Watchdata has become the first of three major Chinese smart card companies to join GlobalPlatform, the international consortium that sets standards for multiapplication smart cards. Watchdata joins as an “observer” member, which means it can attend membership meetings and submit proposals but neither vote nor appoint representatives to technical committees. The Asian companies that hold full membership status are Fujitsu, Hitachi, JCB, NTT Corp. and Renesas. ( CardTechnology )