Who Needs PCs? Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Opt For the Mobile Web [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Infographic of the Day series visually expresses important stories from Asia and the world of technology.

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Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos are areas that don’t get too much coverage in the tech press – but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t interesting phenomena in the way its web and tech scene are developing.

Vietnam is especially one to watch, with a fledgeling start-up scene empowered by game-development successes that are attracting a lot of investment from Japan.

Across these three countries, mobile is proving especially revolutionary – getting people not just talking, but also online. It’s a situation we’re seeing, too, in India and Indonesia. Following that path, we’re likely to see Cambodia and Laos pick up social media, e-commerce, and gaming almost exclusively on mobile, not on desktop PCs. Vietnam’s infrastructure, though, fares somewhat better.

To read the full analysis, head on over to the We Are Social blog where they also have the slideshow. Here are the three reports in full:

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Vietnam

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Cambodia

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Laos

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You might like to check out our previous four articles from this infographic series.

[Source: We Are Social]

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Beijing Provides Free WiFi in CBD Area

The Beijing CBD Administrative Committee announced last week that the modern ancient city is now providing free WiFi connection in its CBD or Central Business District, covering an area of 3.99 square kilometers.

According to the announcement, whenever you’re in CBD area and are able to locate an access point named “CBD-WALN” on your mobile devices like smartphone, iPad or laptop, you’re ready to login with your Sina Weibo account to enjoy the free lunch. Yes, you read it right. Sina Weibo account is one type of the credentials for the benefit as long as you’ve linked your cellphone number with your weibo account. For those who don’t have Weibo account, they can still use their mobile phone to apply for the verification code to get access to it.

As the the primary area of finance, media and business services in Beijing, China, Beijing CBD occupies 3.99 sq km of the Chaoyang District on the east side of the city, with more than 20,000 companies resided in the area, most of which are multinationals and local giants.

Cisco was reportedly developing the CBD free WiFi connection for Beijing city.

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3. Hoju.cn: A Chinese way to make FON with WiFi sharing

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RIM China President to Retire, Can Lambeek Save Blackberry in China?

QQ Tech News reported that RIM China President, Xiie Rui will officially retire this month and hand over the reins to the Asia Pacific Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Alex Lambeek, a former Nokia executive. Rui will remain in China and continue to serve as a consultant.

RIM and its flagship brand, Blackberry has faced fierce competition in recent years. It has lost much of its prestige and cool factor to Apple and a wider range of Android phones. I wrote about the challenge RIM is trying to tackle, in moving from the enterprise to consumer market back in September.

To address the challenges RIM will make major adjustments in 2012. Firstly, rather than rely on Chinese operators to push sales, they will focus on establishing a strong brand by constructing its own retail outlets and experience stores in China. Secondly, they will reportedly lower their prices and offer new Blackberry customers free six months to a year worth of Blackberry Internet Services (BIS).

RIM China President Xie Rui (right) with successor Alex Lambeek (left)

According to ReadWriteWeb, RIM lost 5% market share in the United States from 24.7% to 19.7%, while Android jumped 5.6% over the May to August period. To take advantage of the Android’s rising dominance and open philosophy, RIM is rumoured to create a virtual application layer that will allow Android apps to run on Blackberry.

In China where brands and looking cool often means more than being practical, Blackberry needs to get in touch with Chinese consumers to really give them what they want and make them look good. Will Lambeek deliver?

 

Related posts:

1. 5 Years in China, BlackBerry Still Does Not Get It
2. Can Blackberry Go From Enterprise to Consumer ?
3. Android Rules 58% of China’s Smartphone Market

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CEO Says Tianya ready to IPO, Just Waiting for the Right Time

Tianya is part of China’s internet old school, a news portal/BBS forum that was the hottest thing going in the days before social networks and microblogging. These days, there’s still a fiercely loyal community there, but you might be forgiven for thinking that now is a strange time for Tianya to be discussing an IPO.

