Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket

More Fan-favorite IMAX Enhanced Movies Soon Accessible in 8 Countries Through Rakuten TV
15th October 2022

DTS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi, Inc. (NYSE: XPER), IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX), and Rakuten TV, one of the leading Video On-Demand platforms, today announced a significant expansion of the IMAX Enhanced ecosystem with Rakuten TV’s commitment to carry 100 titles in the IMAX Enhanced format.

IMAX Enhanced pairs premium consumer electronics and fan-favorite Hollywood films to deliver the ultimate viewing experience when and where fans demand it. To address growing demand, IMAX Enhanced has expanded its partnership with Rakuten TV, strengthening catalogue availability in Europe to include one hundred IMAX Enhanced titles arriving on service over the next six months.

The IMAX Enhanced releases will be available across eight European regions (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, and Poland) through Rakuten TV.

Rakuten TV is one of the leading Video On-Demand platforms in Europe that combines TVOD (Transactional video-on-demand), AVOD (Advertising video-on-demand), FAST channels (Free Ad-SupportedStreaming TV) and SVOD (Subscription video-on-demand).

The TVOD service offers an authentic cinematic experience with the latest releases to buy or rent in high audio and video quality. The SVOD service allows subscription to the premium service Starzplay. The advertising-supported offering comprises AVOD and FAST services. The AVOD service features more than 10,000 titles available on-demand, including films, documentaries and series from Hollywood and local studios, as well as the Rakuten Stories catalogue with Original and exclusive content. The FAST service consists of an extensive line-up of over 250 free linear channels from global networks, top European broadcasters and media groups, and the platform’s own thematic channels with curated content. Rakuten TV is available in 43 European territories and currently reaches more than 110 million households via its branded remote-control button and pre-installed app in Smart TV devices.

https://www.fintechfutures.com/techwire/...-collection-to-100-titles/  

Getting started with affiliate marketing in Nigeria can seem daunting, but it can be a breeze with the right tools and resources. In this article, we’ll outline the basic steps you need to take to get started with Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria and some helpful tips for finding success in this competitive field.
What Are the Best Affiliate Marketing Programs in Nigeria?

So, you want to start affiliate marketing in Nigeria but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry; we’re here to help.

First, you need to find a good affiliate marketing program. There are tons of programs out there, but not all of them are worth your time. So, which ones are the best?

Here are ten programs that we recommend:
        1.§Amazon Associates
        2.§Google Adsense Affiliate Program
        3.§CJ Affiliate by Conversant
        4.§Rakuten Marketing
        5.ShareASale          §
        6.§Jumia Affiliate Marketing Program
        7.§TravelStart Affiliate Marketing Program
        8.§PayPorte Affiliate Marketing Program
        9.§Piggy Vest Affiliate Marketing Program
       10.§Konga Affiliate marketing Program

https://www.withinnigeria.com/piece/2022/10/14/...rketing-in-nigeria/

 

Multi-mobility platform Cabify to invest $300M in LatAm within the next 2 years

By Alejandra Cruz García

October 13, 2022

Although at this point the platforms that intermediate the mobility service seem to be a common denominator among users, it is a business that is growing at double digits, says José Ignacio Gutiérrez, Cabify’s regional manager for Latin America in an interview with Forbes.

“Latin American countries have a higher growth potential for our business and that is where we are going to invest the most. In the next two years we want to invest close to $300 million, strengthening markets such as Mexico and Ecuador,” said Gutiérrez. “The technology industry is at a time when raising capital is complicated and they (investors) are looking for profitable companies. We have been working on this, we are about 40% larger than we were before the pandemic. We have a positive Ebitda in the region, which makes us an attractive company”.

Although plans for an IPO are not yet concrete, Gutiérrez claims that much of those resources will come from revenues due to their operation being profitable in several countries where they already operate.

https://latamlist.com/cabify-to-invest-300m-in-latam/  

October 13, 2022

The RAN has been considered the most expensive part of network deployment. RAN consists of around 60-70% of the network Capex. The Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network (RAN) Journey is about changing the mindset and accepting the fact that Open RAN is not a new technology we need to test, however, it’s the future where you can choose the best of the best to build your network with the lowest cost and acceptable performance.

https://moniem-tech.com/2022/10/13/open-ran-changes-your-ran-mindset/  

ASEAN meeting discusses direction and roadmap for 5G deployment

October, 15/2022 - 08:30

In particular, Japan chose to deploy Open Ran technology, a mobile communication network architecture that allows networks to be integrated using network elements from many different manufacturers, helping to reduce equipment costs.

The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan said that promoting Open Ran would promote 5G deployment in ASEAN countries.

