Internet users in the country may be growing substantially, but when it comes to networking online, India has been placed among the nations with least exposure to social networking sites in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US-based internet marketing research firm comScore in a report has said that only 60.3 per cent of internet users in India are used to social networking sites, making it one of the Asia-Pacific countries with least exposure to the activity.
In terms of the penetration of social networking sites, India is ahead of Japan (50.9 per cent), China (45.6 per cent) and Taiwan (42.4 per cent).
According to the report, Singapore has the highest number of social networking site users at 74.3 per cent in the region, followed by Australia (68.3 per cent), South Korea (68 per cent) and Malaysia (66.6 per cent).
Hong Kong and New Zealand have the same per centage of such users at 62.8 per cent, the report noted.
However, comScore said that the number of visitors to social networking sites has increased by 51 per cent in India.
In India, the number of internet users visiting such sites rose by 51 per cent to 19.37 million in December 2008, the report said. The number of visitors stood at just 12.8 million in December 2007.
Agencies
Showing posts with label APAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label APAC. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Hong Kong to create 250K jobs through infra projects
Hong Kong's government aims to create 250,000 jobs by launching 10 big infrastructure projects in 2009, its financial secretary said on Saturday, in an effort to slow the growing jobless rate in an economic downturn.
"(The) Hong Kong SAR government will facilitate the launch of 10 major infrastructure projects next year, hoping to bring in 250,000 jobs," John Tsang said in a radio programme, adding he had urged all government departments to propose ways of creating more jobs.
He gave no time frame for the 250,000 job target. Tsang had said earlier this week that he expected Hong Kong's economy to worsen in coming few months. The government recently cut its 2008 GDP growth forecast to 3 to 3.5 percent from 4 to 5 percent.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent in August-October, from 3.4 percent in July-September quarter. The government said the jobless rate was a lagging indicator and had yet to truly reflect the impact of the global financial crisis.
Economists see it topping 4 percent within a few months as Hong Kong is now in recession and as a trading and financial hub is being hit by the global economic downturn. The jobless rate has come down from a record 8.5 percent in the past five years as the economy has rebounded, but it now looks set to rise sharply in the next year as a global economic downturn hurts Hong Kong businesses.
Source: Agencies
"(The) Hong Kong SAR government will facilitate the launch of 10 major infrastructure projects next year, hoping to bring in 250,000 jobs," John Tsang said in a radio programme, adding he had urged all government departments to propose ways of creating more jobs.
He gave no time frame for the 250,000 job target. Tsang had said earlier this week that he expected Hong Kong's economy to worsen in coming few months. The government recently cut its 2008 GDP growth forecast to 3 to 3.5 percent from 4 to 5 percent.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent in August-October, from 3.4 percent in July-September quarter. The government said the jobless rate was a lagging indicator and had yet to truly reflect the impact of the global financial crisis.
Economists see it topping 4 percent within a few months as Hong Kong is now in recession and as a trading and financial hub is being hit by the global economic downturn. The jobless rate has come down from a record 8.5 percent in the past five years as the economy has rebounded, but it now looks set to rise sharply in the next year as a global economic downturn hurts Hong Kong businesses.
Source: Agencies
No raise for Hewlett-Packard employees
If you are a Hewlett-Packard employee, you don’t have a raise coming your way. According to an internal memo, the company plans to use the funds meant for raises and bonuses to fund pension plans and other benefits. Interestingly, the memo also indicates that the upper management has nothing to worry.
Employees have been notified by e-mail that they won’t receive a salary increase in fiscal 2009, which began in November. The world’s largest personal-computer maker is freezing salaries as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd’s efforts to contain costs. The company has already gone ahead and cut jobs, closed offices and merged data centers to lift profit. It is also limiting travel, curtailing hiring and eliminating “favorite science projects” to save on research costs in 2009, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said last month on a conference call.
Hewlett-Packard, which has 320,000 employees, declined to confirm the salary freeze. “In this difficult macroeconomic environment, we believe it is prudent and responsible to reduce costs where possible,” said spokeswoman Emma McCulloch. “HP has a longstanding and disciplined approach to managing costs in order to invest in the company’s growth.”
Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, the shares have dropped 34 per cent this year.
Hurd, who became CEO in 2005, received $25.3 million in total compensation in fiscal 2007.
Source: Economic Times
Employees have been notified by e-mail that they won’t receive a salary increase in fiscal 2009, which began in November. The world’s largest personal-computer maker is freezing salaries as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd’s efforts to contain costs. The company has already gone ahead and cut jobs, closed offices and merged data centers to lift profit. It is also limiting travel, curtailing hiring and eliminating “favorite science projects” to save on research costs in 2009, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said last month on a conference call.
Hewlett-Packard, which has 320,000 employees, declined to confirm the salary freeze. “In this difficult macroeconomic environment, we believe it is prudent and responsible to reduce costs where possible,” said spokeswoman Emma McCulloch. “HP has a longstanding and disciplined approach to managing costs in order to invest in the company’s growth.”
Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, the shares have dropped 34 per cent this year.