Nevertheless, they apparently are, at least to some extent. In an interview with Securities Daily, Tianya CEO Xing Ming said the company was now ready for an IPO and was just waiting on the right opportunity. That makes a lot of sense, given how bad the market has been for Chinese IPOs in the US (for example).

Why didn’t it IPO earlier? According to Xing Ming, it wasn’t legally able to because Google was a partial owner of Tianya. Tianya bought back that stock last year, and now, Xing says, “there are basically no legal obstacles to [Tianya being listed].”

But even if the markets improve, how much interest is there going to be in a BBS forum (albeit a giant one)? Xing Ming concedes that with microblogging services like Sina Weibo there’s not as much room for BBS services as there once was, but says he hopes the company will be one of the few communities that can survive thanks to user loyalty.

It’s good to hear Xing acknowledging microblogging as a threat, but his response to a question about how to respond to that threat, uh, does not inspire a lot of confidence:

We’ve always been feeling our way forward, looking for our breakthrough, and always feeling around in the area of internet communities. We chose the path of the internet community. I think such a community should provide comprehensive services. Comprehensive services should include [BBS] forums, and forums are Tianya’s number one industry-leading product, it’s the most popular net forum in the world. Forums can be understood as the public squares of a community, but you can’t just rely on the forums model, you also need a personalized center, also groups, so that people can interact and communicate with each other. You should be able to play games, buy things online, etc.; we’ve been continually making a complete community platform.

Call me skeptical, but that sounds an awful lot like what weibo companies like Sina have already done. That said, Tianya is gigantic, so it would be foolish to count them out just yet. Given the market, we don’t expect them to IPO anytime soon, but we’ll keep an eye out and let you know if/when they really are ready to IPO.

[Securities Daily via Sina Tech]

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How To Help A Startup If You Have No Experience

Credit: Streetbonersandtvcarnage

Let’s establish this first: We don’t have many successful entrepreneurs in Singapore, or in the Southeast Asia region. So as budding entrepreneurs, it is already an uphill battle finding the right people who can give the right advice.

And ‘right people’ means you must at least have some startup experience or at least have experience in the topic at hand. It is best if you have at least gone through the crazy roller-coaster ride of ups and downs in a typical startup lifecycle.

Throughout our journey, we have been very enthusiastic to learn from others. We take in all advice and also filter some out. Some advice is just total crap talk, especially those from corporate ladder climbers who know nothing about running a startup.

Some are easy to spot but some are not. Because often the “gurus” package their bullshit so artistically that it sounds very convincing. As entrepreneurs, you need to listen and filter such feedback. But for the inexperienced and the young, it can be very tough to spot these kinds of bullshit landmines.

I understand that the intention of giving advice is good (assuming there’s no ego boasting agenda on the part of the advisor). They want to help and that is why they spend time giving their thoughts.

But hey, it doesn’t hurt to think through real hard next time when an entrepreneur seeks your advice. Before you start opening your mouth to give your thoughts, be sure that you have the know-how to give real solid feedback, and don’t overstep your expertise. Otherwise, your advice is just another piece of trash in their minds.

Or worst, it can kill the startup as it misleads the entrepreneur off the right track. We have been through that shit. And it almost got us killed because we listened to the wrong advice from the wrong person. I don’t blame him/her because I understand that the person only meant good. Nonetheless, it is also a good thing that our team survived that hurdle. It made us stronger.

So for advisors who have no experience in the startup world. It’s better to keep your mouth shut. You can give the entrepreneur your opinion, but please be transparent about your experience if you have no experience in that particular area. That would be certainly be helpful to our growing community of young entrepreneurs.

With less bullshit advice, it makes spotting and absorbing the right nutrients easier, and makes this startup playground more fun and competitive. Getting your startup killed by listening to a piece of silly advice is just a shame. Die in the battlefield, not because of some bullshit landmines.

