Buoyant start to 2006

Telecom Asia, Feb, 2006

The TA Index stock extended its gain for the second consecutive month, closing 5.2% or 65 points higher from the previous month, as most Asian markets were off to a good start for 2006. Gainers outnumbered decliners 26 to 4.

The top gainer was APT Satellite, which rose 31.6% after a 4.9% fall the previous month. The other top winner was South Korean broadband ISP Dacom, which continued to perform strongly, extending its gain by another 22.6% from the previous month's 14.3%.

The Hang Seng Index hit a five-year high last month after the US Fed signaled that interest rates may have peaked. Most Hong Kong-listed firms posted strong gains on the Fed announcement and optimism about the market outlook in 2006, with China Telecom, Hutchison, China Unicom and PCCW advancing between 8.8% and 5.2%. Hutchison, which plans to list its 3G Italy arm this month, climbed 8.2%, from a 1.5% loss the previous month.

China Netcom rebounded 3.9% after a 1.5% loss the previous month. Mobile heavyweight China Mobile rose 2.5% after independent shareholders of China Resources Peoples Telephone approved the company's $436 million buyout plan.

In Thailand, Shin Sat rose 6.3% amid reports suggesting that the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would sell its controlling interest in Shin Corp to a Singaporean buyer. Shin Sat's sister company, AIS, continued to perform well, moving up 3.8% while Samart Telecom jumped 9.1%.

In New Zealand incumbent Telecom NZ gained 2.3% amid news that the incumbent hadn't given up the potential sale on its ailing Australian AAPT unit.

Elsewhere in the region, markets in Australia, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia all closed higher. NTT DoCoMo added 8.9%.

The Taiwan market closed mixed, with Taiwan Mobile slipping 2.5% while rivals Far EasTone rose 1.9% and incumbent Chunghwa Telecom gained 0.5%.

On the downside, Pacific Internet, which won a CRM deal from China Telecom, fell 4.2%, extending its loss for the second consecutive month. Meanwhile, SK Telecom slipped 1.3% and rival KT lost ground with a 3.8% fall.

Company                  Country     % change

1 APT Sat                   HK         31.6
2 Dacom                     KR         22.6
3 Samart Telecom            TH          9.1
4 NTT DoCoMo                JP          8.9
5 China Telecom             HK          8.8
6 Hutchison                 HK          8.2
7 NTT                       JP          7.6
8 Indosat                   ID          7.4
9 China Unicom              HK          7
10 KDDI                     JP          6.3
11 Shinawatra Sat           TH          6.3
12 PLDT                     PH          6.3
13 PCCW                     HK          5.2
14 Telkom Indonesia         ID          5.1
15 Globe Telecom            PH          4.1
16 China Netcom             HK          3.9
17 AIS                      TH          3.8
18 Telstra                  AU          3.7
19 SingTel Optus            AU          2.9
20 China Mobile             HK          2.5
21 Telecom NZ               NZ          2.3
22 FarEastone               TW          1.9
23 Telekom Malaysia         MY          1.1
24 SmarTone                 HK          0.6
25 Chunghwa Telecom         TW          0.5
26 SingTel                  SG          0.4
27 SK Telecom               KR         -1.3
28 Taiwan Mobile            TW         -2.5
29 Korea Telecom            KR         -3.8
30 Pacific Internet         US         -4.2