BRIEFING - ASIA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - APRIL 29, 2011.

29, 2011, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

WORLD BANK NODS US$50MLN GRANT FOR AFGHAN TELECOM SECTOR

KABUL - The World Bank has approved a US$50 million grant to help the Afghan government expand connectivity, mainstream the use of mobile applications and support the development of the local information technology industry.

The individual development account (IDA) is meant for the Afghanistan Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector Development Project that builds on the success of earlier projects, the World Bank country office in Kabul said on Wednesday.

KABUL RESIDENTS TO HAVE COMPUTERISED ID CARDS IN 8 MONTHS

KABUL - Afghanistan will start distributing computerised national identity cards (CNIC) in eight months in the capital Kabul, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.

Initial stages of the CNIC project, being jointly implemented by the information technology and interior ministries, have been completed.

TAIWAN'S ACER SORRY FOR SHARE PRICE DROP: CHAIRMAN

TAIPEI - Acer Inc. (TAIEX:2353) chairman J.T. Wang apologized to the Taiwanese company's shareholders Thursday for the drop in Acer's shares to the lowest level in two years.

Acer's share price slumped 46 per cent this year after it cut its forecast on April 20, saying that its second-quarter PC shipments will drop 10 per cent from the January-March period.

TAIWAN'S AUO SEES SHARES HIT BY WORSE-THAN-EXPECTED Q1 RESULTS

TAIPEI - Shares of AU Optronics Corp. (AUO, TAIEX:2409) took a dive in heavy trade Thursday after the flat panel manufacturer reported worse-than-expected results for the first quarter of this year, dealers said.

AUO closed down 2.82 per cent to NT$24.15 (US$0.83) with 81.74 million shares changing hands, while the benchmark weighted index was down 0.09 per cent at 9,040.77.

INDIA'S WIPRO TO HIKE WAGES BY 12-15 PCT FOR STAFF IN INDIA

BANGALORE - India's third largest software exporter Wipro Ltd (BSE:507685) on Wednesday said it will hike salaries for its employees in India by 12-15 per cent as it looks to counter high attrition.

The wage hike, effective June 1, will be to the tune of 2-4 per cent for onsite staff (at the customer site).

INDIA'S HCL INFOSYSTEMS POSTS 11.2$ FALL IN MAR QTR NET PROFIT

MUMBAI - Indian IT firm HCL Infosystems (BSE:500179) on Thursday reported a decline of 11.2 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 53.28 crore (US$12.01 million) for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The company had a net profit of Rs 60 crore in the same period last year, HCL Infosystems said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

INDIA'S HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES POSTS MAR QTR NET PROFIT OF US$12M

MUMBAI - Indian software services firm Hexaware Technologies (BSE:532129) on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 53.83 crore (US$12.14 million) for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, vis-a-vis the same period last year.

The company had registered a net profit of Rs 11.55 crore in the same period a year earlier, Hexaware Technologies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

CHINA'S Q1 ELECTRONICS, IT INDUSTRIAL FIXED-ASSET INVESTMENT UP

BEIJING - The fixed-asset investment in China's electronics and information technology industry has maintained vigorous growth since the second half of 2010, and topped 144 billion yuan (US$22.15 billion) (covering only projects involving investment exceeding 5 million yuan each) in the first half of this year, up 82.4 per cent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The industry's fixed-asset investment in March surged 91.8 per cent year on year to 82.35 billion yuan, with the growth rate 51.7 percentage points higher than the same period of last year. Meanwhile, new fixed assets of the industry amounted to 59.37 billion yuan, soaring 85.8 per cent year on year.

AUST FOOTBALL LEAGUE MATCHES TO BE BROADCAST UNDER NEW TV DEAL

MELBOURNE - Starting next year, every Australian Football League game for the next five seasons will be broadcast live under the new TV and internet rights deal which was finalised on Thursday.

All games will be shown live on pay TV provider Foxtel, with Channel Seven holding the rights to the four premium matches each week on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night and Sunday afternoon.

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ASIA PULSE ry 29-04 1838