Japan's Hi-Tech Industry Crumbling

choi

(1)
(a) Juro Osawa and Shawn Schroter, Chip Firm in Distress memory files for bankruptcy protection. Wall Street Journal, Feb 28, 2012.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 48551168563294.html

(i) Excerpt in the window of print: Elpida blamed the yen's rise as a major factor in the company's bankruptcy filing.

(ii) Two consecutive paragraphs:

"US companies originally dominated DRAM production, but were largely swept aside in the 1980s by Japanese companies that were more skilled at churning out chips in high volumes and at lower prices. The fall of Elpida symbolizes how dramatically the market has changed since then, as competitors in South Korea and Taiwan became better at beating their Japanese rivals.

"Close.Japanese companies first responded by joining forces to save money on manufacturing technology. Elpida was created in 1999 from the merger of former operations of NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., taking its name from 'elpis'—a Greek mythological spirit meaning "hope"—as well as D for 'dynamic' and A for 'association.'

(iii) My comment:
(A) There is no need to read the rest, though it appears there is unnessary to sign in with the newspaper's website.
(B) At last how the name Elpida came about is explained. for years, I looked for it in vain.
(C) Elpis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elpis
(not a god/goddess; In Hesiod's "Works and Days," Elpis was the last item in Pandora's box (or jar))
(D) The WSJ mentions Taiwan's DRAM industry a couple of times. I do not know why. World market shares in DRAM of Taiwanese companies combined has shrunk precipitously in the past few years, from ~25% to high single digit. None of Taiwanese memory companies has the technology to make NAND flash chips, which are highly in demand for use in mobile devices.
(E) I thought Elpida would be reorganized and emerge out of bankruptcy. Apparently, I was wrong: this is the end of the rope for Elpida. See next, which does not regire registration in order to read. (To date, I still do not know whether Elpida exits the market for good, or will return after re-organization, if any.)

(b) Robin Kwong, Elpida’s Fall Makes Waves in Taiwan. Financial Times, Feb 29, 2012 (blog)
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics ... es-waves-in-taiwan/
("Shares in Nanya Technology and Inotera, rivals to Elpida, shot up * * * They, like South Korea’s Samsung and Hynix, stand to benefit from an Elpida exit because there is currently oversupply in the D-Ram market. D-Ram prices have already jumped 12 per cent since news of the bankruptcy filing emerged, reflecting expectations of supply disurption. Meanwhile, Powerchip and Rexchip, partners and suppliers to Elpida, were sent down")

(c) Editorial: Elpida's Failure Means Japan's Loss to ROK in Semiconductor Market. Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb 29, 2012 (in English Mar 1)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/T120229005483.htm
("During the 1980s, Japanese chip makers dominated the global market for semiconductors, which were dubbed the "rice of industry" due to their indispensability")

(d) Press release: With US$5.53 billion loss, Elpida filed for bankruptcy protection at Tokyo District Court and to affect 2012 DRAM market. TrendForce, Feb 27, 2012
http://press.trendforce.com/en/node/3262
("The extent of the repercussions to the industry no less than Qimoda's exit from the DRAM industry in 2007. While “bankruptcy protection” does not equate bankruptcy, and Elpida can continue its production, this move has already affected the DRAM market development. Unlike the Taiwanese DRAM makers, who are lagging behind in core technology, Elpida was not falling behind the manufacturing technologies, and it was also the largest DRAM supplier in the spot price market, holding an irreplaceable market position")

Note: TrendForce is a Taipei-based research firm on high-tech.


(2) Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Jonathan Soble, Channels to Choose. Sony/Analysis/ As the Japanese group's quest for a return to Walkman-era glory continues, Sir Howard Stringer's successor looks set to persist with the departing chief's cultural and structural shake-up. Financial TImes, Feb 28, 2012.

Excerpt in the window of print: 'People hoped Stringer would be another Ghosen, making big changes in a hurry, but that never happened'

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the article.
(b) In print, there are illustrations, including two graphs:
(i) A historical graph with the heading "Fading picture[;] Market values ($bn)" (X-axis: year 2000 to 2012): Sony from ~133bn to ~20, whereas Apple from ~16 to 500, Samsung from ~40 to ~160--Apple crossed path with Samsung ~1Q07 but pulled away in quick ascent ~2Q09.
(ii) A bar chart with the heading "Sony operating income by segnent, Apr-Dec (Ybn)" for 2 years (2010 and 2011) shows that in 2011 financial services accounted for most profits (Y85.9bn, followed by music 33,7 and films 25.6), whereas consumer products lost Y118.6bn and Sony Ericsson (lost) 46.2.
(iii) Before the Big Three of Detroit fell from grace in 2008 (bankruptcy and/or government rescue), carmakers profited from financing (such as leasing car loan) but hemorraged in car production.
  

(3) Japanese manufacturing | From Summit to Plummet; Once global leaders, Japanese electronics firms are tumbling. Economist, Feb 18, 2012.
http://www.economist.com/node/21547815

Quote:

"IN TOKYO’S posh Ginza shopping district the Apple Store is packed, but the nearby Sony showroom is as lifeless as a mausoleum.

"Since 2000 the big five Japanese electronics firms [NEC, Panasonic, Fujiju, Sharp and Sony] have lost two-thirds of their value [market capitalization].

"For most of the time since it was founded in 1899, the Nippon Electric Company’s main customer was the state [including NTT, before the latter was partially privatized]. * * * Its know-how was critical to the success of Japan’s space-satellite programme. Yet these are small markets. NEC’s research labs may be among the best in the world, but it has been forced to slash its R&D budget this year to half the level of 2008.

“'When other Japanese companies see NEC, they can’t think it is only NEC’s problems,' says a former grandee at a big electronics firm. Will they do anything about it? He looks away and sighs. 'Everyone knows we need to change, and no one can make the changes,' he says.

Note:
(a) NEC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
(NEC Corp; The company used the name Nippon Electric Company, Limited before re-branding in 1983; Headquarters  Tokyo; founded by Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda in 1898; [now] part of the Sumitomo Group)
(b) Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nippon_Telegraph_and_Telephone
(commonly known as NTT; headquartered in Tokyo; Established as a monopoly government-owned corporation in 1953,  privatized in 1985;  Japanese government still owns roughly one-third of NTT's shares; 4 subsidiaries, two of which, including NTT DoCoMo, are listed in stock markets)
(c) NTT DoCoMo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTT_DoCoMo
(The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "DO COmmunications over the MObile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese; spun off from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in August 1991 to take over the mobile cellular operations)
(d)
(i) Packard Bell (1926)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Bell_(1926)
(The original Packard Bell was founded in 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA, by Leon S. Packard and Herbert A. Bell as a maker of consumer radios; In 1986, Israeli investors bought the name for a newly formed personal computer manufacturer, Packard Bell.
(ii) Packard Bell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Bell
("When it [Packard Bell] left the North American computer industry in 2000, it quickly became a leader in the European and African markets. NEC took it over in the late 1990s. The Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer acquired it in 2008"/ [current] Headquarters  Nijmegen, Netherlands)
(e) grandee (n; Spanish grande, adjective, large, great, from Latin grandis; First Known Use 1598):
"a man of elevated rank or station; especially : a Spanish or Portuguese nobleman of the first rank'
www.m-w.com