This is also the view that Le Troung Giang, Director of the 5G Network Centre of Viettel Group, discussed at the conference.

The representative of Viettel said that the deployment of 5G in the world mainly follows two trends: Open Ran and Core.

https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1345136/...dmap-for-5g-deployment.html  

When you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, do not ask what seat, just get on! A leadership role in Rakuten Symphony is like that — every role is a dream role!

Subha Shrinivasan, Vice President of Customer Success Unified Cloud BU

How would you describe your current role and responsibilities with Rakuten Symphony?

Sheryl Sandberg once said: "When you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, do not ask what seat, just get on!" A leadership role in Rakuten Symphony is like that — every role is a dream role!

That said, we, as a customer success team, carry a crucial responsibility to deliver on the promises made during the sales cycle. We help customers see the value in our products and services and work with us for the long haul. You know, walk the talk stuff.

Our responsibilities include customer onboarding, product delivery, professional services, and support for all UCBU (cloud native) products across telco and enterprise customers. We measure our success as achievements in retention of customer, revenue and fostering growth.

The most exciting part of this role is 90% of the time, we also work with other business units of Rakuten. This gives us an end-to-end view of the product spectrum in which our company operates.

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...versation-with-subha-shrinivasan  

 

Long-term Issuer Rating A with negative outlook is nevertheless a good rating of Rakuten - My advice: Read the excellent details!

https://www.jcr.co.jp/download/...550d5290e500298209d54/22d0560_f.pdf  

Very important message from the source in my last posting

"However, the equity ratio of the Company on a standalone basis (equity/total assets), which primarily operates Rakuten Ichiba and owns shares of Group companies, is at a reasonable level of 30.9%."
 

First step with a $ 500 million for 20% of Rakuten Securities was done

„ A successful listing of Rakuten Bank and Rakuten Securities should strengthen the balance sheet and partly fund the growing capital needs of the mobile unit without incurring shareholder dilution.“

https://seekingalpha.com/article/...n-group-mobile-remains-key-hurdle  

I am sure, that the outlook will be corrected in Q4/2022 or Q1/2023

Long-term Issuer Rating: A

Outlook: Negative

Bonds: A

Bonds (Dated subordinated bonds): BBB+

Bonds (Undated subordinated bonds): BBB+

CP: J-1

There have been no changes in the Company’s solid operation bases for existing businesses such as Domestic EC and FinTec. Driven by strong consumer demand for EC, the Domestic EC keeps growing. FinTech businesses are also steady controlling risks appropriately. They are differentiating themselves from peers by offering various services as well as their own point programs. JCR views the high earnings capacity of the existing businesses will be continuously maintained, and has affirmed the ratings on the Company. On the other hand, MNO is still at a start-up phase and is a large burden for the Company's earnings and finances. Prompt execution of fund procurement using the businesses and assets owned and measures for expanding the equity capital are required. Competition in the domestic mobile phone market is intense and MNO is continuing to suffer large losses. Since JCR may possibly downgrade the ratings on the Company if it takes time to improve the performance, we continues the rating outlook of Negative. JCR will closely monitor the status of the number of contracts, volume of data used by users, communication quality, profitability, etc.

https://www.jcr.co.jp/download/...550d5290e500298209d54/22d0560_f.pdf  

Very important: The capex for the switch to 5G is by Rakuten Mobile extreme lower than by other carriers.

“Most of my capex is not necessarily being driven by 5G deployment. Unlike any other mobile operators, Rakuten software is owned by Rakuten Symphony [set up to sell tech and consulting to other operators], meaning the radio software. The cloud is owned by Rakuten Symphony and [so is] the entire orchestration. So the only capex we have to spend is on the massive MIMO hardware."

https://www.mobileeurope.co.uk/...ues-rise-64-5-but-subscribers-fall/  

How the king of cash back became the top e-commerce company in Japan.

Andrew Willis 17 October, 2022 | 4:28AM

https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/news/227430/...n-stock-of-the-week.aspx  

Rakuten Symphony has with Rakuten Mobile a proven model – this is not a trial

Keynote Interview with Azita Arvani

During our Unwrapped Digital Event week, Justin Springham interviews Azita Arvani the General Manager of Rakuten Symphony Americas on Open Architecture.

https://unwrapped.mobileworldlive.com/...-demand-day-2-keynote-azita/  

The The NBA's secret weapon for winning fans in Japan: Rakuten

https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/...r-winning-fans-in-japan-rakuten  

Rakuten Games and Digital Will Announce Program Development Agreement to Expand HTML5 Gaming on Rakuten Viber

By: 24-7 Press Release
October 19, 2022 at 03:00 AM EDT

In a collaboration to deliver new content, Digital Will will provide content from Wortal, its powerful HTML5 content delivery platform, to Rakuten Games for distribution on Rakuten Viber

TOKYO, JAPAN, October 19, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Today, Digital Will Inc., a full-service development, marketing and games company based in Tokyo, announced that it has signed a program development agreement with Rakuten Games, Inc., a Rakuten Group company that produces high quality social games.

