StarHub offers free data roaming in Malaysia
Singapore operator StarHub has introduced free data roaming for its prepaid customers when they travel to Malaysia.
Its Happy prepaid customers can use their existing prepaid data bundle, with no additional fee for activation, and can use any mobile network in Malaysia.
To activate the data roaming service, Happy prepaid customers need to dial *123*5*2#. Data bundle top-ups, for use in both Singapore and Malaysia, range from SGD1 ($0.71) for 10MB for seven days to SGD20 for 1.2GB for 30 days.
Hutchison reports mixed results in Asia
Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong, which operates the “3” brand in Hong Kong and Macau, reported a 57 per cent jump in H1 profit attributable to shareholders to HKD508 million ($360 million).
Its revenue increased 78 per cent to HKD11.05 billion despite a 20 per cent fall in its combined customer base to 2.9 million from a year ago. The company said the increase in profit and turnover was a result of churn of lower-valued customers.
Its Asian wholesale and managed services unit, Hutchison Asia Telecommunications, saw EBITDA drop 18 per cent to HKD411 million compared to the same period last year, while revenue fell 9 per cent to HKD3.17 billion. It attributed the declines to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, mainly the decline of the Indonesian rupiah.
‘Angry Birds’ maker looks to Asia for growth
Finnish mobile gaming company Rovio Entertainment, best known for “Angry Birds”, is looking to Asia for growth, after a sharp drop in earnings last year, by adapting its games to local tastes.
In China it partnered with a Chinese gaming firm to localise the prompts and language for ‘Angry Birds 2’, which was released last month, Reuters reported. China accounted for a third of the nearly 40 million downloads since July 30, making it the company’s top market.
Rovio also has appointed a new director to oversee its expansion into India, where around 500,000 users have downloaded the new game, Reuters said.
Singpost forms e-commerce venture in Indonesia
Indonesian handset retailer Trikomsel Oke and Singapore Post eCommerce have set up a joint venture to tap into the country’s growing e-commerce market.
Trio Specommerce, launched this week, is an online marketplace for global consumer brands and also handles product distribution in Indonesia for the firms, the Jakarta Globe said. Trikomsel has a 67 per cent stake in the IDR3 billion ($214,000) joint venture.
Singpost eCommerce estimates Indonesia’s e-commerce market will expand to $4.49 billion next year from $2.6 billion in 2014.
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