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Cheap Maldives Holidays

Imagine enjoying the glorious sunshine and crystalline waters of the cheap Maldives holidays while your friends and family back home are shoveling snow! If you can’t manage a trip at Christmas to visit scuba diving santa and you don’t have a chance to experience the best scuba diving in February, you can enjoy liveaboard diving holidays every month of the year. When you go on a Maldives liveaboard diving safari, the experienced crew will know the best diving sites according to the time of year, and they will make sure you get the Maldives best diving experience possible for the time of year that you visit. There are many different liveaboards to choose from when you’re looking for a Maldives diving holiday. You will find a liveaboard for every budget and level of comfort. Theia diving liveaboard is one of the most luxurious Maldive diving liveaboards, featuring Jacuzzis, massage tables and gorgeous finishings. Theia diving is quite expensive, however, so if the Maldives diving cost is something that concerns you, you might choose a different liveaboard, like Maldives diving Adventurer 2, that offers cheap diving holidays. Other alternatives to Theia, Maldives diving include Black Pearl diving, another quality liveaboard that offers more cheap scuba diving trips.

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PepperFry, the not-yet-launched startup secures $5mn Funding from Norwest Venture Partners

The yet-to-be-launched startup, Pepperfry has secured $5mn from Norwest Venture Partners. Pepperfry is started by Ambareen Murthy, who earlier was country manager at eBay India and when launched, Pepperfry will offer a range of 25,000+ pocket happy lifestyle products across multiple categories such as Clothing, Furniture & Home Décor, Precious & Fashion Jewellery, Lifestyle Accessories and Personal Care.

“Our decision to invest in Pepperfry was an easy one. Pepperfry has a strong team, extensive e-commerce and retail expertise and great execution abilities reflected in the imminent launch of www.pepperfry.com in less than five months since commencing operations. We are excited by the e-commerce opportunity in India and believe that Pepperfry is a great addition to our robust global internet portfolio. I wish the team the very best.” [Niren Shah, Managing Director, Norwest Venture Partners India]

Headquartered in Mumbai, Pepperfry also has on ground sourcing and fulfillment operations in Delhi and Jodhpur. The product is scheduled for launch during Christmas season and has grown to more than 70 employees over the last few months.

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3. DealsAndYou Secures $17mn Funding
4. Nexus Venture Partners Leads $12 Million Funding in Druva, Pune Based Startup
5. Mobstac To Go Global. Secures Funding From Accel Partners and Mumbai Angels

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Indian Government to Boost Homegrown Electronics Products, Provide Preferential Market Access [National Electronics Policy 2011]

In the month of October 2011, Indian government announced its National Policies on Electronics 2011 and based on suggestions from different stakeholders, government has incorporated key measures in the policy.

Some of these key measures (important sections are highlighted):

- To facilitate setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabs and its eco-system for design and fabrication of chips and chip components.
-  To provide Preferential Market Access for domestically manufactured/designed electronic products including mobile devices, SIM cards with enhanced features, etc. with special emphasis on Indian products for which IPR reside in India to address strategic and security concerns of the Government consistent with international commitments.
-  To create an “Electronic Development Fund” to promote innovations and IP and R&D, commercialization of products, etc in ESDM, nano-electronics and IT sectors by providing appropriate funding/incentives to industry/academic/R&D institutions.
-  To provide incentives for setting up of over 200 Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) with world-class logistics and infrastructure and easy to do business facilities.
-  To provide attractive fiscal incentives across the value chain of ESDM sector through a Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) to eliminate the disability costs in manufacturing on account of infrastructure gaps relating to power, transportation, etc and to mitigate the relatively high cost of finance, etc.
-  To set up a National Electronics Mission (NEM) with industry participation to evolve programmes in pursuit of the laid down policies and also to create institutional mechanism to advance the implementation of various programmes aimed at achieving the objectives enumerated in this policy and to promote as un Electronic Hardware Manufacturing Hub and suitably market “Brand India” in electronics.
- To encourage the usage of LED lighting solutions especially in rural markets through innovative products like solar LED lamps, public places like street lighting, traffic lights etc. to promote the manufacture of LED and LED lights.
- To build manufacturing capacity of solar photo-voltaics to support the generation of 20 GW of solar power by 2020.

