FTSE Russell to delist Chinese firms; Ericsson warns against Sweden's Huawei ban

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* The FTSE Russell will remove three Chinese companies from some of its indexes, effective Jan. 7, following U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order banning Americans from investing in entities believed to have Chinese military ties. The companies are China United Network Communications Ltd., Nanjing Panda Electronics Co. Ltd. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. FTSE Russell will also delete SMIC from its FTSE China 50 Index and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd. from its FTSE China A50 index, Reuters reported.

* Ericsson threatened to stop operations in Sweden if the government refuses to lift the ban on Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s access to 5G network contracts, Dagens Nyheter reported.

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Table of contents for issue No. 796.

TECHNOLOGY

* Deutsche Bank AG completed the sale of its information technology unit Postbank Systems AG to Indian software exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Postbank Systems and about 1,500 employees of the unit will be a part of Tata Consultancy Services under the transaction's terms.

* IQIYI Inc.'s virtual reality business unit iQIYI Smart secured several hundred million Chinese yuan in a series B funding round, 36kr reported. The investment will go to research and development and ecosystem development.

* Indonesian operator PT Telekomunikasi Selular will focus on developing its digital businesses this year through tie-ups with strategic partners, Bisnis reported.

* Tencent Holdings Ltd. signed an agreement with Qi An Xin Technology Group Inc. to improve cybersecurity in China, Jiemian reported.

* Mobile data traffic sharing marketplace uCloudlink Group Inc. extended its existing tie-up with China Mobile International (UK) Ltd. to provide network connection support for multinational firms.

* Hu Xi is no longer the chairman of Ant Cloud Financial Information, a cloud service unit under Ant Group Co. Ltd., 36kr reported, citing Tianyancha. Chief Technology Officer Ni Xingjun replaced Hu.

* Indian IT, BPO, and consulting services provider Hexaware Technologies Ltd. promoted a member of its board, Rajeev Kumar Mehta, to the role of nonexecutive chairman. Hexaware founder and current Chairman Atul Nishar will step down from his role and become the company's chairman emeritus.

* SK Telecom Co. Ltd. will make artificial intelligence a foundation for all of the company's works and services in 2021, Digital Daily reported, citing CEO Park Jung-ho.

* NTT Docomo Inc. conducted a trial of the Docomo IoT high-precision GNSS location information service, which will aim to utilize high-precision positioning technology for autonomous driving, Tetsudo-ch.com reported.

MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

* Carta Holdings Inc. unit Voyage Group Inc. formed Telecy Inc., a joint venture with Japan's Dentsu Group Inc. that operates a TV commercial platform, ZDNet Japan reported.

* CJ ENM Co. Ltd. renamed its O Shopping and E&M divisions to the Commerce and Entertainment divisions, respectively, ChosunBiz reported.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* CAT Telecom PCL and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. are forming a new mobile service provider in Thailand with a particular focus on 5G technology, The Bangkok Insight reported. The deal is expected to be signed on Jan. 5.

* Thai telco conglomerate True Corp. will begin using the 700 MHz band for 5G services nationwide on Jan. 15, Prachachat reported. True said its team of technicians has been testing the service across Thailand to ensure a smooth transition.

* Telstra Corp. Ltd. plans to use the mobile spectrum it will acquire in upcoming auctions to further boost its 5G services, The Australian Financial Review reported.

* PT XL Axiata Tbk intends to join the next 5G spectrum auction in Indonesia after failing to secure a previous bid, Kontan reported. The company has performed a 4G/5G Dynamic Spectrum Sharing technology trial to test its 5G network readiness.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* Bharti Airtel Ltd., Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., or Vi, could urge the Indian government to release and auction out 26 GHz frequencies for ultrafast wireless broadband services in the country, The Economic Times (India) reported.

* Reliance Jio's parent entity Reliance Industries Ltd. will file court petitions in India, seeking protection from a vandalism campaign against its businesses, Financial Times (London) reported. More than 1,500 of Reliance's telecom towers were damaged due to protests by farmers against the government's agricultural reforms, which they claim would benefit corporate interests.

* Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Thailand's minister of digital economy and society, promised to name a nonpartisan outsider as CEO of National Telecom PCL on Jan. 5, Krungthep Turakij reported. The new telco arises out of a merger of state enterprises TOT PCL and CAT Telecom.

MARKETS

Click here for a summary of indexes on the MI platform.

John Chan, Myungran Ha, Frances Wang, Kevin Osmond and Wil Hathaway contributed to this report.

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