| Chip makers face dificult year |
Source:Nick Booth, Computing, March 6 2008 |
| http://www.computing.co.uk |
Moderate revenue growth will slow in 2008, with volatile profitability likely to create
casualties. KPMG expects competition in emerging markets, manufacturing and product
innovation to lead to increased merger and acquisition activity. |
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| Cowan cuts chip market growth forecast to 4.7% |
| Source:Peter Clarke, EETimes, March 6 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
Independent semiconductor market statistician Mike Cowan has joined the ranks of analysts
that are revising 2008 semiconductor annual market growth downwards. Cowan has revised his
growth estimate for 2008 down to 4.7 percent based on the January sales data. Previously
Cowan had the growth at 6.8 percent.
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| Report: Next EMS wave to splash over Ukraine, Romania |
| Source:Drew Wilson, EETimes, March 7 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
Ukraine and Romania are the next hot destinations for electronics manufacturing, according to
a recent report on outsourcing in Central and Eastern Europe by Technology Forecasters Inc. |
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| Korean IT Giants Facing `Survival Game' |
| Source:Kim Yoo-chul, The Korea Times, March 9 2008 |
| http://www.koreatimes.co.kr |
From the semiconductor to flat screen sectors, where South Korea has been enjoying
dominance over its overseas rivals, worries have arisen that the country might be lose its
leadership. |
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| India-Japan trade may touch US$ 15 billion: CII |
|
Source:The Financial Express, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
Trade between India and Japan has the potential to double in the next two years if issues like
trade facilitation and non-tariff barriers are addressed, according to industry body CII. India-
Japan trade can reach 15 billion dollars by 2010 from 7.5 billion dollars in 2006-07. New areas
of trade in services, higher investment flows into India from Japan, promoting people-topeople
contact are other ways through which the level of bilateral trade can increase. |
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| To fab or not to fab... |
| Source:M. Ramesh, The Hindu Business Line, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.thehindubusinessline.com |
|
The debate splits the industry right down the middle. It’s been there for years and refuses to
go away. It didn’t, at the recent conference of the Indian Semiconductor Association, where
‘which side are you on’ was a frequent conversation opener. Does India need a semiconductor
fabrication industry or not? By now, the basic arguments on either side are well known. |
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| U.S. economic wobble hurting Q2 tech outlook |
| Source:Bolaji Ojo, EETimes, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
To put it bluntly, U.S. corporate sales and profits are headed for a rough beating in the second
quarter as weakness in the financial and construction sectors spread to all segments of the
economy, including the technology sector. |
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| Fewer captive R&D projects coming to India |
| Source:MINT, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.livemint.com |
|
In offshore software product development, India has been on the radar of tech firms aiming to
trim costs and gain efficiency of operations for nearly a decade. But, that interest seems to be
waning in the last two years among what are called captive centres or fully owned units of
foreign organizations even as demand for services by independent, third-party service providers
expands at a rapid pace, latest research suggests. |
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| Analyst: 2Q holds key to 2008 chip industry growth |
| Source:Solid State Technology, March 10 2008 |
| http://sst.pennnet.com |
|
The current sluggish growth and mounting economic worries are calling into question whether
the semiconductor industry can regain momentum and manage any growth this year, and the
second quarter -- traditionally a period of accelerating growth -- will be the key, according to a
recent report by iSuppli. |
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| Under the Hood: The next gold rush: solar power |
| Source:John Boyd, EETimes, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
In December 2007, more than 1,500 participants from industry, academia, and military and
government institutions converged on Fukuoka, Japan, to attend the Seventeenth Annual
Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC). From the opening of the
conference, there was palpable excitement about the environmental and political benefits of
photovoltaic technology. And judging from the large number of companies entering the PV
space, there are financial rewards as well. Indeed, the industry's promise of boundless
opportunity evokes the semiconductor industry of the early 1980s. |
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| Gartner to semiconductor industry: Level or drop inventories |
| Source:Suzanne Deffree, EDN, March 10 2008 |
| http://www.edn.com/ |
|
Excess inventory in the electronics supply chain from a poor Q4 2007 could continue to impact
the semiconductor industry through Q2, Gartner Inc warned today. The research company said
its Dataquest Semiconductor Inventory Index (DASI) spiked significantly last quarter to 1.16
from 1.04 in Q3 2007 on lackluster Q4 semiconductor “holiday sales” and lowered expectations
for sales in Q1. |
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| Buyout Industry Staggers Under Weight of Debt |
| Source:Michael J. De La Merced, The New York Times, March 11, 2008 |
| http://www.nytimes.com |
|
With their big paydays and bigger egos, private equity moguls came to symbolize an era of
