Rakuten wesentlich besser als Rocket
consolidated financial reports for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 (J-GAAP).
The financial reports of Rakuten Securities, Inc. are based on “Uniform Accounting Standards for
Securities Companies” (set by the Board of Directors of the Japan Securities Dealers Association,
November 14, 1974).
Results for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 (January 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023)
Consolidated Operating Results* (Millions of yen, rounded down)
Operating revenue Net operating revenue Operating income Ordinary income Net income
Nine months ended September 30, 2023
84,324 80,514 24,076 23,670 16,362
Nine months ended September 30, 2022
70,741 67,059 12,356 11,932 7,109
Results for the six months ended September 30, 2023 (April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023)
Consolidated Operating Results (Millions of yen, rounded down)
Operating revenue Net operating revenue Operating income Ordinary income Net income
April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023
59,690 57,115 18,149 17,945 12,513
April 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022
47,428 44,828 8,610 8,500 5,322
https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/press/2023/1026_01.html
https://rakuten.today/blog/bape-at-rakuten-fashion-week-tokyo.html
BAPE x Rakuten: Leveraging digital tools for a fashion spectacle
Rakuten Fashion’s ‘by R’ initiative launched in 2020 with the goal of connecting talented Japanese fashion designers with the global market.
“BAPE has been doing business globally for over 20 years,” the BAPE spokesperson said. “We think that collaborating with Rakuten and combining our strengths has allowed us to leverage each other’s expertise and create some truly unique and exciting things.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Ku_4rHhFY
https://rakuten.today/blog/bape-at-rakuten-fashion-week-tokyo.html
26 Oct 2023 15:49
Ukraine's leading mobile operator Kyivstar and Rakuten Symphony, an innovations subsidiary of Rakuten Group, an international technology conglomerate, are pursuing a project for deploying the Open RAN technology, which is key to building 5G networks in Ukraine, Kyivstar President Alexander Komarov said.
"Our cooperation with Rakuten Symphony includes three phases. We've started to create a joint laboratory to study Open RAN technology (a mobile telecom initiative for disaggregating hardware and software and creating open interfaces between them). The laboratory will serve as a basis for sharing competences and testing equipment and technology. The second stage of the project is to carry out a pilot program in the form of a small Open RAN network segment based on 10 to 15 sites, a scope that meets the needs of a small town. The third stage is to scale up the technology to build a 5G network in the future," Ukrainian media quoted Komarov as saying.
As reported earlier, the international telecom group VEON owning Kyivstar was bringing in Rakuten Symphony to assist with the reconstruction of the telecom infrastructure in Ukraine.
https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/95860/
Am 23. Oktober 2023 um 13:29 Uhr
Die japanische Rakuten-Gruppe erklärte am Montag, dass sie 54,4 Milliarden Yen (362,81 Millionen Dollar) in den Bau von Mobilfunk-Basisstationen investieren werde, kurz nachdem die Regierung bekannt gegeben hatte, dass sie dem Betreiber des Unternehmens bessere Frequenzen für die Verbindung zugewiesen hat.
Rakuten erklärte, dass es 10.661 Basisstationen für die "Platinband"-Frequenz eröffnen will und erwartet, dass sein Mobilfunkgeschäft im Jahr 2026 profitabel wird.
Das Unternehmen hält an seinem Plan fest, die Investitionsausgaben zwischen 2023 und 2025 um etwa 300 Milliarden Yen zu senken, sagte ein Sprecher.
https://de.marketscreener.com/kurs/aktie/...sserer-Frequenz-45124236/
Oct 24, 2023
Viber gehört zu den beliebtesten Messengern in Osteuropa und vielen asiatischen Ländern. Für Unternehmen bietet er von Newslettern über Chatbots bis hin zu Bezahloptionen spannende Features. Im folgenden Guide stellen wir den Viber Messenger genauer vor und blicken auf das Potenzial für Unternehmen.