In this new content delivery collaboration, Digital Will will provide HTML5 game content from its "Wortal" platform to Rakuten Games for distribution on Rakuten Viber*. The collaboration will bring more than 30 carefully curated games to the platform by the end of the year.

About Digital Will Inc.
Digital Will is a Software Solution Developer, a Digital Marketing Agency, a Game Publisher and a Product Innovation Lab. Digital Will delivers Creative Solutions to Digital Challenges, produces captivating Games, and builds powerful Products.

About Rakuten Games, Inc.
Rakuten Games develops and provides high quality social games accessible with one-click, without the need to download like a native app game. By partnering with a HTML5 technology company based in Silicon Valley, Rakuten Games develops a variety of games with unbeatable capabilities and innovation.


https://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/...aming-on-rakuten-viber  

Rakuten Viber launches "Cricket Superbot" for T20 World Cup

Dhaka
Published: 18 Oct 2022, 13: 30

Rakuten Viber has launched ‘Cricket Superbot’, comprising fun games, live updates and prediction contests, on the occasion of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022.

The messaging app’s new Superbot is an automated feature that will be a part of the Cricket Vibes Channel.

The top 3 fans each from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India with the highest accumulated scores by the end of the tournament will win exciting rewards from Viber.

Users can also play virtual Cricket Games and score runs from the comfort of their own homes.

https://en.prothomalo.com/corporate/fr4e3pudz9
 

Three technology pillars that will define the future of mobile networks across the world: Open RAN, automation and edge cloud

Rakuten leaders take center-stage

“I see that there are three technology pillars that will define the future of mobile networks across the world: Open RAN, automation and edge cloud."                                                                              
- Narendra Narayana, Managing Director and President of Rakuten Symphony India

During Narayana’s special keynote session, he shared a very fascinating story, illustrating the rate of change in the telecom industry. In 1992, explained Narayana, it took 18 months to get a telephone landline connection in India. The connection back then belonged not just to the individual who owned it but to everyone around them (as owning a landline was once considered a luxury). Fast forward to April 2020 and Rakuten Mobile in Japan created the world’s first fully virtualized cloud-native mobile network and launched 4G & 5G services for millions of people in just 18 months. That is the level of transformation that Rakuten was able to achieve. This story is relevant to India because Rakuten Mobile’s disruption was powered in meaningful ways by technology, products and talent from India. In the end, he noted, it is not India’s decade but India’s century, but this can only be achieved if we are able to democratize innovation.

At the Global CEO conclave, Narayana was joined by industry experts from Vodafone Idea, AMD, Mavenir, Tata Communications and Keysight Technologies. Speaking at the session, he highlighted how Rakuten brings both the operator and technology vendor perspective. Rakuten Mobile launched its network and services at a record speed of only 18 months. This shows that if an operator agrees to take the first step, the technology is ready and available. The success that was achieved by Rakuten Mobile in Japan is now being made ‘generally available’ for greenfield and brownfield operators globally with Rakuten Symphony and its Symworl platform.

At the Global CTO conclave, our Head of RAN Engineering, Srinivas Gudladana, was joined by technology experts from Reliance Jio, Qualcomm and AMD. Speaking at the event, he said that at Rakuten Symphony, our first belief was in the transformative power of automation, enabling us to reduce 5G base station deployment time to just four minutes (at present, Rakuten Mobile has 275,000 live cell sites managed by just 250 people). This is possible because of Open RAN, Automation, and the use of cloud-native technologies both on the RAN and Core side. He further added that from a network perspective, the biggest innovations that will enable 5G/6G moving ahead will be service automation, end-to-end service assurance, network service monitoring, observability framework and network performance management with a cloud-native approach.

https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...ways-from-imc-2022-5g-and-beyond
 

Rakuten Zenkoku Super Accelerates DX for Local Supermarkets

OCTOBER 20, 2022

Rakuten Zenkoku Super is an online supermarket platform that empowers local retailers across Japan through the power of DX. This time, RNN takes a close-up look at Beisia, a supermarket chain based in Gunma Prefecture that joined Rakuten Zenkoku Super in January 2022, as we investigate the empowering effects of this service from the frontlines.

https://global.rakuten.com/corp/innovation/rnn/2022/2206_012/  

Increase of the total net assets of Rakuten about a half $ billion

Mizuho Securities to buy 20% of Rakuten Securities for $550 million

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/...ities-550-million-2993831  

E-commerce segment could single-handily alone justify more than the current market valuation

Rakuten is a large conglomerate of e-commerce, financial, telecom, and consumer service dominating the Japanese online economy. The telecom segment has been a major cash drain and spooked investors out. The strong growth and quality of the core business have been ignored and left the company undervalued. The mobile business is set to turn profitable and this should change the narrative (and valuation multiples) around Rakuten.

