KT to invest $11B in GiGA network
South Korea’s KT plans to invest KRW13 trillion ($10.9 billion) over the next five years to set up an intelligent ‘GiGA’ infrastructure and create new businesses through ICT convergence.

Its GiGA projects include an open Internet of Things platform, a self-driving car, an IPTV set-top box, a portable all-in-one security dongle (Wiz Stick) and a smart energy management system called KT-MEG, the Korea Herald reported.

XL pays off $100M loan early
Indonesia’s third largest operator XL Axiata paid up an unhedged $100 million loan nearly two years early to cushion it from impacts of the volatile currency, the Jakarta Post reported.

XL president director Dian Siswarini said unfavourable global economic conditions had hurt the company’s financial performance, especially due to the presence of unhedged loans. It suffered a forex loss of IDR1.4 trillion (almost $98 million) in the first half of this year.

HTC dropped from blue-chip index
Smartphone maker HTC has been dropped from the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s index of blue-chip companies after its market value fell below the level required for inclusion in the Taiwan 50 index.

The company said last month it expects to cut 15 per cent of its staff and aims to reduce its operating expenditure by 35 per cent to get back into the black after several periods of losses.

Mobile-based lending to drive Sri Lanka’s banking sector
Mobile-based micro lending is expected to be the main growth driver for Sri Lanka’s banking sector, according to an independent research company.

Capital Alliance said the country’s high mobile penetration and the development of m-banking platforms will act as an enabler in channeling loans into the bottom-of-the-pyramid segments, Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror reported.

The banking regulator previously said that it is committed to promoting mobile banking, particularly to reach the unbanked segments.

The national payment infrastructure provider, Lanka Clear, has developed a Common Mobile Payment Switch (CMoPS), which will facilitate person-to-person, low-value payments through mobile phones. The switch is ready to launch, but the banks reportedly need to modify their systems to connect with the CMoPS.

ARM to double workforce at Taiwan facility
ARM Holdings, a designer of processors for smartphones, plans to double its workforce at its new CPU design centre in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

The design centre, the British’s company’s first in Asia Pacific, will expand from 43 to 100 employees by the end of the year, the Taipei Times said.

The aim is for its Hsinchu team to be able to design its own CPUs in the next few years. The company’s processors power many high-end smartphones, including Apple’s iPhones.