The draft Policy proposes to achieve the turnover of electronic system design and manufacturing sector to USD 400 billion by 2020.

- Download draft copy of National Policy on Electronics 2011 (pdf).

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5. Facebook Encourages Users In India Against Government’s No Spam Policy – Compelled?

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China’s 8 Most Profitable US-Listed Tech Stocks in 2011

(Photo source: People's Daily Online)

Despite fears of a very bad year for Chinese tech stocks after the fraud at Longtop (formerly NASDAQ: LFT), a new list from China Analyst reveals that the majority of the top ten most profitable U.S.-listed Chinese stocks for the last 12 months were tech/web companies.

It’s actually doubly surprising, after an IPO Dashboard study back in October showed that tech IPOs were performing the worst, with an average growth rate of -19.43 percent. Yep, that’s a minus symbol right there. But, from the look of the top ten list, a number of China’s web behemoths weathered a stormy year.

Out of the ten on the line-up, eight are tech/web companies, and mostly big hitters:

1. Giant Interactive (NYSE:GA):
Giant isn’t even China’s biggest online gaming publisher, but it’s doing well, seeing its net profit margin at 52.23 percent for the last 12 months, and its operating profit margin was at 55.76 percent for the same period.

When we last looked at market share in online gaming in China in terms of revenue, Giant was in sixth place, while Changyou (below) was fifth.

2. Changyou (NASDAQ:CYOU):
Proving that social gaming and MMOs can be great business, Changyou is in the exact same field as Giant. Its net profit margin was 50.66 percent for the last 12 months. Its operating profit margin was 57.94 percent for the same period.

3. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU):
Baidu needs no introduction, and can now lay claim to being China’s third most profitable US-listed stock this year. Its net profit margin was 46 percent for the last 12 months. Its operating profit margin was 52.53 percent for the same period.

4. Netease (NASDAQ:NTES):
Netease is actually in third place in terms of online gaming revenue in the country, but it’s fourth in this particular list. The company might be better known for its 163.com web portal and email service, and its fledgling Youdao.com search engine. Its net profit margin was 44.36 percent for the last 12 months. Its operating profit margin was 46.77 percent for the same period.

7. SouFun (NYSE:SFUN):
Skipping down to seventh place in this ranking, SouFun is a massively popular real-estate portal. Its net profit margin was 33.83 percent for the last 12 months and its operating profit margin was 41.57 percent for the same period.

8. Ctrip (NASDAQ:CTRP):
Ctrip is a travel e-commerce site whose main rivals are eLong (NASDAQ:LONG) and the Baidu-invested Qunar. Its net profit margin was 32.11 percent for the last 12 months. Its operating profit margin was 33.57 percent for the same period.

9. AutoNavi (NASDAQ:AMAP):
AutoNavi makes GPS gear and apps, and it certainly didn’t get lost en route to a profitable year. Its net profit margin was 32.10 percent for the last 12 months and its operating profit margin was 30.98 percent for the same period.

10. Sohu (NASDAQ:SOHU):
Lastly, another old-skool Chinese web portal shows that dinosaurs can learn how to stay relevant – are you watching, Yahoo (NASQAQ:YHOO)? – with profit margins of 30.61 percent for the last 12 months and an operating profit margin of 34.88 percent for the same period.

If you’re curious, the missing fifth and sixth places belong to China Kanghui Holdings (NYSE:KH), and Noah Holdings (NYSE:NOAH) respectively, neither of which are tech or web related.

[Source: China Analyst]

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