Rakuten is the largest actor in the Japanese e-commerce sector and gaining even more dominance every year. It is highly profitable and with very strong margins compared to other generalist e-commerce platforms like Amazon or Alibaba.

As a stand-alone company, this segment could single-handily justify the current market valuation of the Rakuten Group, with all the rest of the company offered for free.

https://finmasters.com/rakuten-stock-research-report/  

FinTech as a Second Core Business with a value of higher than $ 10 billion

Rakuten has built a solid online fintech business on top of its e-commerce foundation. It covers everything from insurance, credit card, e-banking, and equity investment accounts. The segment is profitable with good margins. Japan’s financial system is still essentially offline and online activity would need to double or triple to reach the level of digitalization of the US. This leaves abundant room for growth.

https://finmasters.com/rakuten-stock-research-report/  

Value of Rakuten Fintech would be $ 17.7 billion, if the revenues would be valued like the revenues of Rakuten Securities by the sale of 20% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities

Q2/22 FinTech Results Summary of Rakuten
(JPY bn)
Q2/22 Revenue YoY Operating Income YoY
Card 72.5 +5.5% 12.6 +17.1%
Bank 28.2 +9.1% 9.8 +31.0%
Securities 23.5 +14.0% 4.1 +20.7%
Insurance 25.0 -6.9% 2.7 +19.3%
Payment 11.9 +21.9% -1.8 -1.2
Others 1.7 +19.9% -1.0 -0.2
FinTech Total 162.7 +6.3% 26.5 +17.4
https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/...ons/390/86390/original.pdf

Mizuho Securities to buy 20% of Rakuten Securities for $550 million
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/...ities-550-million-2993831

Rakuten Securities had in Q2/2022 revenues of 23.5 billion JPY = about 94 billion JPY on a yearly base or $ 639 million. 20% of $ 639 million = $ 128 million – the results is, that Mizuho paid with $ 550 millon near the 4-fold of the the revenues.

Total Fintech-Revenues of Rakuten in Q2/2022 was 162.7 billion JPY = 650.8 billion JPY on a yearly base = $ 4.43 billion.

If this $ 4.43 billion were valued with the 4-fold like by the sale of 20% of Rakuten Securites to Mizuho Securities, the value of the Raktuen Fintech-Segment would be $ 17.7 billion.  

Outhinking to Outperform: Rakuten Advertising Takes Home 7 Wins at the GPMA’s

Twenty-five years ago, Rakuten Advertising were the pioneers leading the way in a new landscape of digital advertising. We broke new ground with affiliate. We outperformed in programmatic and influencer marketing. And we did it globally.  

Today, we’re proud to share that our team’s dedication and strategic expertise were recognised at the Global Performance Marketing Awards (GPMAs). Our entries wooed the judges, resulting in Rakuten Advertising taking home a staggering seven awards – the most awards won all evening.  

Here is what the judges had to say:  

Winner: Best Innovation – Powerful testing and insights empower 140% KPI growth for Tory Birch & Rakuten Advertising

Winner: Best Partnership – Rakuten Advertising, Lowkey Discord: A tale of a tech giant & Discord  

Winner: Best Influencer Marketing Campaign: Saks, ShopStyle Collective, and Rakuten unlock influencers to build awareness and 2x sales

Winner: Best Social Commerce Campaign – Rakuten Advertising, Student Beans & Weekday: Authentically engaging students with TikTok

Winner: Best Loyalty Partnership – Rakuten Advertising, PerformID, AMEX: Loyalty meets loyal K-pop fans

Winner: Best Affiliate & Partnership Strategy (APAC) – Rakuten Advertising, PerformID, AMEX: Superstars & Super Partnerships

Winner: Most Effective use of Programmatic Ad Buying – Rakuten Advertising & CampChef tapping the inner caveperson to drive sales and loyalty

https://blog.rakutenadvertising.com/en-uk/news/...rtising-wins-gpmas/

 

Mobile Network Experience Report

OCTOBER 2022

https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2022/10/japan/...etwork-experience