Viber wird in der Messenger-Welt neben WhatsApp oder dem Facebook Messenger oft als Außenseiter wahrgenommen. Zu Unrecht! Der Messenger, der mittlerweile zum japanischen Rakuten-Konzern gehört, wächst seit seiner Gründung 2010 stetig und verzeichnet 2023 über eine Milliarde Nutzer:innen, und das allein auf Android. Das macht Viber weltweit beliebter als den Facebook Messenger!
In Südostasien und vielen Teilen Europas ist Viber DER Messengerdienst für den privaten Austausch. Doch auch für Unternehmen bietet Viber enorm viel Potenzial. Wir zeigen dir in diesem Guide, was genau Viber für Unternehmen bietet.
https://engage.sinch.com/de-de/blog/...senger-ueberblick-unternehmen/
24, 2023
Viber gehört zu den beliebtesten Messengern in Osteuropa und vielen asiatischen Ländern. Für Unternehmen bietet er von Newslettern über Chatbots bis hin zu Bezahloptionen spannende Features. Im folgenden Guide stellen wir den Viber Messenger genauer vor und blicken auf das Potenzial für Unternehmen.
Viber wird in der Messenger-Welt neben WhatsApp oder dem Facebook Messenger oft als Außenseiter wahrgenommen. Zu Unrecht! Der Messenger, der mittlerweile zum japanischen Rakuten-Konzern gehört, wächst seit seiner Gründung 2010 stetig und verzeichnet 2023 über eine Milliarde Nutzer:innen, und das allein auf Android. Das macht Viber weltweit beliebter als den Facebook Messenger!
In Südostasien und vielen Teilen Europas ist Viber DER Messengerdienst für den privaten Austausch. Doch auch für Unternehmen bietet Viber enorm viel Potenzial. Wir zeigen dir in diesem Guide, was genau Viber für Unternehmen bietet.
https://engage.sinch.com/de-de/blog/...senger-ueberblick-unternehmen/
Enhanced features for better customer engagement and efficient sales drive
Oct 11, 2023 06:15 AM
AT A GLANCE
•§Rakuten Viber, a globally renowned messaging app, has rolled out a suite of tools specifically designed for small and medium-sized enterprises. These tools aim to enhance engagement with local customers, digital presence optimization, incoming query management, and sales driving.
•§The introduction of these tools was spurred by a noticeable surge in brand-user interactions on the Viber platform. In 2023, the company witnessed a 26% increase in new business accounts and a significant 31% YoY growth in business message delivery.
•§Cristina Constandache, the Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Viber, emphasized the company's commitment to offering tailored services to businesses of varying sizes. She highlighted Viber's potential as a growth partner, providing businesses with a dynamic platform to navigate emerging challenges.
•§Some of the standout features of the new business tools include the ability for SMEs to create a public business profile, showcasing crucial information to potential customers. SMEs can also leverage the product catalog feature, where they can integrate detailed product descriptions, images, and pricing. Another significant attribute is Viber's dedicated chat folder, ensuring a clear distinction between business and personal communications.
•§The discoverability feature on Viber aids businesses in increasing their visibility to potential clients who are exploring similar services or products on the app. It underscores the importance of choosing the right categories and keywords when establishing a public business profile. This, coupled with the new tools, can significantly streamline SMEs' communications, expanding their reach and fostering growth.
https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/10/...troduces-new-business-tools-for-sm-es
- Opensignal’s October 2023 Mobile Network Experience Report shows Rakuten Mobile delivers Japan’s best 5G Upload and takes top position for 5G Download Speed and Live Video Experience
https://corp.mobile.rakuten.co.jp/english/news/press/2023/1025_01/
Beim Umsatz ist dabei zu berücksichtigen, dass der Yen gegenüber dem Dollar abgewertet hat - ohne diesen Effekt wäre das Umsatzwachstum wesentlich höher.
October 26, 2023
In today’s ever-changing telco landscape, the need of the hour is to simplify hardware and shift towards software as much as possible. Telcos are having to introduce ever-increasing levels of automation, simplification and industrialization into their network operations. Moving away from the old ways of component-level automation, we are entering a new era of system-level automation. This will give telcos the speed they need to thrive and survive.