Hurd, who became CEO in 2005, received $25.3 million in total compensation in fiscal 2007.
Source: Economic Times
No raise for Hewlett-Packard employees
If you are a Hewlett-Packard employee, you don’t have a raise coming your way. According to an internal memo, the company plans to use the funds meant for raises and bonuses to fund pension plans and other benefits. Interestingly, the memo also indicates that the upper management has nothing to worry.
Employees have been notified by e-mail that they won’t receive a salary increase in fiscal 2009, which began in November. The world’s largest personal-computer maker is freezing salaries as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd’s efforts to contain costs. The company has already gone ahead and cut jobs, closed offices and merged data centers to lift profit. It is also limiting travel, curtailing hiring and eliminating “favorite science projects” to save on research costs in 2009, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said last month on a conference call.
Hewlett-Packard, which has 320,000 employees, declined to confirm the salary freeze. “In this difficult macroeconomic environment, we believe it is prudent and responsible to reduce costs where possible,” said spokeswoman Emma McCulloch. “HP has a longstanding and disciplined approach to managing costs in order to invest in the company’s growth.”
Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, the shares have dropped 34 per cent this year.
Hurd, who became CEO in 2005, received $25.3 million in total compensation in fiscal 2007.
Source: Economic Times
Employees have been notified by e-mail that they won’t receive a salary increase in fiscal 2009, which began in November. The world’s largest personal-computer maker is freezing salaries as part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd’s efforts to contain costs. The company has already gone ahead and cut jobs, closed offices and merged data centers to lift profit. It is also limiting travel, curtailing hiring and eliminating “favorite science projects” to save on research costs in 2009, Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said last month on a conference call.
Hewlett-Packard, which has 320,000 employees, declined to confirm the salary freeze. “In this difficult macroeconomic environment, we believe it is prudent and responsible to reduce costs where possible,” said spokeswoman Emma McCulloch. “HP has a longstanding and disciplined approach to managing costs in order to invest in the company’s growth.”
Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, the shares have dropped 34 per cent this year.
Hurd, who became CEO in 2005, received $25.3 million in total compensation in fiscal 2007.
Source: Economic Times
Monday, November 24, 2008
80% of APAC Internet users go online to shop
The internet is proving as appealing a shopping destination as the likes of shopping centres in Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong or Orchard Road in Singapore. According to a Visa e-Commerce Tracking Survey, nearly 80 percent of internet users surveyed in Asia Pacific say they made an online transaction and spent an average of over US$3,000 each in the past 12 months.
The top three draws for shopping online were being able to shop at any time (88 percent), at the best prices (83 percent), and being able to shop easily (82 percent). According to the respondents, their most commonly made online purchases were digital entertainment (59 percent), travel (51 percent) and fashion (49 percent).
Among the wide range of products and services available on the internet, Asia Pacific online shoppers surveyed reported that they spent the most on travel services with an average spending of $812 in the last 12 months. Travel items included airline and rail tickets, hotel accommodation and travel packages.
Mohamad Hafidz, regional head, e-Commerce, Asia Pacific, Visa, said: “Nearly a quarter of the world's population – roughly 1.4 billion people – used the internet on a regular basis in 2008 and in Asia Pacific, on average, a person spent about 20.2 hours a month online. Our own survey has revealed online consumers in Asia Pacific recognize the convenience of online shopping as reflected in the high percentage of internet users who buy a wide range of products, from that for everyday use to the occasional high-value item online.”
In the region, Japanese and Koreans surveyed emerged as the most frequent shoppers, with 99 percent and 93 percent respectively having made an online purchase over the last 12 months. However, Australians were the biggest online spenders with an average 12-month tab of $4,160 – $680 more than Singaporeans, who are the next biggest online spenders.
In India, purchasing digital downloads was the most popular form of consumer e-commerce. Seventy-six percent of respondents from India, the highest among Asia Pacific, have bought a form of digital entertainment over the internet in the last 12 months. Music downloads (63 percent) emerged as the most popular digital entertainment purchase.
The internet has also brought about an increase in the number of cross-border transactions with 75 percent of internet users surveyed in Hong Kong having bought an item from an overseas website in the preceding 12 months. Visa (both credit and debit cards) was their most popular payment method with nearly 60 percent of online shoppers surveyed choosing to pay with Visa. Mohamad added: “With almost four in five internet users buying online, people in Asia Pacific are taking full advantage of the global shopping experience that the internet provides.”
Past 12 months online shopping spending by website category – Top 10 in Asia Pacific
1 Airlines / airline tickets
2 Online travel agents
3 Travel accommodation
4 Clothes / shoes
5 Car / motorcycle
6 Computer hardware (PC)
7 Food and groceries
8 Electrical appliances (TV, stereo, etc)
9 White goods (refrigerator, dishwasher, etc)
10 Other types of transportation for traveling
Average online spending in the past 12 months
1 Australia - US$4,160
2 Singapore - US$3,480
3 Japan - US$3,175
4 South Korea -US$3,027
5 India - US$2,147
6 Hong Kong -US$1,698
Source: Visa e-Commerce Tracking Survey
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