pleased to know that Telegram will launch a companion subscription service meant to disable these ads. Of course, if you don’t want to pay for such a service, then you’ll continue to see those ads, but it’s nice to know that the option is there.

    We have already started work on this new feature and look forward to launching it this month. It can be issued in the form of an inexpensive subscription, which will allow any user to directly financially support the development of Telegram and never see official advertisements in the channels.
    Additionally, Telegram’s CEO revealed that those who own big channels will be able to turn off official ads in their channels of all users. For the time being, the company is assessing the “economic conditions” for this to happen. It’s unclear how that would work, but here is what Telegram says: “advertisers will soon be able to place an ‘invisible’ ad on any channel that – assuming there is sufficient cost per impression – will result in no ads on that channel.”

    No subscription price has been announced yet since Telegram is still working on bringing this feature to users, but we’ll learn more once it’s ready for implementation.

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  • HSBC Adds Coinbase to Crypto Ban List

    HSBC Adds Coinbase to Crypto Ban List

    Despite the growing embrace of cryptocurrencies among institutions and retail investors, HSBC is sticking to its policy of avoiding virtual currencies and stocks correlated to them.

    Europe’s largest bank in Europe, with total assets of $2.715 trillion, is likely to avoid Coinbase’s newly listed COIN stock because of lingering worries about crypto’s role in money laundering and criminal activity.

    HSBC has no appetite for direct exposure to virtual currencies and limited appetite to facilitate products or securities that derive their value from virtual currencies. This is not a new policy, Ankit Patel, HSBC corporate media relations manager, told crypto news platform Coindesk.

    Last week, the bank confirmed that it stopped customers of its online trading platform InvestDirect from adding MicroStrategy stock to their portfolios, calling them a «virtual currency product.» The company holds about $5.5 billion in bitcoin, or about 80 percent of its $6.8 billion market capitalization.

    Coinbase debuted on Nasdaq last Wednesday in a direct listing, in what was seen as another key step towards cryptocurrencies becoming a mainstream medium of exchange.

    The listing of Coinbase’s means that even if average investors don’t want to buy or sell cryptocurrencies on their own, they can still can invest in the cryptocurrency economy by taking a stake in one of its biggest players. After a day of trading, the U.S.’ largest cryptocurrency exchange had a market capitalization of $86 billion.

    To stay competitive amid client demand for digital assets, financial sector giants have ramped out their offerings. These include BNY Mellon, which announced the introduction of crypto custodial services and Morgan Stanley, which will roll out a bitcoin offering to wealth management clients and is reportedly mulling exposure in Bitcoin through its investment arm, Counterpoint Global. Goldman Sachs has also said it would offer investments in bitcoin and other digital assets to its wealth clients.

    Outside of the U.S., notable global banks that have also launched crypto offerings include Standard Chartered and DBS.

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  • Vestiaire Collective kicking off on Zalora

    Vestiaire Collective kicking off on Zalora

    Fashion e-tailer Zalora has partnered with global pre-owned fashion platform Vestiaire Collective.

    Zalora’s Hong Kong customers can now access more than 5000 authenticated Vestiaire items across womens’ and mens’ categories via the firm’s website and app. Plans are currently in place to extend the offering to other Zalora markets.

    The partnership is an effort to promote circular fashion, intending to inspire consumers to be more conscious of their consumption habits. All Vestiaire products listed on Zalora undergo two rounds of checks to ensure authenticity and quality. All orders are fulfilled by Zalora’s own delivery network.

    “Zalora is committed to promoting sustainability in the region and is determined to shape a sustainable fashion ecosystem,” said Zalora CEO Gunjan Soni. “Companies now need to work together to evolve from just reducing the impact to making a positive impact.

    “Our partnership with Vestiaire Collective effectively expands our pre-loved category, offering more choices to our Zalora shoppers and giving them a chance to partake in joining the circular fashion movement.”

    “Vestiaire Collective is excited to partner with Zalora to further increase our local footprint of circular fashion within Asia,” said Vestiaire’s APAC chief regional officer Pierre Everling. “Sustainability is one of the founding pillars of our business and we’re thrilled to open the doors of pre-loved fashion to more users in new markets, allowing more people to embrace circularity in their daily lives.”

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  • Heineken Vietnam pays $39.7 mln in back taxes and fines

    Heineken Vietnam pays $39.7 mln in back taxes and fines

    Heineken Vietnam Brewery has paid VND917.2 billion ($39.7 million) in back taxes and fines for a 2018 transaction.

    Singapore-based Heineken Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. had, at the end of 2018, struck a deal valued at over VND4.8 trillion ($207.7 million) with the Heineken Vietnam Brewery. Under the deal, the Singaporean firm transferred its entire stake in its Vietnamese subsidiary to the latter.

    The tax payable on the deal was VND823 billion ($35.6 million), but Heineken Asia Pacific claimed it was exempt from paying it under the double taxation agreement signed by the governments of Vietnam and Singapore.

