Smartphones power Samsung to record profit

SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics on Friday posted a record operating profit of 5.3 trillion won ($4.72 billion) in the fourth quarter, thanks largely to booming smartphone sales.

The company, the world’s largest technology firm by revenue, is battling US giant Apple for leadership of the global smartphone market.

It credited its flagship Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note brands for helping its telecoms businesses achieve a record quarterly operating profit of 2.64 trillion won.

“Despite intensified competition amid the global economic slowdown, our telecommunications businesses continued to post solid earnings with an enhanced line-up of high-end smartphones, resulting in higher average selling price,” said senior vice-president Robert Yi in a statement.

The overall quarterly operating profit figure, a 76 percent increase year-on-year, was largely in line with the earnings guidance issued early this month by the firm.

Revenue in October-December was 47.3 trillion won, a 13 percent rise year-on-year. Net profit of four trillion won was up 17 percent on a year earlier.

For the whole of last year the company logged a net profit of 13.7 trillion won, down 15 percent from the previous year. Revenue rose 6.7 percent to a record 165 trillion won and operating profit declined 6.05 percent to 16.2 trillion won.

Samsung overtook Apple in the third quarter of last year to become the world’s largest seller of smartphones, although it was unclear who held the lead in the fourth quarter.

The South Korean firm said its smartphone shipments rose about 30 percent in the fourth quarter compared with July-September but gave no number.

“For the global market outlook for this year, demand for entry-level smartphones and tablet PCs will increase significantly, while the growth momentum for feature phones is expected to stay static,” it said in a statement.

It tipped the overall smartphone market to grow by more than 30 percent this year.

Samsung, the world’s largest maker of flat panels, memory chips and flat-screen televisions, announced capital spending of 25 trillion won this year.

Some 15 trillion won of the total would be invested in chipmaking, to improve production lines and upgrade technology. Another 6.6 trillion won would be spent on the display panel division.

The firm also credited a stronger lineup of LED televisions for the improved quarter-on-quarter sales.

It said its chip business sustained profitability in the fourth quarter despite weak market demand, thanks to a mixture of high-margin products and strong demand for NAND flash memory chips used in smartphones and tablets. AGENCIES

Google tries to reassure TV industry

 Google has moved to reassure a global television industry quaking at the prospect that the Internet search giant is about to move onto TV sets and into living rooms around the globe.

In a keynote speech to Europe s leading broadcasting industry conference, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt acknowledged the company s immense scale built on search advertising — a scale which almost everyone in the media industry fears as a threat to their existing businesses — but said the nature of technology and the internet also made Google vulnerable.

“Online, competition is only ever a click away … it s common for once-leading services to become out-innovated and overtaken,” Schmidt said in the annual MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

Many of the broadcasting executives, producers and advertising industry leaders in the audience fear Google s entry into their territory with its Google TV internet-connected device, threatening the kind of dislocation it has triggered in online and print media with search advertising and the mobile phone business with its now leading Android operating system.

Schmidt, whose company has been seen as arrogant and no respecter of copyright, struck a conciliatory tone, saying Google had moved to be more speedy in taking down content which breached copyright and would be more active in supporting the business models of content owners that wanted to charge for their content online.

It had no intention to move into content creation, believing its core skills remained in technology and in focusing on three trends: Mobile, local and social.

Google TV would be launched in Europe early in 2012, he said.

Asian shares rise as oil prices fall

HONG KONG: Asian stocks rose on Friday as oil prices slipped from recent highs after OPEC said it would boost crude output if the Middle East crisis hit supplies, with traders eagerly snapping up bargains.

The euro extended its rally against the dollar as expectations grow that the European Central Bank will hike interest rates soon as it tries to take the heat out of rising eurozone inflation.

Tokyo gained 0.71 percent, or 74.05 points, to end at 10,526.76 and Sydney ended 0.57 percent, or 27.2 points, higher at 4,836.5, while Seoul closed 0.69 percent, or 13.54 points, up at 1,963.42.

Hong Kong jumped 1.82 percent, or 411.33 points, to 23,012.37 after four straight days of losses.

Shanghai closed flat at 2,878.57 as strong bank results and easing fears over monetary tightening were offset by weaker gold miners and oil firms.

The oil price rally sparked by turmoil in the Middle East was halted, at least temporarily, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it would increase production to make up for any losses caused by unrest in oil exporter Libya.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said his country would increase output, according to commodities specialist Platts.

