Snapshots

Indosat Ooredoo and PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia have agreed to merge their complementary Indonesian businesses with a total transaction value of US$6 billion. The merged company will be the archipelago nation’s second-biggest and world-class telecom and Internet giant with over US$3 billion in revenues. Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will have the financial and customer scale to invest even more into its network and deliver more value to customers and shareholders in Indonesia.

Canning Fok, Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison, said: “With greater scale, expanded spectrum, and a more efficient cost structure, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will be better positioned to extend the rollout of its network and enhance service quality and speed.” Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Managing Director of Ooredoo Group, concluded: “This merged company will deliver significant value and benefits for all stakeholders including Indosat Ooredoo and Ooredoo Group shareholders, customers, employees and Indonesia.”

The combined company will be able to leverage the experience and expertise of CK Hutchison and Ooredoo Group in 5G and traditional networks, technologies, products and services to drive accelerated innovation across Indonesia’s digital economy. Both parties expressed gratitude for the sound policy environment that regulators and the Indonesian government have created for the telecom industry. 

The star-studded celebrity event to launch 3 Hong Kong’s Passion beyond Imagination non-fungible token (NFT) art and 3’s rapidly expanding 5G network, were in the spotlight. Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings (HTHKH) has invested over HK$3 billion since 2019 to expand its mobile network and develop 5G. Many 3.5 GHz 5G ‘golden spectrum’ base stations have been deployed – more than any other provider in town – to the delight of customers enjoying super-high speed and ultra-low latency. In Hong Kong, there are more than 400 sales points in Fortress, PARKnSHOP, Watsons and 3 stores, plus online channels. Canning Fok, HTHKH Chairman and Group Co-Managing Director of CK Hutchison, said that by leveraging 3 Group’s global network in 12 markets, advanced technologies and services can easily be introduced to Hong Kong from other markets, making 3 Hong Kong the undisputed king of delivering 5G services in the city. 

HUTCHMED is the new brand for the innovative biopharmaceutical business formerly known as Hutchison China MediTech. The company recently launched a successful listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (adding to its London AIM and Nasdaq presence), under the venerable stock code 13, which had been held by Hutchison Whampoa. It is now included in over 10 indexes including the Hang Seng Composite Index, the main board listing in Hong Kong, in addition to the Hang Seng Healthcare Index, and the Hang Seng Hong Kong-Listed Biotech Index. Mainland investors also have access to the stock through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programmes. 

5G technology is coming to Sohar Port in Oman. Hutchison Ports Sohar has signed a memorandum of understanding with local telecoms firm Omantel and China’s Huawei to develop a proof of concept (PoC) study. The study will encompass two phases. The first will cover 5G-based video surveillance of port facilities and the use of artificial intelligence. The second phase will explore the use of handheld and push-to-talk devices to improve port operations. The PoC will support the national logistics aims of the ‘Oman Vision 2040’ programme. 

UK Power Networks will commit almost £1 million to upgrading the electricity grid to allow for renewable energy to be connected to the power grid for households in Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Wind and solar farms will be able to feed energy into the power system, reducing reliance on non-renewable sources. The ‘load blinding relays’ are like safety valves that help to monitor electricity. 

3 Denmark has secured a wide swathe of radio bandwidth for the next 20 years after paying top dollar in a recent auction by the national regulator. The 3.5 GHz frequency ‘property’ will mean that 3 Denmark will be able to deliver a superior 5G service to its customers in the Scandinavian nation. It also secured bandwidth in other spectra that will bolster its current 4G and 5G services. Furthermore, its acquisitions in the 26 GHz band will empower its offerings in ultra-fast mmWave technology. 

New Zealand’s EnviroWaste is setting a target of keeping concrete out of landfill by using an innovative process to recycle the vital building material to create various grades of aggregate. A new recovery and processing plant has been unveiled at its Bombay Resource Recovery facility in South Auckland. The company has a long history of innovative recycling including kerbside collection of recyclables, food scraps and glass recycling. The latest plant will help New Zealand to reduce the environmental impact of its current building boom by bringing old concrete into new projects and reducing the need to mine virgin sand and coarse aggregate. 

Orpathys® (savolitinib, for lung cancer) and Sulanda® (surufatinib, for neuroendocrine tumours) have both been approved for use and then launched in Mainland China this year. Both drugs are unique, novel therapies created by HUTCHMED. Orpathys® is the only targeted medicine approved for these biomarker-selected patients in the Mainland. Sulanda®’s two recent approvals make it the first-ever drug launched to counter neuroendocrine tumours regardless of tumour origin, and approvals are also being sought in major jurisdictions such as the US and Europe. 

3 Hong Kong is leveraging the footprint of over 400 A.S. Watson Group (ASW) retail outlets across Hong Kong including Watsons and PARKnSHOP. SoSIM pre-paid SIM cards can be purchased and recharged at the many locations. Buying SoSIM at ASW outlets also earns points on MoneyBack, the multi-retail brand loyalty programme. MoneyBack members can also receive a range of offers. 

Hutchison Ports is expanding to encompass a neighbouring deep-water quay in the Port of Rotterdam. It will acquire the 13 ship-to-shore gantry cranes and facilities currently owned by APM Terminals Rotterdam. This will further strengthen the port operator’s presence in the Port of Rotterdam, where it currently handles the majority of containers in the port through ECT’s Delta and Euromax terminals. 

CKH Innovations Opportunities Development (CKH IOD) is launching a new gaming platform on mobile services provider 3 Austria. It has worked with cloud gaming platform provider Blacknut to open a new world of gaming to subscribers. Up to five family members can access over 500 family-friendly games across a range of linked platforms, from smartphones to home computers. The Blacknut cloud gaming platform will be a core element of CKH IOD’s gaming strategy, enabling seamless multi-screen access and immersive experiences across a rich and dynamic portfolio of games, unlocking the power of our 5G networks for all Blacknut customers. 