    However, the General Department of Taxation ruled that the tax had to be paid because the real estate value in the deal was over 50 percent of the assets involved in the deal.

    The department confirmed that it has received in full the payment of back taxes and fines.

    Another major FDI corporation, Coca-Cola Vietnam, has been ordered to pay VND821.4 billion ($35.4 million) in back taxes and penalties stretching back over nine years.

    The company, which has been suspected of engaging in transfer pricing fraud to evade taxes, has paid VND471 billion ($20.4 million), or 57.3 percent of the amount, at the time of writing.

    Vietnam collected VND18.8 trillion ($813 million) last year in back taxes and fines, according to the General Department of Taxation.

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  • Jaguar Confirms J-Pace SUV In The Works

    Jaguar Confirms J-Pace SUV In The Works

    Jaguar has confirmed that the J-Pace SUV is in the works and a select few got a chance to see what the car is like. The J-Pace will be positioned above the F-Pace and it is likely to be underpinned by the MLA platform which will also spawn the next-generation Land Rover and its hardware will be developed with electrification in mind. The company had already announced its electrification plan worldwide. Every new Jaguar Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving customers more choice. The company is also set to introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles and that has already started with the I-Pace.

    There are more cars coming through and this includes the replacements for the current XE and F-Type. Of course, there’s also the all-electric version of the flagship sedan, XJ, which is set to make its mark in the market very soon. the model all-electric XJ which will succeed the combustion version which rolled off the production line for the last time on July 5.

    Codenamed Road Rover, the new generation Jaguar XJ will also get cosmetic changes along with the electric motor. Reports suggest that the XJ will be turned in to a five-door sedan instead of the current 4-door body. It is understood that the design layout for the new XJ is ready and the company will soon start working on it. This new design language will also be seen in the future Jaguar models.

    Additionally, considerably less expensive ‘baby Jags’ (possibly badged A-Pace or B-Pace) have not been ruled out. Dr. Ralph Speth, Jaguar CEO also stressed that Jaguar (plus sister manufacturer, Land Rover) are definitely not for sale to Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat-Chrysler, Hyundai-Kia or any other motor manufacturing companies.

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  • KT taps Samsung to expand PS-LTE coverage in South Korea

    KT taps Samsung to expand PS-LTE coverage in South Korea

    Samsung has signed an agreement with KT to help expand the telco’s public safety LTE (PS-LTE) network in South Korea, the vendor announced.

    The expansion deal will see Samsung provide KT with LTE network solutions based on 3GPP Release 13 in 10 major metropolitan regions in South Korea including Seoul by 2020.

    The expanded deal will also see the pair deliver what they say is the world’s first narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service over the PS-LTE network to help prevent and respond to natural disasters such as fires and people stranded in remote, mountainous areas.

    In addition to LTE radio base stations that support 700-MHz, Samsung is providing KT with a virtualized core and features such as MCPTT solutions, RAN sharing, evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), Isolated eUTRAN Operation for Public Safety (IOPS), and device to device (D2D) network solutions.

    For instance, D2D allows direct and undisrupted communications between any two devices without traversing radio base stations or core networks, even in areas where bases stations are not provided.

    Samsung said D2D and NB-IoT technologies will play crucial roles in public safety network by ensuring stable, seamless, and reliable network in unfavorable environments.

    “By acquiring innovative wireless communications from Samsung, we are able to aid in life-threatening situations where data traffic is severely congested or connection is completely out of reach,” said Yoon-Young Park, senior executive vice president and head of enterprise business group at KT. “These first-of their-kind networks help responders connect with those in need.”

    KT and Samsung have been collaborated since 2016. The pair deployed the first PS-LTE network in 2016 throughout Gangwon (Pyeongchang) province of South Korea.

    In 2017, the companies delivered LTE-railway service on a high-speed train traveling at up to 250 km/hour (155 mph) using MCPTT solutions.

    The two companies are now aiming to expand the PS-LTE network further into the metropolitan areas around the country, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeolla, Gyeongbuk and Chungnam provinces.

    South Korea’s three major carriers-KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus- launched full-fledged commercial 5G services in early April and racked up over 260,000 5G subscribers that month.

  • Nubia’s new Gaming handset has Fresh Features

    Nubia’s new Gaming handset has Fresh Features

    Remember when there was all that concern about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC overheating? The fear was so real that Samsung decided to power the Galaxy S6 line with its own Exynos 7420 chipset, even in the U.S. where it usually equips its phones with a Snapdragon chip. Some manufacturers started using small (.6mm) heat pipes in order to dissipate the heat generated inside a smartphone.

    Nubia announced the first smartphone to be equipped with a cooling fan, the Red Magic 3 gaming phone. To keep the handset’s internals cool, the device combines what the company calls “state-of-the-art liquid cooling technology” with an internal fan. Nubia says that this combination increases heat transfer by 500%; not only does this keep the phone cool in the user’s hand, it also boosts the performance of the device providing a smoother experience.

    While the Nubia Red Magic 3 will launch on May 3rd in China, it also will be available next month in the U.S., Canada and Europe (including the U.K.). Pricing has not yet been announced, but the phone does feature high-end specs. The device comes with a 6.65-inch AMOLED screen with an FHD+ resolution. With a refresh rate of 90Hz (most phones refresh at 60Hz) the Red Magic 3 will offer users smooth gameplay. The Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform is under the hood, and there will be three different memory/storage configurations (6GB RAM/128GB storage, 8GB RAM/128GB storage and 12GB RAM/256GB storage). In addition, the phone features dual front-facing stereo speakers, DTS:X and 3D sound. This creates a “cinematic soundscape” with or without headphones. Instead of having to use a gamepad accessory, the handset has touch-sensitive shoulders that can be customized.

    The Red Magic 3 is more than just a gaming phone. It happens to be pre-installed with a nearly stock version of Android 9 Pie. On the back is a 48MP camera using Sony’s IMX586 sensor, and in front is a 16MP selfie snapper. With a 5000mAh battery inside, you won’t have to worry about finding an outlet in the middle of the day, and perhaps the next day as well. And if you happen to be an ardant gamer, the RedMagicGameSpace2.0 dashboard allows you to quick-launch games, optimize settings and the fan speeds, check the temperature inside the phone, and record in-game videos. It also allows you to block notifications so that you can enjoy uninterrupted game play. The Red Magic 3 will be available in Black or Red.

    Starting tomorrow, April 29th, consumers can sign up to win an opportunity to unbox the Red Magic 3 by visiting this website. Three first prize winners will receive the Red Magic 3 before the release date, and will get to do a live unboxing and hands-on over the Red Magic website and Nubia’s social media channels. Three second prize winners will have the opportunity to buy the Red Magic 3 at 50% off and four third prize winners get to take 20% off the price of the phone.

    Back in February, Nubia launched the Red Magic Mars gaming phone in the U.S. That model features a 6-inch LCD screen with a 1080 x 2160 resolution. While Nubia called this device a gaming phone and a daily driver in one unit (which it also says about the Red Magic 3), the $399 price surely caught the eye of smartphone buyers in the states. We don’t know the price of the Red Magic 3 yet; if Nubia keeps it low, it will be hard for U.S. consumers, unlike the phone, to keep cool.

  • Garuda Indonesia, Switzerland strengthen cooperation on airplane maintenance

    Garuda Indonesia, Switzerland strengthen cooperation on airplane maintenance

    The Indonesian flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, and the Government of Switzerland will strengthen cooperation in the field of aircraft maintenance through a subsidiary of Garuda Maintenance Facilities (GMF).

    Director of Engineering and Information Technology of Garuda Indonesia, Iwan Joeniarto, said here on Friday (April 1) that the cooperation has been established in the form of arrangements for exchange of knowledge about aircraft maintenance, aircraft mechanic training and provision of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) equipment.

    In the initial phase, the cooperation arrangement will be for five years for Boeing 737 New Generation.

    “Later, we will develop this arrangement further,” he said.

    According to Iwan, the Swiss authority is interested in cooperating with the GMF because the company is very competitive and has qualified human resources.

    “We have lands that are widespread, although we still lack in infrastructure,” he said.

    The Vice President of Switzerland, Doris Leuthard, appreciated the facilities owned by Garuda Indonesia Group and hoped that the existing cooperation could be improved and continued in the future.

    “The meeting today has provided us with new insights regarding a very positive synergy between Garuda and GMF as a subsidiary,” he said.

    Vice President Leuthard assessed that Garuda and GMF together form for a great potential in Indonesia in the face of the competition in the aviation world globally.

    The official working visit of the Swiss Vice President, who is also the Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), is part of a series of diplomatic visits to Indonesia.

    The Director of GMF, Juliandra Nurtjahjo, said the visit of the Vice President of Switzerland was an excellent opportunity and valuable for GMF. Also, it was in line with the companys target to be among the top 10 MROs in the world by 2020.

    “This is a very good opportunity for GMF because we can introduce our facilities and explore other areas for potential cooperation,” he said.

    Juliandra remarked that the MRO market is currently growing, including in Indonesia. There are at least 700 aircrafts that require MRO services with a market value of approximately US$ 900 million. So far, the GMF has been able to claim only about 30 percent of the market opportunity.

    Leuthard also met the Indonesian Minister of Transport, Ignasius Jonan, on Thursday (March 31).

    Both the officials renewed an agreement between Indonesian government and the Swiss Federal Council related to Scheduled Air Services in Jakarta.

    The renewal agreement aims to accommodate a wider mutual interest in the Air Service Agreement (ASA).

    The minister said although currently no Indonesian airlines flies to Switzerland, the agreement is the first step to open up opportunities in the future for Indonesian airlines to serve flights to the country.

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