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Asiasat’s profit up by 8% for first half of 2012
MUMBAI: Asian satellite operator, Asiasat, has reported a 37 per cent jump in its first six month‘s turnover to HK $1 billion due to a new finance act in India.
The turnover includes a one-time payment of HK $296 million from customers affected by a new finance law enacted in India, where Asiasat sells satellite bandwidth.
The new Indian Finance Act adds what could be a substantial new tax on foreign satellite fleet operators for certain commercial transactions deemed to be sourced in India. Excluding this one-off item, the turnover was similar to that of during the same period last year.
Profit attributable to shareholders for the six months ended 30 June 2012 rose by eight per cent to HK $395.16 million.
The addition of Asiasat 7 satellite opens up opportunities for near-term business growth before it replaces Asiasat 3S in 2014. New satellites Asiasat 6 and Asiasat 8 under construction, will bring additional capacity for core business growth. Expansion of Tai Po Earth Station enhances capability to provide a wider range of value added services to customers.
Asiasat chairman Ju Wei Min said, “During the first half of the year, the Asia-Pacific region was largely able to weather the economic storms currently being felt in Europe and the United States. In the second half of 2012, there is the possibility that we may begin seeing signs of slower growth, especially given the nature of our industry which tends to lag economic trends, both negative and positive.
“Nevertheless, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable growth based on our reputation for providing highly reliable satellite services and technical excellence as well as our commitment to serving our customers in a professional and responsive manner.”
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
