TODAY'S HEADLINE
IPHONE 5 BASH STARTS, BUT STARHUB LATE TO 4G PARTY  
Telcos see huge wave of interest for latest handset but StarHub customers will have to wait till year'end for 4G experience; new price plans to eat into data usage.

Pent'up demand for the latest iPhone will be unleashed today with record numbers on telco wait'lists. But for StarHub, the wait will be of an entirely di'erent nature.

Hobbled by certi'cation woes, the telco will be the only one here not o'ering 4G services for Apple's iPhone 5.

"While the iPhone 5 that StarHub is selling is 4G'capable, iPhone 5 users will not be able to connect to our 4G network at this moment . . . We are working closely with the relevant parties to certify the device for our 4G network. We expect that by end'2012 our iPhone 5 customers will be able to seamlessly connect to our 4G network," StarHub said.

In the meantime, StarHub customers will use their shiny new handsets on the advanced 3G network  ' which the telco took pains to point out is now twice as fast as it was before. As there is no premium on 4G services, the price plans for both networks are identical.

Over at StarHub's competitors, iPhone mania has continued unabated since the handset was launched last week.

SingTel saw 68,000 registrations of interest on its website over a six'day period  ' an all'time high. Even so, 58,000 will spend the weekend su'ering abject handset envy, because only 10,000 appointment slots to pick up the handset at Marina Bay Sands have been allocated from now until Sunday.

Those slots opened up for booking online on Wednesday night and were 'lled up within 90 minutes.

M1 also closed its online registration process on Wednesday, after experiencing "overwhelming" demand. Unlike SingTel, M1 will not have appointment slots tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, but customers who successfully registered online will be given priority to buy the handset at all M1 stores, on a 'rst'come, 'rst'served basis from 8am today.

In this regard, the boost in earnings from sales of iPhone 5 will be pushed further out into the future, i.e. end of 2012, for Starhub. In the meantime, Starhub may face risk of losing market share to M1 or Singtel in mobile phone 4G services segment. We expect Starhub (S$3.75, Unrated), M1  (S$2.80, Unrated) and Singtel (S$3.31, Unrated) to be in focus today.

NEWS BUZZ
United Envirotech (S$0.35) 
Acquires plant
United Envirotech's 70% owned subsidiary, United Envirotech Water (Changyi), has inked a deal to acquire an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Shandong, China. The 'rm will upgrade and expand the plant in three phases. The 'rst phase of the project will cost 120mil yuan (S$23.2mil).

Datapulse Technology (S$0.205) 
Pro't falls 34.9% to $7m
Datapulse Technology's net pro't for the year ended July 2012 fell 34.9% to $7mil, or 1.18 cents per share, amid pricing pressure and a weak economic environment.

The CD and DVD replication specialist incurred a $2.1 million loss from a Taiwan unit that was discontinued a year ago. Datapulse, which is expecting a "challenging" environment ahead, is recommending a 'nal dividend of one cent per share and a special dividend of also one cent per share.

Global Logistic Properties (S$2.57) 
Incorporates new 'rm in China
Global Logistic Properties (GLP) has incorporated GLP I'Park Xi'an Science & Technology Industrial Development in China with a registered capital of 285mil yuan (S$55.4mil). The new indirect associated company will be engaged in the provision of distribution facilities and services.

Singapore Telecommunications (S$3.31)  
Acquires Pixable for US$26.5m   
Singapore Telecommunications has bought photo smartphone app Pixable for US$26.5mil. The acquisition follows the telco's US$321mil purchase of mobile ad 'rm Amobee and $12mil buyout of restaurant site HungryGoWhere as part of its a''empt to reinvent itself as a player in the digital services 'eld.
Source: The Business Times

Source:  AmFraser