Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
April 6, 2015
HK airport gets green light for $18B third runway
HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong government has given final approval
for a third runway at the Asian financial center’s airport, aiming to meet surging
growth in passengers and air cargo. Officials say the project will begin next year
and cost 141.5 billion Hong Kong dollars ($18.2 billion). About 1,600 acres of
land will be reclaimed from the sea for the runway and a new passenger
building. Construction is expected to be complete by 2023. Hong Kong
International Airport expects to reach maximum capacity under its current
layout by 2022 at the latest. Strong growth in China has been a key driver of
Hong Kong airport traffic. Most of the visitors to the specially administered
Chinese region come from mainland China, which is one of the fastest growing
air travel markets. For the rest of the world, Hong Kong is also a gateway to
China. Last year, the airport handled 63.4 million passengers and 4.4 million
metric tons of cargo, both records. The airport predicts the third runway will
allow it to handle 102 million passengers and 8.9 million tons of freight per year
by 2030. Across Asia, airport operators are scrambling to build new terminals or
expand existing ones to keep up with growth in air travel.
COUNTING ON CUTENESS. Shoppers wait for doors to open at the Line Friends flagship shop in Seoul, South Ko-
rea. Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty: Move over. And make way for laidback Brown bear and his irrepressible girlfriend Cony the
bunny. Once just digital stickers that users of mobile messaging app Line send to each other like emoticons, the bear, the
bunny, and their seven friends will soon be unleashed through stores, virtual reality, and possibly an animated film. (AP
Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Big in Asia, Line app hopes
cute factor will win worldwide
Toyota signs on as global Olympic sponsor through 2024
By Youkyung Lee
TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. has signed on as a worldwide Olympic
sponsor in a long-term deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion. The deal runs
through the 2024 Olympics. Toyota is the first car company ever signed up by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its top-tier TOP sponsorship
program. Toyota officials declined to reveal the financial terms of the deal, but
Japanese media reported the company will pay $835 million. IOC president
Thomas Bach was in Tokyo to sign the agreement with Toyota president Akio
Toyoda. Toyota becomes the third Japanese company to become a worldwide
Olympic sponsor after Panasonic and Bridgestone. A total of 12 global
companies, including Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, are current TOP sponsors.
The chairman of the IOC’s marketing commission is Japanese IOC member
Tsunekazu Takeda, who is also head of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
AP Technology Writer
Manny Pacquiao welcomes Tim Tebow to training camp
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Pacquiao last month welcomed a high-profile
visitor to his training camp with ties to his native Philippines: Tim Tebow.
Pacquiao is preparing for his much-anticipated fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
on May 2 in Las Vegas. Tebow, the Heisman Trophy-winning former Florida
quarterback, posted photos on Instagram of the two together in Pacquiao’s gym
in Los Angeles. “Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother,” Tebow
posted on his Instagram account. Tebow, who is known for being very open about
his Christian faith, was born in the Philippines to missionary parents. Pacquiao
spokesman Fred Sternburg said Tebow and Pacquiao know each other and
embraced when Tebow came to the gym. Promoter Bob Arum was also there and
they watched Pacquiao spar seven rounds, Sternburg said.
Everest climbers forced to quit last year to get new permits
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal has cleared more than 300
mountaineers to climb Mount Everest this year after they had to abandon last
year’s efforts when an ice avalanche killed 16 guides in the mountain’s deadliest
disaster. The head of Nepal’s tourism department, Tulasi Gautam, said the
government extended last year’s permits without charging new fees. He said the
extended permits could be used at any time through 2019, and that the climbers
can climb individually or join a group. The three-month climbing season for
Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, began last month. Nepal also pledged
recently to improve weather forecasting, security and rescue efforts, and has cut
climbing fees this year to $11,000 per climber from $25,000.
Yahoo China office closing in cost-cutting move
BEIJING (AP) — Yahoo is closing its research and development center in
China as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to placate shareholders pressuring the
internet company to cut costs while it struggles to bring in more revenue. The
Beijing operation’s responsibilities will be shifted to other Yahoo Inc. offices,
according to a company statement. Yahoo didn’t specify how many people will
lose their jobs in China, but pledged to treat all the workers “with respect and
fairness.” The closure will mark Yahoo’s exit from China, where the Sunnyvale,
California company has been winding down since turning over its operations to
Alibaba Group in 2005. That $1 billion deal gave Yahoo a lucrative stake in
Alibaba that is currently worth $33 billion. Yahoo is preparing to spin off its
Alibaba holdings into a separately traded company later this year, removing an
asset that deflected attention from the challenges facing Yahoo’s own
businesses. Yahoo hired Mayer in July 2012 to engineer a turnaround, but so far
she hasn’t been able to boost the company’s revenue even though advertisers
have been shifting more of their spending to the internet and mobile devices.
