Out with the old, in with the new: Can Astro keep pace with the tech world?

Opening Bell 🔔 is Tech in Asia’s free newsletter that brings you the biggest news and latest trends around Asia’s publicly listed tech companies. [Read from your browser]( Opening Bell 🔔 Welcome to the Opening Bell! Delivered every Monday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and latest trends on Asia’s publicly listed tech companies. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Rachel Chitra Journalist Hello {NAME} Technology has the power to render companies obsolete. Devices like pagers, cassette tapes, floppy disks, CDs, and analog modems became relics when new gizmos came along. Once they outlived their usefulness, it wasn't too long before the companies that made them tanked. Memorable bankruptcies due to disruptive tech include Blockbuster Inc., Borders Group, and Polaroid Corp. In the 1980s, Blockbuster Video was at its peak. It had around 84,000 employees and rented out videos at about 9,000 stores. In 2000, [Netflix (NFLX, NDAQ)]( made a US$50 million offer to buy Blockbuster, but its then-CEO John Antioco [rejected]( it outright. Today, Netflix has an enterprise value of [US$198 billion]( while Blockbuster is long gone. But can one come back from the dead? It’s possible, if what happened to Polaroid is any indication. The company, best known for its instant films and cameras, filed for bankruptcy twice because it didn't anticipate the digital camera revolution the way Canon (7751, TYO) and Nikon (7731, TYO) did. Polaroid is now making a comeback, still with its original camera but equipped with [improved technology](. Closer to home, OTT platforms have dented Astro’s (ASTRO, KLSE) dominance in Malaysia’s pay TV market in Malaysia. Do check out my colleague Emmanuel’s story on whether Astro can outrun its streaming service competitors. -- Rachel  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [How tech destroyed Astro’s dominance in Malaysian pay TV]( While Netflix and other streaming platforms can be blamed for the struggles of companies like Astro, there seems to be a shift in consumers’ appetite for pay TV since 2016. ---------------------------------------------------------------  3 TRENDS TO KEEP EYE ON Hot stocks, earnings reports, restructuring, pressure from activist investors, and more. 1️⃣ Clouds on the horizon?: Alibaba (BABA, NYSE) on Thursday reported a first-quarter [income increase]( of 70% year over year to US$5.86 billion after the company reported growth in all its six units after restructuring. But among the units, the cloud segment seems to be expanding at the slowest rate after the pandemic as customer demand went down, reported [Nikkei Asia](. The slowdown in cloud computing also seems to be hitting other players like Amazon (AMZN, NDAQ) and Microsoft's (MSFT, NDAQ) Azure. [Reports]( are attributing the fall in cloud demand to macroeconomic factors, predicting that the segment will only get good returns if it can successfully ride the AI wave. 2️⃣ Things no longer easy for Tencent: Chinese gaming giants Tencent Holdings (0700, HKG) and NetEase (NTES, NDAQ) account for more than 80% total revenue made by China's 10 biggest listed video game developers in the first three months of the year, reported [Yicai Global](. Tencent alone generated [roughly 50%]( of the domestic market revenue from gaming for the quarter compared to 40% in Q1 2022. The company’s operating revenue rose 11% year over year to US$6.8 billion. Though it's smaller, rival NetEase could soon catch up to Tencent as it scored a massive hit with its latest mobile game Eggy Party, writes the [Financial Times](. The viral game, where players race egg avatars around obstacle courses, has racked up 30 million daily active users in China. Media reports indicate that Tencent has a thin pipeline of new games as it had become too reliant on its earlier successes like Honor of Kings and PUBG. China has approved 433 licenses for online games developed in the country and 27 for imported games this year so far. The release of more licenses will create opportunities for smaller local game developers, which means that competition will not get any easier for Tencent. 3️⃣ Charging for food, yes. But containers too?: Zomato (ZOMATO, NSE) got into hot water this week after a customer complained about how much the food delivery firm was charging customers for packaging. In a tweet that went viral, the customer noted how the [container cost]( as much as the food. Zomato responded by saying that it was the partner restaurant that had charged her extra, not the platform. This comes after Zomato decided to [copy]( its rival Swiggy’s decision to charge food buyers a platform usage fee. As a result, customers are saying that Zomato is getting too expensive. [Aggrieved users]( are claiming that because Zomato charges its restaurant partners high fees for being on its platform, restaurants have resorted to overcharging customers. Zomato, however, may not get into trouble legally as an Indian [court had dismissed]( charges against Swiggy in a similar case.  2 EYE-POPPING NUMBERS Tech in Asia scours the internet to bring you head-turning numbers from the world of business. - [800 million]( The number of users on Tencent's (0700, HKG) video-sharing service, helping it edge out rivals Douyin, Kuaishou (1024, HKG) in this segment within two years of launch - [US$862 million]( The amount of capital expenditure overrun by PLDT, the Philippines’ largest telecom firm, that has resulted in a regulatory probe and the departure of several executives. THE ONE YOU DIDN'T SEE COMING We spotlight the story that had everyone talking and social media buzzing during the past week. Twitter's for-sale verified blue tick leaves field open for parody accounts Corporates are feeling the sting of Twitter's decision to allow users to pay US$8 and appear verified. Much to their annoyance, parody accounts are now exploding on the platform, blue-tick in tow. Indian tech firm Infosys (INFY, NSE) fell victim to such accounts. One was so successful in its imitation that the IT major actually put out an alert to [warn people]( about fake job offers. This account was eventually suspended. Other companies like [Ola]( and Zomato (ZOMATO, NSE) also have parody accounts on Twitter, which highlights shortfalls in the companies’ services. But in the case of Infosys, it isn’t just been the company that’s being ridiculed. [Sudha Murty]( wife of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murty, is also getting trolled by a parody account. Dubbed “simple Sudha Murty,” her [humblebrags]( have inadvertently provided fun for the internet, particularly when she [namedrops]( her famous son-in-law: Rishi Sunak, prime minister of the UK. Brands including Tesla - Twitter owner Elon Musk's electronic vehicle firm - have been at the receiving end of this so-called “blue tick” chaos. For example, a [parody account of Tesla]( tweeted, “BREAKING: A second Tesla has hit the World Trade Center.” Even British Petroleum (BP, NYSE) was not spared. A blue-ticked parody account [tweeted]( “Just cause we killed the planet doesn’t mean we can’t miss it.”  That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to our preference center at the bottom of this email. Happy investing and see you next week! Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. Kindly do not construe any such information as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. 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