hyper-wealth on Wall Street. Now their fortunes are plummeting. Celebrated buyout firms like the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, hailed only a year ago for their
deal-making prowess, are seeing their profits collapse as the credit crisis spreads through the
financial markets. |
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| India manufacturing gets boost from NXP |
| Source:K.C. Krishnadas, EE Times, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.eetasia.com |
|
NXP Semiconductors targets to boost the Indian manufacturing ecosystem for wireless handsets
and is looking into alternative markets for its semiconductors, including NFC, mobile TVs, POS
terminals, GPS navigation systems, mobile payment and fixed-wireless terminals. |
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| TSMC to spend $5B on R&D center, says report |
| Source:Mark LaPedus, EETimes, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
Silicon foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) said that it plans to
spend $5 billion to turn an existing 300-mm fab into a central research and development
center, according to IDG News Service. |
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| India Semiconductor Association (ISA) launches Study with Evalueserve supported by Intel
Education and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT). |
| Source:India PRWire, march 11 2008 |
| http://www.indiaprwire.com |
|
The India Semiconductor Association (ISA), the trade body representing the Indian
semiconductor driven industry today released, “A study on the status of semiconductor related
research in Indian universities” a Study by Evalueserve. The Study addresses the state of
semiconductor related research in top Indian technical universities. It is supported by Intel
Education along with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT).The
Study was released by Shri. Jainder Singh, IAS, Secretary MCIT at New Delhi today. |
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| Semiconductor industry faces huge slowdown in capex - SEMI |
| Source:David Manners, ElectronicsWeekly.com, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.electronicsweekly.com |
|
The semiconductor industry is facing a 'huge slowdown in capex' in 2008, according to a report
from SEMI, the trade body for the semiconductor production equipment manufacturing
industry. The SEMI report projects a decline in spending for fab construction projects of 9 per
cent in 2008 (a 'precipitous drop' from +8 per cent in 2007). This downward trend is expected
to accelerate, says SEMI, and may reach -20 per cent in 2008. |
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| Cadence buys IP reuse specialist Chip Estimate |
| Source:George Leopold, EETimes, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
The pace of EDA consolidation appears to be quickening with the announcement that Cadence
Design Systems Inc. has acquired IP reuse specialist Chip Estimate Corp. Cadence, based here,
said the deal was completed on March 7. |
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| Qualcomm buys content targeting firm |
| Source:Mark LaPedus, EETimes, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
Qualcomm Inc. has acquired Xiam Technologies Ltd., an Ireland-based pioneer of wireless
content targeting solutions, for $32 million. The move expands Qualcomm's offerings. Founded
in 2004 and funded with venture capital from Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland, Xiam is a
software company that provides personalized targeting and recommendations technology in
wireless systems. |
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| ST teams with Israeli startup for RFID |
| Source:Amir Ben-Artzi, EETimes, March 11 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
Startup PowerID Ltd. (Petah Tikva, Israel), a provider of RFID technology, has teamed with
STMicroelectronics (Geneva, Switzerland) to develop and market battery assisted passive (BAP)
RFID technology for existing and new markets. The companies also said they plan to co-market
EPCglobal Class 1, Generation 2 technology to customers that demand RFID where the
performance of passive RFID is limited and where active RFID technologies are too expensive or
bulky. |
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| India study recommends more university chip R&D |
| Source:K.C. Krishnadas, EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
A study by the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) concludes that India needs a network of
dedicated research centers focusing on chip technology research. In a survey of India's
technology institutes, ISA recommended upgrading existing labs to match industry's. It also
urged industry to actively participate in semiconductor research rather than merely donate
software, for example, like EDA tools. |
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| LSI buys Infineon's HDD biz |
| Source:EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.eetasia.com |
|
LSI Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the HDD semiconductor
business of Infineon Technologies AG. The agreement calls for LSI to purchase the assets and
intellectual property of the Infineon HDD business, which includes product designs, related
software, inventory and test equipment. LSI also will enter into additional agreements with
Infineon, including intellectual property, design services, transition services, and supply
agreements. The transaction is expected to close within 60 days and is subject to the
satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms are not
being disclosed. |
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| IMS: India UPS market to reach $400M in 2007 |
| Source:EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.eetindia.co.in |
|
The global UPS market has continued its outstanding performance with estimated average
yearly growth of almost 20 per cent in the 3Q of 2007. Large three-phase installations continue
