Philips to sell TSMC shares in Taiwan and U.S
612763
TSMC (2330.TW), the world's largest  contract chip maker, said on Friday Philips  plans to  sell TSMC shares it owns to help it make an orderly exit from  its current $8.5 billion stake in the Taiwan company.
59357
The top executive at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the world&#39;s biggest contract chipmaker, offered a mixed message Thursday about prospects for the global chip industry in 2008.Speaking at the company&#39;s third quarter investor conference, President and CEO Rick Tsai predicted that the chip industry will strengthen in 2008, but he also said TSMC will spend &quot;significantly less&quot; on new plants and equipment next year.TSMC announced net sales of NT$88.96 billion&#160;(US$2.73 billion) for the July to September period, up nearly 8 percent over the same time last year. Its net profit fell 6.5 percent to NT$30.37 billion, nearly in line with analyst&#39;s expectations.&quot;The third quarter was better than expected, not just for TSMC, but for the whole electronics industry,&quot; Tsai said. Sales of chips to the PC sector, mobile phone segment and consumer electronics products group were all brisk, he said.But many analysts considered TSMC&#39;s forecast to be more important than its third-quarter results. That&#39;s because of&#160;uncertainty about economic growth in the U.S.&#160;due to the housing loan problems there, high oil prices, and other troubles that could ultimately impact spending on electronics.TSMC is considered a&#160;bellwether for the tech industry&#160;because of the wide range of chips it manufactures, which end up in products including Xbox 360s, iPhones, PCs, and automobiles.&quot;We&#39;re expecting 2008 to be a better year than 2007 for the semiconductor industry,&quot; Tsai said. The chip industry will grow by a mid-to-high single digit percentage in 2008, the company forecast, compared to expected growth of 4 percent in 2007.Despite the rosy outlook, TSMC will reduce its 2008 capital spending from the expected US$2.6 billion in 2007. Spending cuts often indicate that a company isn&#39;t very bullish about business prospects, but TSMC said it wants to reduce spending next year because it spent heavily on production lines in 2007 that won&#39;t begin producing chips until next year.The change in spending plans is significant, said Eric Chen, research director at BNP Paribas Securities (Taiwan). If TSMC&#39;s capital spending drops by about 30 percent, as many analysts have predicted, it won&#39;t be a surprise, he said. But if the company reduces spending by a lot more, it suggests that TSMC may be more concerned about future economic growth than it is letting on.Tsai said TSMC hasn&#39;t determined a specific figure yet for its 2008 capital spending.BNP believes Europe and the U.S. may both face slowing economic growth next year.
588410
AMSTERDAM: The Dutch electronics group Philips said on Thursday that it has agreed to sell much of its flat screen business to Taiwanese company TPV Technology under an agreement worth US$358m (269 million euros).
266181
Philips  plans to buy U.S.  sleep therapy products maker Respironics Inc  for $5.1  billion, its largest deal to date in an aggressive expansion in  the fast-growing health-care sector.
411403
Philips Electronics NV is to buy U.S. medical products company Respironics Inc for 3.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion), its biggest ever acquisition, as it expands in the fast-growing healthcare sector.
550785
(InfoWorld) - A government-funded research institute in Taiwan has opened a patent Web site for an October fire sale of IT patents, hoping to match international sellers with Taiwanese buyers. TheÂ Web siteÂ aims to collect patents for a variety of electronics technologies. They include WiMax high speed wireless Internet connectivity LCD-TV (liquid crystal display television); 3G (third generation) and other telecommunications; and LED (light emitting diode) and a host of audio/visual technologies, including HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc. "Many companies have an inventory of unused patents from shelved projects that no longer fit the company's business strategy or core business...However, an organization's unproductive patents may be very valuable to another company," the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) said in a statement on Friday. ITRI hopes to play matchmaker in such cases. The research group is encouraging companies globally to sell their patents to Taiwanese companies through the auction. It is collecting patent information at the Web site and will promote them ahead of the October auctionÂ in Chinese. The international side of the site is English-only, and ITRI is charging $100 per patent family listing, according to the site. Any organization listing more than 20 patents will be given a discount. Patents are listed under seven categories: IC Fabless (integrated circuit), TFT-LCD (thin-film-crystal-liquid crystal display), Digital TV, Digital Broadcasting, Wireless Communication & Networking, LED, and Audio/Visual. Taiwanese companies have been creating and buying patents for years, for many reasons. The main reason is to protect intellectual property and profit by licensing deals. Companies can also increase the number of patents they hold to enter cross-license agreements with major patent holders, instead of paying licensing fees. Such measures reducing business costs. Users tend to benefit from corporate cost reductions because stiff competition in most technology fields means companies must constantly seek ways to lower the prices of their products.
661576
LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Philips Electronics on Friday lowered its forecast for semiconductor sales, just two days after the head of the unit said he was stepping down.
573340
Philips' chip chief to return to U.S. in move that makes some analysts jumpy.
438291
AMSTERDAM Philips Electronics, Europe&#39;s third-largest maker of semiconductors, on Friday reduced its third-quarter chip sales forecast, saying demand is waning.
681959
By Francesco Guerrera in Hong Kong and Ian Bickerton in Amsterdam. Philips, the Dutch electronics company, on Thursday said it had sold its personal computer screens business to the Taiwanese group TPV Technology
445114
Philips Electronics, Europe&#39;s largest maker of CD players, said Thursday that it had sold its 3 percent stake in Vivendi Universal, owner of the world&#39;s biggest music company.
26130
MANILA, Aug 27, 2004 (AFX-Europe via COMTEX) -- MANILA (AFX) - Royal Philips Electronics Worldwide will expand its operations in the Philippines with fresh investments of up to 250 mln eur, a statement from the presidential palace said.
48081
AMSTERDAM  - The Dutch electronics group Philips said that it is selling its low-brand flat screens business group to TPV Technology of Taiwan as part of a strategic change of direction, and in line with a trend by big groups to use Asian partners to
634449
LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. today reported that mass production at its sixth generation thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) plant in Gumi, South Korea, began last month.
40095
Philips Electronics   said on Monday it had completed the sale of 800 million shares  in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (2330.TW) valued  at about $1.5 billion.
519175
Dutch Philips Electronics  said on Wednesday it plans to repurchase 5 billion euros ($7.2 billion) worth of its own shares within the next two years.
668119
Dell will supply PCs, managed services and application packaging services to Philips Electronics worldwide, the two companies said Thursday.