Guy Daniels, Director of Content, Telecom TV, sat together with industry experts Geoff Hollingworth, CMO at Rakuten Symphony, Caroline Chan, VP of Network and Edge Group at Intel and Mory Lin, VP of IoT, Embedded and Edge Computing at Supermicro, to explore the past, present and future of automation in telecom.
Achieving the path toward system-level automation
Telecom automation is all about reducing supply-side SKUs, removing the need for manual intervention, and introducing workflow digitization. The discussion began with Hollingworth talking about Rakuten’s approach to building mobile networks, which was completely cloud-native, open and automated with the help of our partner ecosystem.
Lin highlighted that for Supermicro, it all started with the industry’s push towards Open RAN hardware, and they had a chance to present to Rakuten the idea of using x86 platforms to support Open RAN. During the journey, Rakuten and Intel helped Supermicro optimize their off-the-shelf services and hardware for live deployments. It was a unique segment for Lin and team as they had the opportunity to bring cutting-edge data center technology, extend it to telecom and redesign more reliable systems for every application in the field.
Chan talked about Intel being a part of this ecosystem for the past 14 years – transforming the network from purpose built into a disaggregated, virtualized and containerized one, much like the cloud/hyperscaler/enterprise world.
“We quickly realized how automation is becoming a huge part of the network. We are very grateful to work with industry-leading companies like Rakuten Symphony and Supermicro in this journey.”
- Caroline Chan, VP of Network and Edge Group at Intel
Driving efficiency in network operations
The discussion next moved onto how the first thing that telcos need to embrace in existing operations is the sheer complexity, scale and history of those operations. The fundamental principles for achieving system-level automation are to start small, manage your automation, run old alongside new, challenge engineering mindsets, design for automation at scale and own the knowledge.
“I think the operators definitely want to see Intel, Supermicro and Rakuten Symphony together to lower the total cost of operations and virtualize the target area.“
- Mory Lin, VP of IoT, Embedded and Edge computing at Supermicro
The most important factor required for operators to crack the code on optimizing their operations is knowing where to start. Rakuten Mobile faced a unique challenge — starting from scratch and needing to move swiftly while maintaining a small operations team. In contrast, existing operators already have large teams managing highly complex networks spanning multiple generations.
Introducing a holistic automation approach involves technology, but it also requires considerations regarding the organization and the processes in place. Therefore, as Hollingworth explained, one key initiative Rakuten always introduced in engagements was the concept of an automation center of excellence – a centralized focused group of people who work with the existing domain owners to understand what's required to be surfaced and what the priorities are. It is also essential to prioritize and execute based on the use cases deemed most important.
Establishing a robust ecosystem for success
Chan spoke about how Intel worked closely with Rakuten and Supermicro to address various business challenges, including closed-loop automation, security, debugging, reliability assurance, and collecting telemetry data at the silicon and software levels. For example, the achievement of running an Open RAN system and setting up a cell site in minutes instead of days.
Lin highlighted the collaboration in addressing challenges related to form factor, application-wise automation processes, thermal issues, and capacity. While Rakuten Symphony took charge of deploying and managing reliable networks for operators (both brownfield and greenfield), Intel’s technology ensured that accelerators like the Intel vRAN Boost, as part of the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor, helped Supermicro find a position to contribute to the system.
It is just the beginning
Automation is the key strategic imperative of the industry, suggested Hollingworth. To compete at a different level, the industry must automate. Open RAN, artificial intelligence, and cloud technologies feed the ability to simplify automation in operations. Moving beyond the buzzword stage, Hollingworth noted that we need to ensure operators actually benefit from advancements in these areas.
"Significant operational hours can be saved by automating the detection and resolution of network issues. Whether it's through telemetry data, KPI performance data, or alarms, all information is automatically correlated to find potential solutions. The right team is then allocated based on the gathered information. If it's a recurring issue, the system offers a closed-loop solution, allowing for automation without human intervention."
