Foxconn to Buy & Sell Used iPhones in China

Gamers in South Korea

Gamelook reported that South Korea has a population of 51,340,000 people, more than 88% of which are active internet users. Some of them even own more than one smartphone, making the user penetration 109%. 32,400,000 people are active mobile internet users, making 63% of total population. The #1 social network app in South Korea is KAKAO TALK, followed by Facebook and Twitter. Six out of the top ten best-selling games on Google Play are distributed through KAKAO, and half of the Top 10 best-selling games on Appstore are KAKAO games too. Mobile game genre-wide, 43% of the games are RPG/Adventure, 32% are social network games and 25% are strategy games.

Foxconn to Buy & Sell Used iPhones in China

Bloomberg says that Apple will let Foxconn buy and resell used iPhones in China. Foxconn manufactures iPhones and Apple will launch an iPhone trade-in program in China whereby Foxconn will buy the used phones directly, refurbish them, and resell them on its own online store plus on Taobao.

IBM to Help China Build IT Industry

IBM’s CEO Virginia Rommety announced in Beijing that IBM will help China build its IT industry rather than view the country solely as a sales destination or manufacturing base. The implication is that IBM will partner with Chinese local companies, and that other foreign tech companies should do the same. The hope is that such partnerships and assistance will help foreign companies in China where it is very tough to go-it-alone, as all of the foreign game companies who have entered China can attest to.

Indonesia’s Growing Internet Usage

Indonesia’s Internet penetration rate is merely 34.9%, yet by Niko’s estimates the market is one of the fastest growing for digital games revenue in Southeast Asia. The Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII) published its latest report on Internet usage and states that there are 88.1 million Internet users in Indonesia, a country with a population of 252 million. The government aims for 50% penetration by the end of 2015 but that may be difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, as Niko has noted, the smartphone usage rate has soared and mobile phone gaming is very popular along with PC online gaming.

Why PS4 Could Be a Hard Sell in China

Niko Partners Managing Partner Lisa Hanson discusses the debut of Sony’s PS4 in China after a 14 year ban on consoles. Watch the video here of the live interview from March 20th (Hong Kong) as she speaks to Bloomberg’s Rishaad Salamat on “Trending Business.”