33% in Usaha Tegas parent co of Measat, Maxis and East Asia Filmed Entertainm.

The Star 18/3/00 - With the group being well-connected locally and internationally, a dual listing on Nasaq and Mesdaq for Measat should not be problematic, said Franklin Tan head of research of OCBC Securities. The 800 movies from the Shaw Brothers film library which was bought by Hong Kong-based Far East Filmed Entertainment Ltd should prove a hit with the local Chinese population which make up about 30% of Astro's subscriber base, reported to be over 300,000 now. The film library is also believed to be targeted at the huge overseas Chinese market - Toronto for example where Measat is hoping to get a toe-hold for wider global play. Malaysia's limited customer base means that Measat is sure to step up its efforts to expand Astro's reach outside Malaysia and on to more countries in the region besides the Philippines, Taiwan and India where it is expected to commence operations within the next 12 months. The Microsoft deal which was announced last Tuesday envisages both companies working together to shape the development of new multimedia and interactive TV services for Asia. One other benefit of Measat's tie-up with Microsoft was the ability to use Astr as a "conduit" for multi-media content whether for traditional-based or PC-based multimedia systems.

Shaw film library has some 800 movies titles is believed to be crucial for Measat which has undertaken several initiatives to penetrate new markets especially broadcast material with Chinese language content. Measat recently entered into a joint venture with Hong Kong's Television Broadcast Ltd (TVB), to develop a Chinese language web portal, TVB.com, and a digital satellite pay-TV service Galaxy that will distribute high-quality Chinese language content in the US, Europe, Australia and Hong Kong. Measat bought a 29.4% stake in Galaxy for US$94mil in early January and is obliged to increase its stake to about 45% for an additional US$56mil within 15 months from then. Galaxy was granted a satellite uplink and downlink licence by the Hong Kong government in 1998 and may be waiting for approval to operate a pay TV service there. Galaxy was to acquire a 64% stake in The Chinese Channel (Holdings) Ltd in Europe which has the potential to reach half a million Chinese viewers throughout Europe. Galaxy was also to acquire TVB's US subsidiary analogue satellite TV service. The US channel is to be converted into a digital format this year and expand to include three movie and two pay-per-view channels to tap potentially 2.5mil subscribers. Galaxy was to purchase TVB Australia a 10-channel satellite TV service that iwll be launched by the middle of this year, potential subscriber base in Australia is 350,000. Measat is working with joint-venture partners in the Philippines, Taiwan and India and expects to commence operations in those countries within the next 12 months.

Microsoft is believed to have paid US$100mil for a 9% stake in Measat.

The Star 16/3/00 - The tie-up between software giant Mcrosoft Corp and Measat Broadcast Network Systems could form the basis of a powerful regional partnership with the potential to carve out a significant market share, according to analyst. Meast Broadcast Network Systems has both broadcast and Internet operations in Asia under Astro and is said to be considering an initial public offering. "Microsoft and Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd (PCCW) of Cable & Wireless HKT (C&W HKT) are competing for the same space and Measat can provide Microsoft with the delivery system it needs", siad the head of convergence research at Indosuez W.I. Carr Securities. Measat recently formed an alliance with businessman Run Run Shaw's Television Broadcast Ltd providing it with access to a huge collection of Chinese language programming. It has also started rolling out interactive services which users can access via set-top decoders. Measat currently has 400,000 subscribers in Malaysia. With this deal, Measat could be on its way to becoming a serious contender in the region.