China satellite opportunities headline CASBAA Sate

Hong Kong, May 17, 2005 – The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) will hold the fifth annual CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum in Singapore on Monday June 13, 2005. The CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum traditionally acts as a curtain-raiser for the CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore.

The Keynote speaker for this years CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum is Mr Cheng Guangren, the President of Sinosat, the exclusive provider of DTH services within China. The issues that will be addressed at the one-day forum include the impact of new satellite applications such as Digital Mobile Satellite and the development of high definition TV services via satellite within the Asia Pacific.

“We believe this will be an outstanding event during a stand-out year for the satellite and communications industries. With the undeniable pick-up in economic activity and the ever-increasing demand for content services, the satellite industry is clearly benefiting,” said CASBAA CEO, Simon Twiston Davies.

Another upside for the satellite industry is the gradual deregulation of the Asia Pacific market which is encouraging operator consolidation along with a new understanding by the investment community as to the benefits that satcoms can deliver for investors, said Mr Twiston Davies.

Besides covering potential drivers for bandwidth-rich video services and the possible onset of private equity investment in the Asian satellite sector, CASBAAs June 13 conference will also examine how manufacturers are addressing cost efficiency and guaranteed performance. In addition, the conference will encompass a high-powered CEO forum where “Satellites on the Move” for the Asian satellite industry will be debated.

“The CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum has become the premier forum in Asia for satellite market strategy discussion,” said William Wade, Deputy, CEO of AsiaSat and Chairman of CASBAAs Satellite Industry Committee. “This year we expect in excess of 200 high-end decision makers to participate.”

Confirmed speakers include CEOs and leading representatives from companies in Asia, North America and Europe including ILS, ESPN STAR Sports, AsiaSat, Thuraya, Mabuhay, KDB SkyLife, Measat, ViaSat, Orbital Communications, Tandberg and AON Explorer.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Ms Rebecca KENNEDY

Communications, CASBAA

Tel: (852) 2854 9913

Email: pr@casbaa.com

ABOUT CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 120 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organisations include ABN AMRO, AsiaSat, ASTRO, Bloomberg Television, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, Galaxy, HBO Asia, The History Channel, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC, Walt Disney Television International, Anytime, BBC Prime. Freshfields, HSBC, Irdeto Access, Loral Skynet, Mindshare, and TOM Group.