to drive revenues to record levels and the global UPS market is expected to break the
Rs.27,555.63 crore ($7 billion) mark in 2007, according to latest analysis from IMS Research. |
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| Five firms seek govt nod for chip fab units |
| Source:LiveMINT, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.livemint.com |
|
Five Indian firms, including Moser Baer Ltd and Videocon group, have applied to the Union
government to set up semiconductor fabrication units, a senior official said on Tuesday. “The total investment will be Rs. 40,000 crore on the plants,” Jainder Singh, secretary of the
department of information technology, said on Tuesday. |
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| TSMC chairman: Semiconductor industry growth to beat overall industry |
| Source:Hans Wu, Taipei; Esther Lam, Digitimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.digitimes.com |
|
Despite foreseeing further room for appreciation of the New Taiwan (NT) dollar against the US
dollar and a further rise in the price of crude oil, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang reiterated his projection of seeing growth in the
semiconductor industry beat that of the overall industry in 2008. |
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| EU R&D gulf between West and East |
| Source:Drew Wilson, EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
West and East Europe are at two ends of the scale when it comes to R&D spending. Cyprus,
Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia were the EU member states with the lowest percentage of R&D
spending in the EU-27 at the end of 2006, according to recently released figures from Eurostat,
the statistics unit of the European Union. |
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| DSP talent blossoms in Romanian region |
| Source:Drew Wilson, EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.eu |
|
Foreign companies have been partnering with Politehnica University of Timisoara in Western
Romania, bolstering the pool of digital signal processing specialists coming out of the region.
In 1999, Motorola partnered with the university to provide development tools and financing for
student training. The partnership is continuing through Freescale Semiconductor. |
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| NEC Electronics reveals early retirement plan, fab reorg |
| Source:Mark LaPedus, EETimes, March 12 2008 |
| http://www.my-esm.com |
|
Seeking to cut costs, Japan's NEC Electronics Corp. announced plans to implement an
''enhanced'' early retirement program. The company also recently disclosed details of its fab
consolidation plan. |
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| Gates Tells Congress What Is Needed for Better Work Force |
| Source:The Associated Press, March 13 2008 |
| http://www.nytimes.com |
|
More investment in math and science education and a more liberal policy toward skilled foreign
workers are crucial if America is to avoid losing its competitive edge, a founder of Microsoft,
Bill Gates, told Congress on Wednesday. The shortage of scientists and engineers is so acute,
Mr. Gates said, that “we must do both: reform our education system and our immigration
policies.” |
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| Semiconductor assembly and test market soars |
| Source:Robert Jaques, vnunet.com, March 13 2008 |
| http://www.vnunet.com |
|
The worldwide market for semiconductor assembly and test services (Sats) grew for the sixth
consecutive year in 2007, according to Gartner. The analyst firm estimates that worldwide
revenue was up 7.4 per cent at $20.6bn last year. |
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| Chip makers may curb hiring on US slump |
| Source:Aravind Gowda, Business Standard, March 13 2008 |
| http://www.businessstandard.com |
|
With recessionary trends in the US economy appearing imminent, semiconductor firms –
particularly the global companies operating captive design centres in India – are expected to
hire fewer engineers in the next financial year. More than 50 global companies, mostly from
the US, operate captive design centres or offshore development centres (ODCs), partnering
Indian firms. |
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| ARM opens second Indian design center |
| Source:K.C. Krishnadas, EETimes, March 13 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
ARM Ltd. opened a second design center here Thursday (March 13) to accommodate more
engineers, having grown from just 50 engineers in 2004 to 350. More are expected to be hired
to support its global design activities. |
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| Ex-ST exec proposes pan-European chip company |
| Source:Anne-Francoise Pele, EETimes, March 13 2008 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
|
Joseph Borel, former executive vice president in central R&D at STMicroelectronics NV has
proposed that Europe's top three chip companies — NXP, ST and Infineon Technologies — should
consolidate into one European super chip company. A 12-page proposal from Borel has been
sent to the French Senate and is being transferred to the office of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy.. |
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| Wipro enters R&D deal on high-performance computing |
| Source:K.C. Krishnadas, EE Times, March 14 2008 |
| http://www.eetasia.com |
|
India's Wipro Technologies has joined forces with U.S.-based Scalable Informatics LLC, a highperformance
computing vendor, to provide expanded R&D services to the computer market.
The emergence of multicore CPUs, grid computing, computer clusters and storage "clouds" is
driving the need to transform legacy applications, Wipro said. Businesses such as gaming and
animation, energy, drug research, life sciences and manufacturing need better modeling and
large-scale simulations. |
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