Full-year 2009 module shipments are expected to be between 350 to 400 MW, with about 300 MW of shipments currently contracted. Trina's non-silicon production costs are expected to drop by 15 percent to 20 percent this year.

- ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) announced that sales for 2008 rose to US$669 - US$671 million on production of 363 megawatts but fourth quarter loss of US$125 - US$130 million due to inventory writedown of US$130 million to US$140 million caused by the drop in the price of polysilicon. The Company in November forecast sales of US$640 million to US$670 million on production of 340-350 megawatts. ReneSolar is the worlds largest recycle of scrap wafers in solar panels. For 2009. The company forecast sales of US$650 US$700 million on production of 620-670 megawatts.

Taiwan

- Taiwan Mobile Co. (TW:3045) expects to sell more than 50,000 netbooks in 2009, including own-brand netbooks that it will begin selling. Taiwan Mobile began selling netbooks in October. They have increased subscribers to the company's wireless Internet connection services by 20 percent. Netbooks are primarily designed for Internet browsing and mobile computing. They cost less than conventional laptop computers, and are lighter and smaller.

- Hon Hai (TW:2317) had recently increased its number of employees in China by 5 percent despite the global downturn. Hon Hai is a contract manufacturer that makes some of the world's most famous gadgets, including Apple's iPhone, Nokia cellphones and Nintendo's Wii game console.

- Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) announced a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TW:2330), which aims at expanding the market for Atom, Intel's smallest chip. The two companies have reached agreement to collaborate on technology, intellectual property and other issues related to the Atom chip. The agreement will allow TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry, to build system-on-chip platforms around the Atom design. The partnership with TSMC could lead to customized chips that could provide Intel access to new markets it can't reach alone. Atom, which features 47 million transistors, is Intel's smallest processor. It is designed specifically for new mobile Internet devices and simple, low-cost personal computers.

- ProMOS Technologies Inc. (TW:5387) said more than 50 percent of investors of its convertible bond had agreed to accept its offer to buy back at a discount or withdraw their redemptions of the bonds. ProMOS has also extended the deadline for the buyback by around 10 working days from March 2. Bondholders would get more money back if they tendered their bonds early. Besides a base tender of US$100, ProMOS would give an early tender premium of US$100 if investors tendered their bonds by March 17. ProMOS launched a tender to buy back US$336 million in convertible bonds at US$100 each. Investors who participate in the tender would also get an extra premium of up to US$65 if the minimum acceptance rate of the offer exceeds 86 percent. Thus, they would get US$265 for every US$1,000 principal.

- Mediatek (TW:2454) expects first-quarter sales to grow 8-13 percent from the fourth quarter, compared with a previous forecast of an 8-16 percent drop. The revision was because demand for cellphone chips from the emerging markets was better than it had expected. Mediateks first-quarter gross profit margin will rise slightly from the previous three months due partly to a weaker Taiwan dollar.

Hong Kong

- Pacnet, is rumored to have approached AAPT owner Telecom NZ to bid for AAPT but both AAPT and Telecom NZ declined to comment. In December, Pacnet was rumored to have offered US$420 million for AAPT. Telecom NZ said at the time it was absolutely committed to AAPT, but refused to comment on rumors it was up for sale. AAPT recently downgraded its profit forecast by A$10 million ($6.3 million), and is now projecting profits of A$60-80 million.

- Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (NYSE:HTX) said its 2008 net profit fell sharply from a year earlier and it will spin off and list its Hong Kong and Macau operations separately in an effort to unlock the value of those profitable businesses. The telecommunications operator, 60.4 percent-owned by conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (HK:0013), has applied to the Hong Kong stock exchange to list these operations separately on the bourse in May without raising new capital and shares in the units will be given as an interim dividend to its shareholders. Hutchison Telecom said its net profit last year was HK$1.9 billion (US$242 million). Its 2007 net profit was boosted by a HK$69.3 billion (US$8.9 million) disposal gain from the sale of its 67 percent stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd. to U.K.-based Vodafone Group PLC. Valuations for the company's Hong Kong and Macau businesses would be higher if they were spun off from Hutchison Telecom, whose valuation is being dragged down by unprofitable operations in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The company named Goldman Sachs Group as the adviser for the spin-off.

- Hong Kong had 11.37 million mobile users at the end of December 2008, up from 10.59 million in December 2007. The number of prepaid users rose to 4.25 million, from 3.93 million a year earlier. Hong Kong ended the year with 2.91 million 2.5G and 3G users, versus 2.75 million in 2007, and the number of 3G users rose to 2.81 million, from 2 million. Furthermore, the number of people connecting through an MVNO went up to 834,517 from 724,187 a year earlier.


About IRG

IRG is a financial advisory and investment firm focused on the core growth sectors in Asia with particular emphasis on the telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) sectors. IRG's Financial Advisory business is underpinned by the decades of experience in Asia of IRG's professionals, resulting in a unique network of relationships with global and Asian corporations, government institutions, and public and private equity investors. IRG has developed and structured many of the largest and most innovative transactions in the key growth sectors in Asia over the last decade. IRG's Investment business is supported by its corporate finance experience in Asia with over US$13 billion in completed public and private markets transactions executed by IRG professionals over their respective careers in Asia. IRG's platform covers Greater China (Hong Kong, China and Taiwan), Japan, Korea, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Australia. For more information, please contact Juliette Chow at Tel: +852 2237 6000 or E-mail: juliette@irg.biz

About IRG

IRG is a financial advisory and investment firm focused on the core growth sectors in Asia with particular emphasis on the telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) sectors. IRG's Financial Advisory business is underpinned by the decades of experience in Asia of IRG's professionals, resulting in a unique network of relationships with global and Asian corporations, government institutions, and public and private equity investors. IRG has developed and structured many of the largest and most innovative transactions in the key growth sectors in Asia over the last decade. IRG's Investment business is supported by its corporate finance experience in Asia with over US$13 billion in completed public and private markets transactions executed by IRG professionals over their respective careers in Asia. IRG's platform covers Greater China (Hong Kong, China and Taiwan), Japan, Korea, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Australia. For more information, please contact Juliette Chow at Tel: +852 2237 6000 or E-mail: juliette@irg.biz





Source: IRGCopyright 2009 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved.