Stop Press - Singapore Telecommunications Private Ltd. to acquire Optus Communciations Proprietary Ltd., Acer Inc. financial results, Toyota Motor Corp. tries to increase appeal to younger consumers - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Business Asia, Sept, 2001

* WINNERS

It's been a long, drawn-out process, but Singapore Telecommunications has finally sewn up its deal to buy out Australia's No2 carrier, Optus. SingTel CEO and President Lee Hsien Yang must be breathing a sigh of relief, as the company he heads can now fully pursue its long-stated goal of becoming a regional telco power player. The successful move cements Lee's position as one of Asia's most powerful businessmen, and carries on the family tradition of success (his father is one of Asia's elder statesmen, Li ka-Shing).

* LOSERS

Acer chairman and new technology whiz Stan Shih is certainly not immune to the global tech slowdown. His company Acer, the only Taiwan company with an international brand name, has seen its profit in the second quarter all but evaporate as customers such as IBM place fewer orders. Net income in the three months to June fell to NT$176 million ($5 million) from NT$2.9 billion in the year earlier period. The company said it made an operating loss of NT$632 million in the first half of the year and expects to extend its losses in the third quarter. "Our strategy is now aimed at minimizing losses, not posting profit," said Acer Chief Financial Officer Philip Peng. Acer, once among the seven largest personal computer makers, stopped selling its own-brand computers in the US retail market late last year to focus on making PCs for other companies.

KEEP AN EYE ON

Toyota Motor Corp, the third-largest automaker, is hoping to lure younger customers in the US as part of its plan to raise sales in the fastest-growing segment of the population. Toyota established a so-called Genesis project targeted at younger customers in the US to plan, develop, market and advertise products, said director Yukitoshi Funo. The project is conducted by a group of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc employees who are younger than 35, he said. The maker of Camry sedans and Matrix sport-utility vehicles wants to revamp its image in the US to attract younger buyers in the largest car market. The biggest portion of the population, making up about a quarter of the total, is the 71 million Americans born between 1977 and 1994, known as "Generation Y". Yet analysts say that Toyota, instead of establishing the Genesis project, should have set up a third brand aimed at young people, in the same way it set up the Lexus brand separately to attract affluent buyers.