2012-09-10 06:17:14 - Hong Kong Telecommunications Report Q1 2012 - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com

Hong Kongs mobile industry grew by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to reach 14.42mn in September 2011. Excluding inactive prepaid subscriptions, there were 12.71mn mobile subscribers, up by 3.1% q-oq.

In our newly extended forecast, we expect the territory to have 17,421mn mobile subscribers (includes inactive prepaid subscriptions) at the end of 2016, representing a penetration rate of 232.0%, on the back of multiple SIM ownership and strong demand for prepaid services. The strong interest in mobile services is to the detriment of Hong Kongs fixed-line sector. We envisage the number of fixed-lines in the territory to decline to 3.332mn by end 2016, down from the 3.540mn expected in 2011. Lastly, we have also revised our internet user and fixed broadband subscriber forecasts.

 

 

The continued expansion in operators fibre broadband network is expected to have helped internet and broadband penetration rates maintain their growth momentum in the near future.

In October 2011, PCCW obtained shareholders approval for its plan to spin off its telecoms units, which resulted in the first non-real estate trust listing in Hong Kong. The initial public offering was launched on November 16 2011 amid an increasingly uncertain global economy. Consequently, PCCW raised HKD9.3bn after issuing 2.05bn share stapled units at a price of HKD4.53 a share, which was at the bottom end of the indicative range of HKD4.53 to HKD5.38 a unit.

Hong Kongs Office of the Telecommunications Authority awarded SmarTone Communications and Hutchison Telecommunications with 20MHz of spectrum in the 850MHz and 900MHz frequency bands respectively in March. Within the same year, the regulator announced in November that it is inviting interested parties to participate in the auction of broadband wireless access licences in the 2.3GHz frequency band. While the additional resource would continue to help alleviate pressure from the rapidly growing consumer data demand, we expect a greater push for next-generation technologies to increase the efficiency of the scarce spectrum in the long run.

Hong Kong was ranked fourth in BMIs latest Risk Reward Ratings (formerly Business Environment Ratings). Although the territory has limited growth potential in spite of its population size and maturity, there is healthy competition among operators and consumers are generally receptive to new products and services. However, we highlight that Hong Kong barely escaped a technical recession in Q311, with real GDP growth coming in at a seasonally adjusted 0.1% quarter-on-quarter. On the back of mounting headwinds in China, US and Europe, we anticipate Q411 growth to come in weaker at 3.2% year-on-year, compared with 4.3% in Q311, bringing the 2011 full-year growth to 5.0%. Meanwhile, we expect the economy to grow at a weaker 3.0% in 2012, below consensus estimates of 4.5%.The price of this market report covers 4 quarterly reports on this sector. This quarterly report will be downloadable instantly as a PDF document, with the 3 remaining reports delivered at regular intervals throughout the year.

Click for report details: www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market/Telecommunications/Market-Res ..

Browse all Telecommunications Market Research Reports www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market/Telecommunications/Market-Res ..

Browse all Telecommunications Company Profile Reports www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market/Telecommunications/Company-Pr ..

Browse all Latest Market Research Reports www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market/All/Market-Research?aCode=f3f ..

About Us
Companiesandmarkets.com is a leading online business information aggregator with over 300,000 market reports and company profiles available to our clients. Our extensive range of reports are sourced from the leading publishers of business information and provide clients with the widest range of information available. In terms of company profiles, Companiesandmarkets.com’s online database allows clients access to market and corporate information to over 100,000 different companies. We provide clients with a fully indexed database of information where clients can find specific market reports on their niche industry sectors of interest.