TA30 telecom stock index 13 Aug-15 Sept, 2004: TA30 index rises 7%

Telecom Asia, Oct, 2004

The TA30 index took a rebound and closed 7% higher at 1,130 points, following two consecutive months of decline.

The overall performance across the index was much improved from the previous month. Only four lost ground, two closed flat while the remainder moved upward.

The top gainer was Dacom, which climbing nearly 35%, against a 0.5% loss a month earlier. The big gainers were Nasdaq-listed Pacific Internet, moving up 26%, and Shin Sat of Thailand, rising 16%.

In the Philippines, Globe Telecom and rival PLDT also performed well, climbed 12.7% and 7.8% respectfully. Both carriers are expected to benefit from huge demand for mobile phones, driven by several promotions launched by the companies in recent months, according to analysts.

Among Hong Kong-listed stocks, China Unicom topped the gainer list with an increase of over 10%, beating China Mobile and China Telecom, whose 1H results were the best of the three Chinese telcos. The other Hong Kong-listed telcos such as PCCW, Hutchison Whampoa, SmarTone and the like also advanced.

Despite an impressive August result, Taiwan incumbent carrier Chunghwa Telecom remained flat, while rivals Taiwan Cellular and FarEastone both recovered from the previous month's loss.

On the downside, NTT dropped 12.1% as competition in the country's fixed-line intensified, with KDDI and Softbank undercutting each other's pricing. Meanwhile TCNZ extended its loss by falling another 4.9%, amid a spat of negative news, while Telstra and APT Sat also suffered losses.

                    RISING   FALLING
 UP    TA30 INDEX   STOCKS   STOCKS

7.0%     1,130        26        4

TA30 TELECOM STOCK INDEX 13 AUG-15 SEPT, 2004

     Company             Country   % change

1    Dacom               KR        34.9
2    Shinawatra Sat      TH        26.3
3    Pacific Internet    US        16.6
4    Samart Telecom      TH        15.7
5    Globe Telecom       PH        12.7
6    FarEastone          TW        11.7
7    SingTel Optus       AU        10.9
8    China Unicom        HK        10.6
9    Telekom Malaysia    MY        9.5
10   SingTel             SG        9.5
11   Hutchison           HK        8.8
12   AIS                 TH        8.3
13   Telkom Indonesia    ID        7.9
14   PLDT                PH        7.8
15   Korea Telecom       KR        6.8
16   SmarTone            HK        6.1
17   Indosat             ID        5.4
18   China Mobile        HK        5.2
19   Taiwan Cellular     TW        3.9
20   SK Telecom          KR        3.1
21   NTT DoCoMo          JP        3
22   China Telecom       HK        1.2
23   PCCW                HK        0.9
24   Vodafone Holdings   JP        0.7
25   KDDI                JP        0
26   Chunghwa Telecom    TW        0
27   APT Sat             HK        -0.7
28   Telstra             AU        -0.8
29   Telecom NZ          NZ        -4.9
30   NTT                 JP        -12.1