DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

As tech heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) spend heavily on custom cutting-edge chips, companies using legacy chips are also looking to introduce custom silicon. Inverters adjust the speed of an air conditioner's motor to save energy. The custom chips, to be made by Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), cost more than off-the-shelf alternatives but offer better energy efficiency and allow a reduction in the use of other components, according to a Daikin executive. The company, which developed Japan's first packaged air conditioner in 1951, is also working on customised power modules, which help manage the air conditioner's electricity supply. The number of air conditioners globally is expected to more than triple to 5.6 billion units by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.

Persons: Sam Nussey, Taiwan's TSMC, Yuji Yoneda, Daikin, Jamie Freed Organizations: Daikin, REUTERS, Rights, Daikin Industries, Apple, European Union, International Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Osaka, United States

☆ Rakuten Group's losses, debt burden and financing efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here are some details about its deeply troubled mobile business, the group's operating losses, debt burden and its efforts to shore up its finances. It had 351 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in annual sales last year and accounts for 18% of Rakuten's overall revenue. Rakuten Group currently has total debt of more than 1.5 trillion yen, of which 800 billion yen is due to be redeemed by the end of 2025. Nov 2022 - sells 19.99% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 80 billion yen. Nov 2023 - sells a further 29% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 87 billion yen.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Rakuten, Hiroshi, Mickey, Mikitani, Anton Bridge, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rakuten, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Japan Post Holdings, HK, Walmart, Rakuten Securities, Mizuho Securities, Rakuten Bank, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Japanese

Toyota, Toyota Industries and Aisin will sell Denso shares worth a total of about 700 billion yen ($4.7 billion) at current market prices, the two sources said. In a statement, Denso said it was considering a share sale, a buyback and other capital measures, but that nothing had yet been decided. At $4.7 billion, it would be the second-biggest such share offering in Japan this year, after the more than $9 billion sale of shares in Japan Post Bank (7182.T) in March, according to LSEG data. Denso shares, which were down almost 4% before the news, extended losses after the Reuters report and fell as much as 6.8% on the day, closing 4.9% lower. Toyota shares finished little changed, as did the benchmark Nikkei 225 (.N225).

Persons: Denso, Miho Uranaka, Daniel Leussink, Maki Shiraki, Nobuhiro Kubo, David Dolan, Jamie Freed, Miral Fahmy, Louise Heavens Organizations: Companies, Toyota, Toyota Industries, Aisin, Japan Post Bank, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Buyers, KDDI Corp, Reuters, Nikkei, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Denso, Japan

Toyota Motor's portion will represent almost half of the roughly 10%, with the total sale seen at about 700 billion yen ($4.7 billion) at current market prices, the two sources said. A Toyota spokesperson said it was not in a position to comment on Denso, adding the contents of the Reuters report of the share sale were not something it had announced itself. Buyers of the shares are expected to largely be domestic investors, and the price has yet to be determined, the sources said. Denso shares, which were down almost 4% before the news, extended losses after the Reuters report and fell as much as 6.8% on the day, closing 4.9% lower. Toyota shares finished little changed, as did the benchmark Nikkei 225 (.N225).

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Daniel Leussink, Maki Shiraki, Nobuhiro Kubo, David Dolan, Jamie Freed Organizations: Companies, Toyota, KDDI Corp, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Reuters, Nikkei, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Denso

☆ Rapidus hunts for engineers to help Japan regain faded chip glory
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Tetsuro Higashi, the Chairman of Rapidus Corp., poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Government-backed Japanese chip foundry venture Rapidus is hunting high and low - including among industry veterans and overseas - to find engineers to help it revive a chip industry that was once the envy of the world. Rapidus is helmed by veteran chip industry executives who were working in the 1980s when Japan boasted a market share of around half of the global chips market. Rapidus' ambitious plans have been met with scepticism from chip industry insiders who have questioned whether the company will be able to achieve mass production and secure a sufficient customer base. Yonemaru last month relocated to work with IBM in New York state, part of a cohort of Rapidus engineers heading there as the fab is being constructed.

