Japanese telecom and media group SoftBank Corp has agreed to buy a $627 million stake in Indian online retailer Snapdeal, seeking to tap into potentially huge e-commerce growth in the market with the world's third-biggest Internet user base.
Asia/Pacific
Nintendo to develop 'quality of life' device to track sleep, fatigue: CEO
Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd will develop a device to measure a user's fatigue and map their sleep, Chief Executive Satoru Iwata said on Thursday, the first offering from the company's newly created healthcare division.
Xiaomi moves into third place in global smartphone war
China's Xiaomi Inc has become the world's third-largest smartphone vendor just three years after first hitting the market, trailing only Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc, according to a new industry study.
SoftBank's humanoid robot lands job as Nescafe salesman
Nestle SA will enlist a thousand humanoid robots to help sell its coffee makers at electronics stores across Japan, becoming the first corporate customer for the chatty, bug-eyed androids unveiled in June by tech conglomerate SoftBank Corp.
Japan's Rakuten Inc launches cheap smartphone service
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc said it will offer a cut-rate smartphone service for about a third of the monthly fees charged by the country's three dominant operators, adding to increasing price competition in the sector.
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Samsung Group heir apparent Jay Y. Lee is moving to acquire small stakes in two of the group's financial firms, which analysts say will help the scion solidify control of South Korea's largest conglomerate as a succession looms.
Japanese retail sales rose 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, suggesting consumer spending is gradually picking up.
China's top trainmakers, China CNR (601299.SS)(6199.HK) and CSR Corp (601766.SS)(1766.HK), are planning to merge as the country aims to promote its high-speed train technology abroad, the China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.
China has banned private clubs in historical buildings, parks and other public facilities because they are hindering the fight against corruption, state media said on Monday, as the government broadens its anti-graft and frugality campaigns.
Japan's new trade and industry minister received contributions from a firm in which foreign investors held a majority stake, but was not aware of the possible violation of the political funds law at the time and has returned the money, an aide said on Monday.
"Super Mario Bros" creator Shigeru Miyamoto has produced some of the world's biggest video game hits over the past three decades, and now he has added film producer to his long list of credits.
Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Monday it would buy 49 percent of Texas-based Kalon Biotherapeutics LLC, which has expertise in manufacturing vaccines used against pandemic influenza, Ebola and other public-health threats.
Asian equities rose on Monday, taking heart from upbeat earnings and economic data that eased recent global growth fears and sharpened risk appetite, while the dollar advanced to a three-week high against the yen.
A top Japanese government official said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should delay a planned sales-tax increase, the strongest sign yet that economic weakness is causing concern among those close to the premier ahead of the difficult tax decision.
