Japan's troubled electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co will not sell its semiconductor operations to another company -- a key component of its recovery plans -- because of tight credit in the aftermath of the US subprime loan crisis, it said yesterday.
Sanyo had long been looking to sell off the business and was in the final stages of a sale, but the company said it would now look to turnaround the division itself.
Advantage Partners, one of the investment funds involved in the bidding, was set to sign the deal but was unable to come up with the capital required, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday.
The sell-off of Sanyo's loss-making chip operations was seen as a major step in the company's turnaround, and market investors slammed the cancelation. Sanyo's share were down 7.14 percent at ¥182 (US$1.56) by midday.
An Advantage spokeswoman said the company does not comment on specific deals as a matter of policy.
Sanyo and Japanese rival Kyocera Corp said earlier this month they are in final negotiations over the sale of Sanyo's mobile phone operations.
Sanyo has already sold its small mobile phone retail business and dumped its remaining holdings in Sanyo Electric Credit Co.
Sanyo is trying to book a group net profit this fiscal year for the first time in four years.
Sanyo, whose businesses are widespread and include TVs and household appliances, has said it sees its solar and battery operations as its core business.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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