Persons: Tetsuro, Issei Kato, TSMC, Rapidus, Masami Suzuki, Suzuki, Naoto Yonemaru, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Tim Kelly, Jamie Freed Organizations: Rapidus Corp, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, IBM, Rapidus, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Hokkaido, New York

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's vote of confidence in Japanese trading houses is helping Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) overcome long-held investor wariness about its complex global business that covers everything from sausages to natural gas, a top executive said. "Until fairly recently, being an industrial conglomerate had negative connotations," Kobayashi said in an interview. Appointed as the trading house's first chief stakeholder engagement officer in April, Kobayashi is now focused on wooing investors who focus on growth, not just value. Berkshire first announced roughly 5% stakes in August 2020, with Buffett saying the trading houses "have many joint ventures throughout the world and are likely to have more". read moreStill, Mitsubishi is trading at a price-to-book ratio of just a little over 1, or at almost no premium to the value of its assets.

Persons: Warren Buffett's, wariness, Berkshire Hathaway, Kenji Kobayashi, Kobayashi, Itochu, outperforming, Buffett, Benjamin Graham, that's, Anton Bridge, Miho Uranaka, David Dolan, Miral Organizations: Mitsubishi Corp, Berkshire, Reuters, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei, Columbia University, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Berkshire, Japan

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Japanese chip materials maker JSR Corp (4185.T) on Monday slashed its operating profit forecast for the current financial year by 62%, citing a weak recovery in demand for semiconductors and a slowdown in the biotech market. Investors are debating the recovery path for the chip industry which has been hit by a slowdown in demand for electronics such as smartphones and PCs. "We had projected an upturn in the second half of the year and as we've highlighted here we're no longer expecting that upturn," JSR CEO Eric Johnson told a news conference. Operating profit was 3.4 billion yen in the second quarter, following a loss of 6.1 billion yen three months earlier. A leading maker of photoresists used in chip making, JSR said sales for cutting edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography grew 15% year-on-year in the April-September period.

Persons: Eric Johnson, photoresists, Johnson, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Kim Coghill, Miral Organizations: JSR, Samsung Electronics, Japan Investment Corp, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, KS

Yasunori Ogawa, Seiko Epson Corporation President and Representative Director and CEO, talks about their strategy at the company office in Tokyo, Japan, October 27, 2023. REUTERS/Miho Uranaka Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Printing giant Seiko Epson (6724.T) is betting on growth in the Middle East and Africa as demand ebbs in its home market of Japan and other developed nations, its chief executive said. The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa were growth highlights in fiscal 2022. "Our products are not yet widely distributed in the Middle East, and there is tremendous potential there," Yasunori Ogawa said in an interview after the company posted quarterly results on Friday. To eke out more growth in developed markets, Epson plans to shift its portfolio more towards commercial and industrial customers looking to reduce waste.

Persons: Yasunori Ogawa, Miho Uranaka, Ogawa, stokes, Rocky Swift, Stephen Coates Organizations: Seiko Epson Corporation, REUTERS, Rights, Seiko Epson, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, East, Africa, Turkey, India, Dubai

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Kokusai Electric (6525.T) shares jumped 29% in their Tokyo market debut on Wednesday after private equity firm KKR sold shares in the chip equipment maker for $724 million in Japan's largest initial public offering (IPO) in five years. The stock opened at 2,116 yen and climbed to a high of 2,371 yen, valuing the company at 546.3 billion yen ($3.65 billion), as investors grabbed shares following the rare IPO of a key chip tool manufacturer. "The market for chip related stocks outside of AI is weak so some were wondering what would happen," said Tomoichiro Kubota, analyst at Matsui Securities. KKR agreed to buy Hitachi's (6501.T) electronic equipment unit in 2017 in a deal valuing the business at 257 billion yen ($1.72 billion) as the conglomerate streamlined operations. The private equity group then spun off Kokusai, which manufactures machines for depositing thin films on silicon wafers, the following year.

Persons: telco, Tomoichiro Kubota, Kazuyoshi Saito, Warren Buffett, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Mayu, Makiko Yamazaki, Chang, Ran Kim, Sonali Paul Organizations: KKR, telco SoftBank Corp, Matsui Securities, Reuters, Iwai Cosmo Securities, Materials, Equity, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, China, Japan

