Don't play April fool. Here is real from DJ news:
Asian Economic Woes Not Hurting SunMicrosys - Co Exec
By Sean Kennedy
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--The biggest headache for Asia has
become Japan's sluggish economy, which can no longer drive
the region's economic growth, Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW)
Chief Strategy Officer William Raduchel said.
But the Asian turmoil hasn't affected Sun Microsystems, which
makes hardware, software and services intranets. And Raduchel
doesn't expect it to.
'The most worrisome thing in Asia continues to be the
(continued) economic pressures in Japan,' said Raduchel, in
Hong Kong as an Asian tour to check operations and possible
opportunities for the U.S. computer giant. Some of the
company's products are assembled in Japan.
'We haven't pulled back. We haven't lost faith. We'll weather
this crisis, and so will a lot of other people,' he said.
In its heyday, Japan dealt with a strong yen by expanding
manufacturing in the region, strengthening other economies in
its wake, but now it's in the doldrums, and unable to pull the
rest of the region ahead, Raduchel said.
'I don't see any psychological or anecdotal signs of a
turnaround (in Japan),' Raduchel said, adding that he thinks
talk of the Asian crisis is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
'It was a shock. Saying it was a shock is one thing. Saying it's a
crisis is another,' he said.
While Sun Microsystems, one of information technology's
corporate heavyweights with annual revenue of more than
US$9 billion, hasn't been hit by the currency crisis, it won't
benefit from the economic downturn either.
In Taiwan, he said, a Taiwan contractor makes low-end
workstations for Sun Microsystems, but the costs are so low
and assembly so fast now that he doesn't see room for further
savings in Taiwan because of the cheaper currency.
Sun Microsystems may benefit some from South Korea's won
devaluation, and from the lower cost base of South Korean
companies supplying Sun with components.
'They're our principal DRAM (dynamic random access memory)
chip supplier so I expect we'll be able to get aggressive pricing
in DRAMs, which will help,' he said.
Raduchel said he's optimistic about the long-term prospects for
the region, but doesn't plan to take advantage of cheap Asian
assets by scooping up smaller companies or parts
manufacturers.
'Maybe we should. Maybe we're missing opportunities,' he
admitted. But while absorbing a company in Silicon Valley is
relatively straightforward, it's not that easy to absorb a firm
from a foreign country and culture.
'We have yet to do a significant overseas acquisition,' he said.
Raduchel declined to offer an opinion on the company's
earnings prospects, as its third quarter ended Tuesday. |
