AIG aims for 10 pct of Taiwan wealth mgmt market
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AIG&#39;s  private banking unit is  aiming to take 10 percent of Taiwan&#39;s wealth management market  within five years, targeting residents who have made big money  in China, a top executive said on Tuesday.
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(InfoWorld) - The head of the world's largest contract chip maker said his industry will have trouble maintaining sales and profit growth in the future because the overall chip industry has slowed down and there's a lot more competition. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) plans to expand to new markets and find new work in product areas such as chips for mobile phones, digital cameras, and other consumer electronics devices in order to meet these challenges, said Morris Chang, the chairman of TSMC, at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco on Monday. The company released information from his speech. Overall revenue growth in the chip industry has slowed to around 6 percent per year between 2000 and 2010, from 16 percent each year prior to 2000, he said. At the same time, more new rivals have entered the contract chip making business. His company will have to find new ways to grow despite these challenges, he said. "Growth opportunities exist in cell-phone applications, game systems, digital TV, LCD displays, power management, MP3 devices, and digital cameras," a paper Chang submitted to the conference reads. Developing closer relationships with the chip design companies that create chips for these kinds of products will be a key strategy for TSMC in the future. TSMC manufactures chips that are designed by other companies, a business model it pioneered. Prior to the Taiwanese company's founding, small chip design firms had to ask Intel, Motorola, and other big chip makers to make their chips, and these companies would only comply if their factories weren't being fully used already. Most small companies didn't have enough money to set up their own chip factory because the high tech plants used to cost around $1 billion each. Now, a new one can cost $3.5 billion. TSMC stepped in to fill the gap, and the result has been the steady growth of chip design companies that never build their own factories. They rely on TSMC or other foundry chip makers, including Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), to manufacture their chips. Mobile phone chip developer Qualcomm and graphics chip designer Nvidia are two examples of companies that have been wildly successful, despite not owning their own factories. They farm out production to foundries such as TSMC and UMC. The success of TSMC and UMC has caused a number of new competitors to enter the chip foundry business. IBM, Samsung Semiconductor, and China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC)Â are all examples of latecomers to the foundry business. These new rivals have been able to survive, and in some cases thrive. "The growth of the industry has attracted many companies to offer foundry services. Consequently, competition between these companies increases the potential for commoditization of foundry services," according to Chang's report. He goes on to say that going forward, the best defense for TSMC will be to engage with chip design customers far earlier in the developing stage of their products, and to offer a wider range of production services. TSMC and UMC hold around a 75 percent share of the global chip foundry business, according to investment banking firm Merrill Lynch & Co. Last week, TSMC said itÂ opened its first office Bangalore, India, to find new customers and help existing ones complete their chip designs faster and bring products more quickly to market. Â
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A parliamentary election victory for Taiwan&#39;s opposition coalition will boost investor confidence and the financial markets on Monday, analysts said.
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â¢American International Group, Inc. reported that AIG Financial Products Corp., a subsidiary, has reached an $80 million settlement with the Department of Justice concerning charges that stemmed from structured
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Taiwan, over the strong protests of China, is seeking to buy more than $400 million worth of missiles and parts from the United States to bolster its air defenses.
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Affiliated Managers Group Inc. , a US company that owns stakes in 18 money management firms, acquired an equity interest in AQR Capital Management, its fifth transaction this year. AQR, based in Greenwich, Conn., is a quantitative manager and hedge fund company that manages about $12 billion, Beverly-based AMG said in a statement. AQR's management will hold the remaining equity ...
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A new Goldman Sachs Group  stock  hedge fund could be launched with more than $6 billion, with  some investors expecting the fund to attract as much $10  billion, people familiar with the fund said.
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Investor's Business Daily - A New Jersey asset manager is looking to build an income-generating fund of exchange traded funds as it attempts to get ETFs into the 401(k) market.
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Sharp Corp  said on Tuesday it  aims for 10 percent profit growth in the year starting in April  as it brings forward a planned capacity expansion at its  flagship LCD panel plant and drives LCD TV sales in China.
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Asset management company Federated Investors Inc. on Thursday said it will buy Alliance Capital Management Holding LP&#39;s cash management business.
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HSBC (0005.HK), Europe's biggest bank,  said on Monday it expected to remain profitable in Taiwan in  2008, as its acquisition of a local rival will help it access  more clients in Asia's third-largest wealth management market.
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Toyota plans to sell 10.4 million vehicles globally in 2009, it said Friday, a sales target that would put the Japanese automaker ahead of a record hit by world leader General Motors 30 years ago.
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A federal grand jury is investigating  products American International Group Inc. sold that companies  might have used to make their earnings look better, AIG, the  world's largest insurer by market value, said on Thursday.
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China's economy is set to grow at a faster-than-expected rate of 10.4% this year, the Asian Development Bank says.
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Alliance Capital Management Holdings LP (AC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , one of the biggest US money managers, on Thursday said its profit rose in the third quarter
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(InfoWorld) - Taiwanese chip assembler Advanced Semiconductor EngineeringÂ (ASE) plans to invest $60 million in a low-end chip assembly company based in China. ASE's board of directors approved a plan to invest in Global Advanced Packaging Technology, a Shanghai company, ASE said Thursday. ASE will need approval from Taiwanese regulators to move forward on the investment due to strict regulations meant to keep Taiwanese technology from ending up in missiles and other military hardware aimed at the island by rival China. Taiwan and China remain enemies after splitting in 1949 amid civil war. Despite the strained relationship andÂ tough investment rules, China remains by far the favored destination for Taiwanese investment due to their shared language and culture, and China's lower costs and huge potential market. Currently, ASE has no chip assembly investments in China, despite the fact that earlier this year Taipei gave a green light to chip makers to invest in low-end chip assembly. Although the government announced it would allow such investments, not a single application has been approved by Taipei, and companies remain unsure of how to apply to regulators. Analysts say that the approval process remains very much subject to politics in Taiwan, due mainly to the rivalry with China. In related news, ASE said it will form a special committee to evaluate aÂ possible $5.5 billion dealÂ to be bought out by a consortium led by The Carlyle Group. So far, ASE has only received an indication of interest from Carlyle, not a formal offer. The deal could transform ASE into a U.S. company, where Carlyle is based, thereby allowing ASE to invest in China without asking Taipei for permission. China's growing electronics industry requires chips, and chip assembly factories nearby can help ensure quick placement inside gadgets. Carlyle's interest in ASE is also a sign of the times. There have been a string of private equity deals in the chip industry recently. A few months ago, Carlyle was part of a team that sealed a deal to buy Freescale SemiconductorÂ for $17.6 billion, while Koninklijke Philips ElectronicsÂ sold a majority in its chip unit to another group for around $10.6 billion. Â ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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Total money market mutual fund assets rose by $2.10 billion to $2.536 trillion for the week, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.