☆ Rakuten to invest $363 million in better frequency cell base
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Rakuten is pictured in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Aug 2, 2023. REUTERS/Miho Uranaka/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Japan's Rakuten Group (4755.T) on Monday said it would invest 54.4 billion yen ($362.81 million) to construct cellular base stations, just after the government announced it had assigned the company's carrier better frequency for connection. The announcement could boost the company's mobile phone business that has struggled to take market share from cash-rich incumbents known for high-quality networks. Rakuten said it plans to open 10,661 base stations for the "platinum band" frequency and expects its cell phone business to turn profitable in 2026. The company is sticking to a plan to reduce capital expenditure by about 300 billion yen between 2023 and 2025, a spokesperson said.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Rakuten, Satoshi Sugiyama, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Japan's top banks are set to commit to 1.9 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) financing to support the merger of Kioxia Holdings and Western Digital's flash memory business, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Several tech deals have been scuppered in recent years due to delays in regulatory approvals or rejections by China. 2 player in NAND flash memory chips - and Western Digital's fourth-ranked flash business, would control a third of the global NAND flash market, on par with top player Samsung Electronics (005930.KS). Kioxia and Western Digital have held merger talks since 2021 but the negotiations have often stalled over a series of issues including valuation discrepancies. In Japan, the two companies jointly produce NAND flash memory chips, which are widely used in smartphones, personal computers and other devices to store digital data.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Bain, Nobuo Hayasaka, Makiko Yamazaki, Miho Uranaka, Maki Shiraki, Miyoung Kim, Tomasz Janowwski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Kioxia Holdings, Reuters, Intel Corp, China ., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Development Bank of Japan, SK Hynix, Toshiba Corp, Samsung Electronics, Nasdaq, Western, Mitsubishi, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, Western Digital, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, China, Kioxia

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) is considering bidding for Fujitsu's (6702.T) chip packaging unit Shinko Electric Industries (6967.T), two sources said, as Japan's top trading house weighs an entry into semiconductor manufacturing. Fujitsu has put its 50% stake in Shinko Electric, worth around $2.6 billion at current market prices, on sale, other sources said. A Mitsubishi spokesperson said the trading house had set up a division in June dealing with chips and materials that was looking into various opportunities. A Shinko spokesperson declined to comment. Still, semiconductor packaging remains an area of strength for Japan with Shinko, Ibiden (4062.T) and Toppan Holdings (7911.T) all major players in the global chip supply chain.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Makiko Yamazaki, Maki Shiraki, Miho Uranaka, David Dolan, Muralikumar Organizations: Mitsubishi Corp, REUTERS, Rights, Electric Industries, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, Bain Capital, KKR, Apollo Global Management, Japan Investment Corp, Intel, Devices, Toppan Holdings, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Kyushu, Chitose . Japan

The logo of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp's Japanese business in pictured in Tokyo, Japan July 21 2023. REUTERS/Sam Nussey/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE/TOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Taiwan chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (6770.TW) is considering around five sites in Japan, including Mie prefecture, for setting up a potential $5.4 billion factory as talks on subsidies progress, sources said. Powerchip is looking at around five sites for the factory, the source said. One option is Mie prefecture in central Japan, two sources said, close to the industrial hub of Nagoya and fabs operated by Taiwan's UMC (2303.TW) and Japan's Kioxia. A factory from Powerchip would mark a further commitment by Taiwanese chipmakers into manufacturing in Japan, with TSMC (2330.TW) building a factory in Kyushu in western Japan and eyeing a second.

Persons: Sam Nussey, Powerchip, Taiwan's UMC, eyeing, chipmaker, Fanny Potkin, Miho Uranaka, Muralikumar Organizations: Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing, REUTERS, Rights, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, SBI Holdings, SBI, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, TOKYO, Taiwan, Mie, Nagoya, Powerchip, Kyushu

TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Chip equipment maker Kokusai Electric (6525.T) has raised $724.4 million after pricing its shares at the top end of their marketed range in Japan's largest initial public offering in five years. Kokusai, owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), set its IPO price at 1,840 yen per share, according to a filing on Monday, valuing the company at 423.9 billion yen ($2.8 billion). If an overallotment option for domestic investors is exercised, the offering would raise roughly $833 million. The move was partly due to a lacklustre share price performance by chip designer Arm since its listing last month, a source familiar with the matter has said. Kokusai's largest customers are Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), TSMC (2330.TW) and Micron Technology (MU.O), collectively accounting for more than 40% of its revenue.

