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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 6:44:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 152472

Alex - sorry to sort of dampen your euphoria (regarding the huge percentage increase in those LG (of Korea) financials), but -- do not forget that these numbers are all in South Korean Won. So, some increase is necessary just to bring them back to constant terms (in U.S. dollars). Still, the Won did NOT depreciate so much as to un-do a 98% rise. Jon.

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 8:38:00 AM
From: DaveMG	Respond to of 152472

Hi Alex, Perhaps these phones are more of a necessity than you realize.Does anyone know what the teledensity is in Korea without cellphones? Also, Q results were severely impacted by manufacturing snafus which had nothing to do with Korea... dave

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 9:55:00 AM
From: AnnAbor_Q	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Alex S: I am also new to the thread although I have been reading the comments on the board since I invested in Q. I registered so I can respond to your question. Cellular phones are almost a necessity in Korea and a status symbol. But since so many people have them these days, it is becoming less of a status symbol and more of a necessity. It is a necessity in Korea because it is almost impossible to reach a destination in the city of Seoul on time. Do to massive traffic jams, it will take nearly an hour to travel 3 to 4 mile during rush hour. Consequently, people need cellular phones to keep in touch with friends and business associates when they are running late. Furthermore, the price of cellular phones have come down drastically. I would estimate anywhere from 40 to 60% since last year. This is allowing teenagers and most working people to buy cellular phones. When I was there last month, I was very surprised to see so many high school and college students caring cellular phones since they were in the middle of a severe economic problem. I believe the demand for cellular phones in Korea and Japan will continue to increase and it is recession proof. By the way, I am a Korean-American and travel to Korea regularly for business. Good Luck to all. I loaded up on Q since I returned from Korea and expect a good earnings report this quarter and future quarters. Michael Sorry to be another Michael on the thread.

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 10:04:00 AM
From: Ramsey Su	Respond to of 152472

Alex, sorry I have no explanation and cannot even render an opinion. Unless you have followed Korea stocks, especially the way these Chaebols do their accounting, there is no way you can make heads or tails. A good site to get some summary information. ked.co.kr Ramsey

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 10:49:00 AM
From: Gregg Powers	Respond to of 152472

Alex: Many people continue to miss the obvious.... Capital costs, for network build-out, are the greatest expense facing a cellular operator. Moreover, the marginal cost of delivering a minute of service (particularly a digital minute) is very low. So think about it. If you are Hansol PCS or SK Telecom and you have a big, expensive cellular network in place you must get paying customers onto the system to pay the rent (i.e. service the infrastructure debt). You do this buying subsidizing handset prices (i.e. giving people phones) and playing with rate plans to produce an affordable package. The same will prove to be true in Japan. Best regards, Gregg

To: Alex S who wrote (12377)	7/15/1998 11:27:00 AM
From: bananawind	Respond to of 152472

Alex, re: ...QC problems reported back in February were related to sales to Korean manufactures (who were those manufactures, by the way? There were two basic problems reported at that time. First, Hansol PCS either cancelled or delayed an order for 1 million Q-phones. Given what had happened to the won and the cost of these high-end units, they obviously felt that their subsidy costs to subscribers were going to be unbearable unless they sourced elsewhere. Second, Korean handset manufacturers' royalties to QCOM on product sold into the Korean market are denominated in won. Thus a negative currency effect for QCOM's revenue line. (Note, as Gregg and others have already pointed out, Korean handset royalties on exported product are dollar denominated. Also, Korea is a far smaller percentage of the total these days and getting smaller all the time) Hope this helps fill in the blanks -JLF