-Geoff Hollingworth, CMO at Rakuten Symphony
Conclusion
To make informed decisions, you must have access to the necessary data to understand real-time events. The provision of data in an industrialized and accessible manner is the initial step in transforming the entire operation. The cloud serves as a programmable interface, allowing remote control of hardware. Open RAN similarly offers a programmable interface for remote control of radios by anyone, and this integrates seamlessly with all data-related activities. This enables human decision-making with data and AI, ultimately leading to automation cycles.
Automation currently exists in localized, domain-specific ways, but the big opportunity now is to transition to cross-domain system-level automation. If you want pragmatic help with the following, please contact us:
•§Zero-touch provisioning
•§Day 2 operations automation
•§Real-time telemetry
•§Auto backup and restore
https://symphony.rakuten.com/blog/...-supermicro-in-telecomtv-feature
https://dealflow.es/issue/373/...ll-cabify-jeff-enters-administration
by Werner Geyser Last Updated: October 10th, 2023
From a mere $1.7 billion at the time of this site's beginning in 2016, influencer marketing grew to have an estimated market size of $16.4 billion in 2022. Furthermore, this is expected to jump a further 29% to an estimated $21.1 billion in 2023.
https://influencermarketinghub.com/...cer-marketing-benchmark-report/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbdsKyhyuLA
October 30, 2023
The Asia-Pacific region is spearheading the adoption of digital payments at point of sale (POS)
Shoppers across this region are swiftly embracing the digital revolution in payment methods, marking a significant departure from conventional approaches. Recent insights from the report underscore the Asia-Pacific's emergence as a trailblazer in leveraging digital wallets for POS transactions, surpassing global peers in this transformative trend.
Consumers in the region are steering a diverse range of payment methods, signaling a growing affinity for alternative choices during checkout. This diverse mix encompasses debit and credit cards, account-to-account transfers, QR code payments, mobile wallets, "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) services, and innovative POS financing facilitated by banks, fintechs, and merchants.
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes
Alipay
Apple
Au Pay
D Pay
GoTo
Grab
Mobile Suica
PayPal
PayPay
Rakuten Pay
Samsung
Stripe
Visa
https://www.galvnews.com/news_ap/business/...4-bc12-5eebffa21fcf.html
Open RAN brings the promise of increased revenue streams, lower capex, and TCO, and diversity advantages to operators. Reaping these benefits will depend in part on leveraging AI/ML technologies in timing and synchronization solutions to bring more efficiency and optimization to managing sync networks in Open RAN and help operators improve KPIs and the customer experience.
https://www.eeworldonline.com/why-o-ran-sync-monitoring-needs-ai-ml/
2022 Global GTV 1997-2022 JPY 34 tn
2000-2022 CAGR +39.2%
2022 Revenue JPY 1.9 tn
1997-2022 CAGR +56.9%
https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/...ions/61/96061/original.pdf
Consolidated EBITDA (JPY bn)
With Mobile capex Mobile opex Internet Services and FinTech EBITDA
EBITDA to improve in FY2023 after becoming profitable in Q4/22
Q2/22 Q3/22 Q4/22 Q1/23 Q2/23
-16.7 -14.9 +0.9 +3.5 +33.6
https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/...ions/61/96061/original.pdf
by Wired a day ago
MMD Research Institute has announced the results of the “Survey on considering switching communication services in September 2023” conducted among 36,331 smartphone users. 11.2% of respondents are considering switching from their current communication service to another company, and the top reason for considering switching is “high fees.” The service most considered for switching to was Rakuten Mobile’s “Rakuten Strongest Plan”.
https://iphonewired.com/news/714572/
Among respondents who were considering switching from their current communication service to another company, the communication service they were most considering switching to was the “Rakuten Strongest Plan” at 23.6%.
This is followed by “Y!mobile” at 15.1%, “UQ mobile” at 15.0%, and “MVNO” at 14.6%.
https://iphonewired.com/news/714572/
When we asked 1,652 people who had decided to switch to another company when they wanted to switch, the most common answer was “within 2024” (40.5%). This is followed by “December 2023” at 25.0% and “November 2023” at 16.2%.
https://iphonewired.com/news/714572/