Persons: Mariko Katsumura, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Kim Coghill, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Kokusai, U.S, KKR, Tokyo bourse's, Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

The indicative price range was set at 1,830-1,840 yen per share, KKR-backed Kokusai said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, compared with 1,890 yen previously. Kokusai said the lower range reflected the view of institutional investors and the state of the stock market. If its IPO prices at the top of the range, Kokusai, which manufactures machines that deposit thin films on silicon wafers, will offer 108.3 billion yen ($729 million) worth of shares and have a market valuation of 423.9 billion yen, excluding an overallotment. Capital Research and Management and Lazard Asset Management have committed to purchase shares at the offer price, Kokusai said in a separate filing. Kokusai's largest customers are Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), TSMC (2330.TW) and Micron Technology (MU.O), collectively accounting for more than 40% of its revenue.

Persons: Kokusai, SoftBank Group's, Sam Nussey, Makiko Yamazaki, Miho Uranaka, Kaori Kaneko, Christian Schmollinger, Sonali Paul, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Kokusai, KKR, Capital Research, Management, Lazard Asset Management, Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology, Investors, Micron, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

REUTERS/Toru Hanai//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Fujitsu (6702.T) and research institute Riken on Thursday announced the successful development of Japan's second quantum computer, as part of research efforts around the world to make the nascent technology practical. The 64 qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator, as researchers work to eliminate the errors which prevent such systems from providing accurate results. IBM last year launched a 433 qubit quantum computer. Qubits, or quantum bits, are a measure of the power of quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics. China, the U.S. and allied industrial democracies are in a race to take a lead in advanced technology including quantum computing, with President Joe Biden moving to hamper some U.S. investment in Chinese efforts to develop the technology.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Shintaro Sato, Joe Biden, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Stephen Coates Organizations: Fujitsu, Advanced Technologies, Makuhari, REUTERS, Rights, IBM, Thomson Locations: CEATEC, JAPAN, Chiba, Japan, China, U.S

REUTERS/Issei Kato/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Sony Group (6758.T) is increasing its focus on the virtual production business where it is seeing market-beating growth, a company executive said, riding on the strength of the Japanese entertainment conglomerate's technology. The business, which offers virtual production facilities to filmmakers and broadcasters, involves using a wall of light-emitting diode (LED) panels displaying images - a science-fiction landscape or a downtown cityscape - that are integrated into the scene as it is shot. "It's because we have the hardware that we can recreate in the virtual world," Yasuharu Nomura, Sony's head of virtual production, said in an interview. Sony says its virtual production business is growing by around 35% annually, faster than the overall market, with an increasing proportion of sales expected to come from services. Virtual production technology gained attention after its use in science-fiction show "The Mandalorian" from Walt Disney (DIS.N), which used in-house visual effects firm Industrial Light & Magic.

Persons: Issei Kato, Yasuharu Nomura, Walt Disney, Kota Ezawa, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Muralikumar Organizations: Sony, REUTERS, Rights, Sony Group, Hollywood, Epic Games, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan

At Kokusai's indicative price of 1,890 yen per share, the company will offer 111.2 billion yen ($749.88 million) worth of shares and have a market value of 435.5 billion yen. A successful listing would follow the blockbuster New York IPO of SoftBank-owned chip designer Arm , which investors hoped would lead to a wave of stock market launches. IPO activity has remained strong in Japan, where the stock market is at 33-year highs and interest rates ultra low. Kokusai reported operating profit fell by a fifth to 56 billion yen in the year ended March compared to the same period a year earlier. Sales were roughly flat at 245.7 billion yen.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Kokusai, chipmaker TSMC, TW, Sam Nussey, Makiko Yamazaki, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Materials, Kokusai, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Industry, Reuters, Marelli Holdings, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO, China, York

"Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. All three sources declined to be identified as the talks are still ongoing and a final decision has not been made. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Persons: Danish Siddiqui, JSW, LGES, China's CATL, Sajjan Jindal, CATL, Narendra Modi's, JSW's, Ola, Aditi Shah, Neha Arora, Heekyong Yang, Daniel Leussink, Miho Uranaka, Zhang Yan, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Danish, Korea's LG Energy, Panasonic, Toshiba, JSW's, Tesla, General Motors, China's, HK, Reuters, JSW, Tata Motors, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, Korea, Korean, India's, New Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai

JSW held talks with senior LGES executives in Korea earlier this month, proposing a partnership to manufacture battery cells in India for EVs and energy storage, one of the people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. "Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) logo is seen while people attend the opening of the TSMC global R&D center in Hsinchu, Taiwan July 28, 2023. In the past five months the improvement has been tremendous," TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said of the Arizona project last week. The $40 billion investment in Arizona allows TSMC to add capacity outside Taiwan, where it faces constraints on land, power, water and labour. "A lot of machines cannot be shut down because it costs TSMC to recalibrate on rebooting," said a chip industry executive. While many equipment and materials makers already have global operations, to meet its exacting standards TSMC has also brought suppliers to Japan from Taiwan, the sources said.