The six-nation ‘Watsons X Grab’ partnership will hypercharge the O+O (online plus offline) shopping experience, and will see Watsons partnering with Grab, Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and delivery juggernaut. Watsons stores in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines will form the backbone of this new shopping, payments and delivery behemoth. Watsons’ 2,300 stores continue to grow, with e-commerce sales doubling in 2020. 

HUTCHMED welcomes the approval of Surufatinib for the treatment of non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. A 420-strong commercial team will now bring the drug – discovered and developed completely in-house – to doctors and patients across Mainland China to help fight cancer. It will be marketed under the brand name Sulanda®. The pharmaceutical innovator has also initiated a rolling submission of its New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration. 

Hutchison Ports, in an online signing ceremony in February, committed to developing a new port in Jazan on the southern extremity of the west Saudi Arabian coast. The Jazan City Primary and Downstream Industries Port lies on the Belt and Road Initiative route and will play a vital role in the economies of southern Saudi Arabia and its neighbours in southern and eastern Africa. Commercial operation is expected to start in early 2022. 

Northern Gas Networks is partnering with National Grid and others to create a £12.7 million closed-loop experimental system to test the use of hydrogen in support of the UK’s goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The multi-firm collaboration will receive an award of £9.07 million from Ofgem (the UK energy regulator) via their Network Innovation Competition. 

The ‘Oman Vision 2040’ plan will get a supercharge with the addition of plans to expand SOHAR Port and Freezone to accommodate next-generation mega vessels at a new container terminal. Hutchison Ports Sohar has signed an agreement to conduct a feasibility study for the expansion. In line with implementing state-of-the-art equipment at the port, eight remote-controlled hybrid rubber-tyred gantry cranes have been deployed, improving efficiency. 

With brighter days – and even brighter nights – ahead, UK Power Networks is upgrading London’s nightlife. A £16.2 million upgrade discreetly installed under the legendary Leicester Square Gardens will see three major transformers replaced with cleaner and greener successors over a two-year period. The site will also be visited by school leavers and out-of-work young people being helped by a local programme to develop career-starting skills for a brighter future. 

3 Hong Kong and FORTRESS teamed up to create [email protected] – a shop-in-shop experience inside 26 FORTRESS stores. In addition to purchasing a wide range of home appliances, smartphones and accessories, customers can access mobile services including subscriptions, contract renewals, SIM card replacement, name changing, bill payment and autopay services – promoting all-round new 5G smart living experience. 

HK Electric provides a free one-stop Smart Power EV Charging Solution service to assist customers in implementing electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, including accessing a HK$2 billion government fund for the installation of EV charging-enabled infrastructure in private residential buildings. The free charging service at HK Electric’s 12 EV charging stations across Hong Kong Island has also been extended to the end of December 2021 and half of these now feature new multi-standard quick chargers. 

CK Hutchison has agreed to sell its interests in its European tower assets and businesses to Cellnex Telecom for €10 billion in six transactions. These transactions will unlock the underlying value of its telecommunications division and realise a number of strategic and financial benefits for the Group, including acceleration in rolling out 5G across all of CK Hutchison Group Telecom’s networks as well as forming long-term ties with Cellnex that will serve the Group’s future passive infrastructure needs. Austria, Denmark and Ireland completed their transactions in December 2020 with the remaining countries looking to complete this year. 

CK Hutchison and Ooredoo sign an MOU, entering into negotiations to potentially combine their Indonesian telecommunications businesses, PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia and PT Indosat TBK. Both companies will proceed with negotiations on an exclusive basis until 30 April 2021. 

A.S. Watson Group (ASW) unleashed a flurry of firsts as it celebrated its franchise agreement with Al-Futtaim, an international retail conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates, to launch a Watsons flagship location in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. This move breaks new ground in two ways – ASW’s first-ever franchise agreement and its first foray into the Middle East. 

A new container terminal is in the works in Abu Qir as Hutchison Ports confirmed a US$730 million project with the Egyptian Navy that will connect a two-way highway to Alexandria and a national road network to Cairo. The first phase is expected to commence operations in 2022. 

Husky Energy and Cenovus combined their businesses to become the third-largest Canadian oil and natural gas company. The combination will result in  C$1.2 billion in cost and capital synergies, enhance free funds flow generation and deliver superior return opportunities for investors. Industry analysts forecast that, as no equity accounting is required as it will hold less than 20% of the combined company, CKHH will have less earnings exposure to low oil prices but much greater value if prices rise. 

Copenhagen and Roskilde are the first spots to enjoy the beginning of 5G in Denmark for customers of 3 Denmark and those under the Oister brand. With this successful leap at the end of the year, the network will continue to expand and be made available to the whole country by 2022. 

Husky Energy has achieved first oil in Saskatchewan at its Spruce Lake Central thermal project, and started gas production from the Liuhua 29-1 field in the South China Sea. A strong and steady stream of free cash flow is highly anticipated upon the completion of both ventures. 

Northern Gas Networks received a £770,000 grant to link the Bradford Alternative Fuel Centre to the gas network which will, in turn, power the development of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station. This funding from Ofgem will help the UK on its way towards reaching its decarbonisation goals, building on the green advantages of CNG as a fuel alternative. 

Powercor opened two new depots, valued at A$10 million each, in Kyneton and Shepparton, Australia. These developments have replaced outdated facilities from the ’60s and ’70s, allowing its local workers an upgraded space to continue providing its services to their communities.

Fun fact: A heritage-listed tree graces the front of the Kyneton depot!