Jitters returned later in the day but oil prices were still well down from this week’s earlier highs.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was up $1.26 at $112.62 per barrel after almost hitting $120 late Thursday.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April, rose 36 cents to $97.64 after earlier heading north of $100.

Global stock markets have fallen over the past week as uprisings across the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa sparked fears of surging oil prices.

This in turn fuelled inflationary worries as many countries struggle to keep a lid on prices in the wake of the global financial crisis.

“With food prices already at very high levels, the last thing the global economy needs now is soaring energy prices,” said Khoon Goh, a senior economist at ANZ Bank in Wellington.

“Such a combination will surely present a real inflation challenge for central banks around the world,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The troubles in Libya, where Moamer Kadhafi was clinging to his four-decade rule, kept a cap on gains, however, as the death toll from the unrest climbs higher and thousands try to flee the country.

The euro climbed against the greenback after German central bank chief Axel Weber said Thursday that interest rates “can only go one way from here”.

“Rates only know one direction at the moment — and that is north,” he said.

The single European currency changed hands at $1.3817 in Tokyo afternoon trading, compared to 1.3797 in New York late Thursday. It rose to 113.29 yen from 112.94 yen.

Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, said: “The hawkish comment from Weber gave an additional fuel to speculation about the ECB’s rate hike.”

The dollar fetched 81.96 yen, little changed from 81.91 yen.

On the Tokyo exchange, car giant Toyota rose 2.18 percent to 3,755 yen despite news that it is recalling more than two million vehicles to fix floor mat and carpet defects that could jam the accelerator.

The improved sentiment saw the price of safe-haven gold lower than recent highs and it closed at $1,408.00-$1,409.00 an ounce, down from Thursday’s close of $1,414.00-$1,415.00.

In other markets:

– Singapore closed up 1.75 percent, or 52.08 points, at 3,025.16.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rose 0.87 percent to Sg$9.26 and Singapore Airlines gained 1.46 percent to Sg$13.86.

– Taipei rose 0.68 percent, or 58.01 points, to 8,599.65.

Chunghwa Telecom was up 0.23 percent at Tw$88.1.

– Manila gained 0.17 percent, or 6.20 points, to 3,737.04.

Aboitiz Equity rose 2.3 percent to 40.00 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone gained 1.1 percent to 2,222, but Metropolitan Bank was off 0.5 percent at 56.95.

– Jakarta rose 0.13 percent, or 4.40 points, to 3,443.53.

Coal producer Bumi rose 5.4 percent to 2,925 rupiah, car maker Astra ended up 0.3 percent at 51,550 and Bank Central Asia fell 2.4 percent to 6,100.

– Kuala Lumpur closed flat at 1,489.27.

Petronas Chemicals climbed 1.4 percent to 6.30 ringgit as plantations giant Sime Darby rose 0.2 percent to 9.04 and construction firm KL Kepong slid 2.8 percent to 20.20.

– Wellington edged down 0.13 percent, or 4.44 points, to 3,363.91.

Auckland Airport fell 0.9 percent to NZ$2.24 and resins maker Nuplex edged down 2.4 percent to NZ$3.31, but Fletcher Building gained 0.6 percent to NZ$8.63.

– Bangkok edged up 0.89 percent or 8.69 points to 985.91.

Banpu added 4.00 baht to 740.00, while PTT gained 3.00 baht to 343.00.

– Mumbai’s benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 68.5 points to 17,700.91 after the government said Friday the country’s economy could grow by over nine percent next year but warned inflation remained a concern

India’s second biggest mobile phone firm Reliance Communications fell 5.4 percent or five rupees to 87.55 on growing concerns over the ongoing probe into a suspected multi-billion-dollar telecom scandal.

Kernex Microsystems, which makes rail safety devices, fell 4.97 percent or 4.95 rupees to 94.6 while private rail wagon maker Titagarh Wagons, plunged 13.06 percent or 49.85 rupees to 331.8.

Australian floods may send coal prices soaring

NEW YORK: Epic floods sweeping Australia could seriously limit the world’s coal supplies, driving up prices and raising inflationary pressures throughout the global economy.

The huge northeastern state of Queensland, now largely under water, provides half the world’s needs for coking coal used in the steel-making industry.

“It could take several weeks to reopen mines which have been physically flooded,” said Ben Willacy, a Wood Mackenzie analyst based in Sydney.

“Mines that have not been flooded will be dependent on the reopening of rail systems,” he said.

According to IHS Global Insight, the floods in Australia have led to the closure of an estimated 90 million tonnes of annual production capacity.

Premium Peak Downs brand coking coal in Queensland was last quoted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia at 253 US dollars a tonne. Six months

Gold price plummets by Rs. 675 per tola

After decrease in the international Gold prices, local price of the commodity also decreased by Rs. 675 per tola, News Trends reported on Wednesday.

According to Sindh Sarafa Association per tola price of Gold has reached Rs.44,900 after the decrease whereas commodity price for 10 gram has decreased by Rs. 579 to reach Rs. 38,485.

On the other hand despite decreased international Silver prices, the local Siver prices maintained their level at Rs.975 per tola. Many fluctuations are being witnessed in the global Gold prices.

Pakistan to arm fighter jets with Chinese missiles

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed it will buy Chinese missiles and flight systems to equip its 250 JF-17 Thunder jet fighters as it seeks to deepen military cooperation with Beijing, state media said Thursday.

Rao Qamar Suleman, air chief marshal of the Pakistan Air Force, told the Global Times newspaper Chinese radar systems and SD-10 mid-range homing missiles would be used on the fighters co-developed by the two nations.

“PAF has no plans to install Western devices and weapons on the aircraft for the time being,” the newspaper quoted Suleman as saying.

Pakistan may also buy up to four Chinese surface-to-air missiles, as it seeks stronger cooperation with China to help upgrade its armed forces, Suleman told the China Daily in a separate interview.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual Zhuhai Air Show now under way in southern

Factbox: What to watch at the Seoul G20

SEOUL: World leaders gather in Seoul on Thursday and Friday for a Group of 20 summit aimed at safeguarding the global economic recovery and defusing trade and currency tensions.

This is the fifth meeting of the G20 leaders, representing advanced and emerging economies that account for about 85 percent of global output, since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008.

Here are the key issues that are expected to be discussed:

GLOBAL IMBALANCES: Ironing out rifts between export-rich countries and debt-laden consumer nations has become the G20′s cornerstone. Leaders have already agreed on a “framework” for balanced growth, and have submitted medium-term economic plans for International Monetary Fund review to ensure they do not clash.

Extending or deepening this framework might be one relatively easy spot to reach consensus in what look to be fraught

Factbox: What to watch at the Seoul G20

SEOUL: World leaders gather in Seoul on Thursday and Friday for a Group of 20 summit aimed at safeguarding the global economic recovery and defusing trade and currency tensions.

This is the fifth meeting of the G20 leaders, representing advanced and emerging economies that account for about 85 percent of global output, since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008.

Here are the key issues that are expected to be discussed:

GLOBAL IMBALANCES: Ironing out rifts between export-rich countries and debt-laden consumer nations has become the G20′s cornerstone. Leaders have already agreed on a “framework” for balanced growth, and have submitted medium-term economic plans for International Monetary Fund review to ensure they do not clash.

Extending or deepening this framework might be one relatively easy spot to reach consensus in what look to be fraught

Hundreds of trees chopped off along Shara-e-Faisal

Staff Report

KARACHI: Hundreds of trees have been chopped off along Shara-e-Faisal, one of the main boulevards in Karachi, due to advertising hoardings and sign boards.

Special safety measures are taken across the world to save trees, which are vital for health and the environment. However, the situation is the complete opposite in Karachi where large numbers of trees were cut down to save sign boards.

Presently, Pakistan ranks second in the global tree cutting index. If this process continues, the number of trees by 2020 will reduce to an alarming level. SAMAA

Sushma Reddy to be brand ambassador of Fair & Lovely?

Long time back, when somebody asked the ‘Lovely’ Sushma Reddy, “Sush, are you a Punjaban?” She only acted ‘Fair’ and said “Well… I am not a Punjaban. I am idli sambharan!” That’s Sushma Reddy for you. Smart, talented, beautiful and everything in between!

The news is that Sushma will now be seen as the brand ambassador of the global cosmetic giant ‘Fair & Lovely’, so informs Bollywood Hungama’s confirmed sources as well as the market buzz. Attempts to establish contacts with Sushma to confirm the same proved futile.

Looks like Sushma has lots of reasons to celebrate these days. On one hand, while she will be the face of the ‘Fair & Lovely’, on the other, her debut film (as a producer) called Dus Tola, is nearing its release. Some double whammy that!

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