Persons: Ann Wang, TSMC, Mark Liu, Lucy Chen, Brady Wang, Sam Nussey, Fanny Potkin, Sarah Wu, Miho Uranaka, Jamie Freed Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, REUTERS, TSMC, Reuters, Isaiah Research, Sony, Ministry, Economy, Trade, Industry, Thomson Locations: Hsinchu, Taiwan, Japan, TOKYO, SINGAPORE, TAIPEI, Arizona, Kyushu, U.S, Germany, TSMC

☆ Rakuten shares jump as mobile losses narrow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Miho UranakaTOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Rakuten Group (4755.T) shares surged on Monday morning after the e-commerce giant reported narrowing losses at its cash bleeding mobile unit last week alongside assurances that it can cover its debt burden for the next financial year. Rakuten has taken to publicly listing its more successful units to generate cash, listing its internet banking business - Rakuten Bank (5838.T) - in April and applying to list its securities business in July. Last week, Rakuten also announced plans to consolidate its payments and points businesses and fold them into Rakuten Card, its credit card and loans unit. Rakuten also committed to taking on no additional gross debt, instead using equity-related financing to reduce its debt burden. The group has a total of 1.9 trillion yen ($13.11 billion) in debt, with 406 billion yen due in 2024 and a further 430 billion yen in 2025, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Jefferies, Rakuten, Anton Bridge, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rakuten, Rakuten Bank, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Miho Uranaka TOKYO

"When we're 50% foreign owned that gives people pause within Japan," Johnson said in an interview. Companies often view the presence of an activist investor as a challenge to their strategy or a factor that could delay execution of their plans. The activist investor previously praised JSR's "fact-based decision making" and said it supports the sale to JIC. "But that doesn't contribute to the Japanese semiconductor materials industry overall," he said. "I don't think they're being imaginative enough ... there's a wide range of materials expertise in Japan," Johnson said.

Persons: Eric Johnson, Johnson, ValueAct, JSR's, Atsushi Ikeda, Goldman Sachs, Ikeda, Yuta, JSR, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Makiko Yamazaki, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Stephen Coates Organizations: JSR, Japan Investment Corp, Samsung, Intel, ValueAct, Companies, Citigroup, Svea, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, American, Japan, there's

[1/2] The logo of Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd. is pictured in Tokyo, Japan July 25 2023. REUTERS/Sam NusseyTOKYO, July 26 (Reuters) - Osaka Organic Chemical Industry (4187.T), a Japanese manufacturer of high-end chemicals used in chip production, is betting on the materials market for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a method for making advanced chips. Little known even in its home country, Osaka Organic has carved out a critical niche in the semiconductor industry by supplying companies that make photoresists, the light-sensitive chemicals used to etch patterns on wafers. "I am confident that we can compete," Masayuki Ando, Osaka Organic's president, told Reuters in an interview, referring to the EUV resist market. In many ways, Osaka Organic is emblematic of Japan's chip-making industry today.

Persons: Sam Nussey, Masayuki Ando, Osaka, Ando, Yuta Nishiyama, Miho Uranaka, David Dolan, Miral Organizations: Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd, REUTERS, Osaka Organic Chemical Industry, Reuters, Citigroup, Thomson Locations: Osaka, Tokyo, Japan, Sam Nussey TOKYO, photoresists, South

☆ Nidec's acquisitive CEO hails new Japan rules aimed at making takeovers easier
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Nidec Corp's logo is pictured at an earnings results news conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 25, 2018. Nagamori welcomed the prospect of Japan becoming more receptive to unsolicited bids. Because unsolicited bids are seen as taboo, Nidec has typically focused on buying and turning around money-losing companies, he said, but "that takes time". In corporate Japan, unsolicited bids have been seen as too adversarial. he said, referring to Nidec's tender offer price with an 80% premium.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Shigenobu Nagamori, Nagamori, Nidec, Makiko Yamazaki, Miho Uranaka, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TOKYO

Search resuls for: "Miho Uranaka"

25 mentions found