Yahoo’s revenue declined by one percent to $4.6 billion last year.
Sri Lankan president’s brother dies in axe attack
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s
youngest brother died two days after he was attacked with an axe in what
authorities say was a personal dispute. According to a government statement,
42-year-old Priyantha Sirisena died at a private hospital in Colombo. He was
airlifted from his hometown of Polonnaruwa in North-Central province
following the attack. The attacker surrendered to police. The statement did not
say what the dispute was about. Sirisena was in China on a four-day official visit
when the attack took place.
S
EOUL, South Korea — Mickey Mouse,
Hello Kitty: Move over. And make way
for laidback Brown bear and his
irrepressible girlfriend Cony the bunny.
Once just digital stickers that users of
mobile messaging app Line send to each other
like emoticons, the bear, the bunny, and their
seven friends will soon be unleashed through
stores, virtual reality, and possibly an
animated film.
For smartphone users in Asia, where most of
Line’s 181 million monthly users are located,
the characters are as familiar as old school
icons such as Hello Kitty and Disney’s
animated stars. They are not well known in
America or Europe, but owner Line Corp.
hopes to change that.
It plans to open 100 stores selling Brown
dolls and other cute “Line Friends” para-
phernalia worldwide over the next three years.
It has already opened two stores in Seoul and
its first Shanghai and New York stores open
this year.
Though partly an accidental strategy, the
company says the bricks-and-mortar presence
will draw more users to the app and help
replicate its rapid Asian success in other
regions. It will also give the company a
backdoor into China, where Line is blocked
along with other foreign messaging apps and
social media sites.
“We never intended to do a character
business,” Yoon Sunmin, who oversees Line’s
character business, said in an interview that
was the first time the company outlined its
merchandizing plans in detail. “It exploded by
accident,” he said, drinking coffee from a paper
cup emblazoned with the dazed face of Brown.
Visitors to the newly opened flagship shop in
Seoul’s trendy Gangnam district screamed
with delight when they saw an outsized Brown
bear greeting them near the entrance of the
three-story store. Locals and tourists from
Vietnam, China, and Hong Kong queued to
take a picture with Brown and other human-
size cutout Line characters, as if they were pop
stars.
Evelyn Tan, a 27-year-old from north-
western China, and her friend Keira Yi, 23,
from Beijing, said they don’t use Line in China
but came to look at Brown and other cute dolls.
“I have some friends from Taiwan and they
use Line,” said Tan. “The stickers. They are so
cute.”
Larger and more expressive than emoticons,
the stickers have been a draw card for Line,
whose users are mostly in Japan, Thailand,
Indonesia, India, and Spain. They also set Line
apart from the bare bones interface of rival
WhatsApp, which was bought by Facebook for
about $22 billion. Line is worth about $18
billion based on revenue from monthly users,
according to Marcello Ahn, a fund manager at
Quad Investment Management.
The popularity of the Brown and Cony
stickers has also shaped a new trend in mobile
communication.
Instead of typing messages, many users
simply tapped a sticker showing a coy-looking
Brown sitting on a toilet or eating a bowl of
ramen. Users began to associate themselves
with certain characters and the lineup now
includes a bespectacled middle-aged man
named Boss, and James, a blond narcissist.
Continued on page 7
FREE Oral, Head & Neck
Cancer Screenings
Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 9am to 5pm
At the Providence Cancer Center
Jill Lematta Learning Center
4805 N.E. Glisan St., Main level, Portland, OR 97213
Registration is strongly recommended.
To register, or for more information, call the
Providence Resource Line at (503) 574-6595.
Vancouver Housing Authority
NOTICE OF WAITING LIST CLOSURE
FOR ALL SENIOR AND DESIGNATION
SPECIFIC HOUSING UNITS
Notice is hereby given that the waiting list for Arbor Ridge,
Azalea Place, Cherry Park, Columbia House, Crown Villa, Forest
Ridge, Fort Vancouver, Highland Park, St. Helens Manor and
Walnut Grove of the Housing Authority of the City of Vancouver
have been closed until further notice. Due to the excessive wait,
new applications will not be accepted.
Equal Housing Opportunity
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Exchange Rates
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77.805
4014.9
6.1944
2.0704
7.7523
62.498
13020
27993
118.97
8105.5
3.6692
99.455
101.89
2.642
44.445
56.671
3.7513
1.3505
1093.0
133.25
30.97
32.407
21585