During 2010, AsiaSat continued to see growing regional demand for HDTV and an increasing number of new DTH satellite television and other payTV platforms serving Asia. The Company was able to benefit from the recovering economic activities and new growth opportunities across the region.

The past year was marked by some exciting developments in the areas of new business and services. In June, AsiaSat’s new Direct-to-Home (DTH) project, DishHD, officially launched its services in Taiwan. This project is a joint venture between AsiaSat and EchoStar Corporation and offers HD DTH satellite television services to Taiwan and other targeted regional markets. Delivered in MPEG-4 format via AsiaSat 4’s Ku-band Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) beam, DishHD provides its customers with a choice of 39 enhanced and high definition (HD) channels, delivering content that encompasses all genres, from sports, movies, entertainment and documentaries, to lifestyle, fashion and food.

Also in June, a new client — Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) — began delivering a new premium DTH platform via AsiaSat 5, the Company’s newest satellite. Using four transponders on the new Ku-band Indochina spot beam, VTC provides up to 30 HD and 70 SD channels in various subscription packages to address the diverse needs and interests of television viewers in Vietnam.

New business continues to be acquired and existing clients are introducing new services. For example, the client portfolio has been expanded to now include a compelling program neighborhood of more than 500 TV and radio channels. These serve Asian audiences with the most comprehensive and highest quality content. One of the most exciting additions during the year was the launch of six new premium HD channels by Asia’s largest international TV broadcaster, Fox International Channels, on AsiaSat 5, the ideal satellite platform for distribution service of HD and SD in the Asia-Pacific region.

A strategic replacement program assures service continuity to AsiaSat 3S customers. Additionally, AsiaSat 7 was originally ordered as AsiaSat 5C, a backup satellite for AsiaSat 5. However, following the successful launch of AsiaSat 5, this backup satellite was reconfigured as AsiaSat 7, which will be a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 3S at the orbital location of 105.5 degrees East. Construction of this new satellite is progressing on schedule. In early October, we entered into a contract with International Launch Services (ILS) to launch AsiaSat 7 on an ILS Proton rocket in late 2011.

In the area of occasional use service, 2010 has been one of the busiest and most exciting for AsiaSat. AsiaSat satellites’ ubiquitous access to all leading Asian terrestrial networks and pay platforms makes it the most popular choice for video service providers and broadcasters for occasional use transmission of live international sports events. Events delivered via AsiaSat during the year included the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the Indian Premier League, the FIFA World Cup, the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Guangzhou Asian Games.

Not only does AsiaSat provide quality transponder capacity to support the HD and SD telecasts of these tournaments across the region, we also provide seamless, reliable and cost-effective turnaround and uplink solutions for our clients. For example, during this year’s FIFA World Cup, transmission services were provided to long-time client, Eurovision. The Eurovision signals from South Africa were transported via a dedicated fibre network to the Tai Po Earth Station in Hong Kong. From those facilities, signals were uplinked to the satellite, providing coverage for the entire Asia-Pacific region. To further expand the one-stop transmission solutions for customers, the Company has also introduced new C-band MCPC platforms that use DVB-S2 modulation to provide cost effective content delivery solutions across our satellite fleet from Tai Po.

During the year, AsiaSat’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SpeedCast, also achieved positive growth with an encouraging increase in turnover and net profit during the first half of 2010. This was accomplished by actively growing their business and investing in new areas, such as the maritime broadband and VSAT services.

Going forward, the landscape in Asia looks ready for new growth opportunities. Continued growth in DTH is expected as well as the launch of new services across the region. Demand for capacity for content distribution region-wide, particularly HD, and for broadband services in places not well served by terrestrial networks are expected to continue to grow. With the construction of the AsiaSat 7 satellite making good progress, and the continued expansion of ground infrastructure to provide more comprehensive transmission solutions and services, the Company is well positioned to seize the new and existing business opportunities that lay ahead.

As the market leader in the Asia-Pacific region, AsiaSat serves over 100 broadcasters, news agencies, video service companies, telecommunications and broadband service providers as well as governments and commercial enterprises through its powerful fleet of three in-orbit satellites and world-class ground infrastructure in Hong Kong.