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To: Slumdog who wrote (94060)	2/18/2000 6:30:00 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>I did that! And that's why I like you. Did you know that idiots can become $trillionaires playing IOP's if they stop for one minute to think what they're doing? > NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Not even a broad-based sell- off in U.S. stocks could keep investors away from GigaMedia Ltd. <GIGM.O> Friday as they bid up the Taiwanese Internet access services provider's shares after its $238.4 million initial public offering. The desire to invest in Asia's Internet market and Microsoft Corp.'s <MSFT.O> backing of the company propelled GigaMedia's shares up 61, or 226 percent, to close at 88 on the Nasdaq after its $27 a share IPO. Even aggressive pricing by lead underwriter Goldman Sachs did not hold down demand. It had initially planned to sell its 8.83 million shares, or 18 percent stake in the company, in a range of $13-$15 and raise about $132.45 million. Sources close to the deal said it was "multiple times" oversubscribed. "I think this is the largest Internet IPO outside the U.S. and it goes to the heart of people realizing the scale of the Internet opportunity outside the U.S. The size of the offering is a sign of the confidence the market has in the business model," said Joe Ravitch, managing director at Goldman Sachs Asia. Investors have gravitated toward Internet-related deals abroad because the IPOs enable them to get in on the ground floor of the Internet revolution. "What is important about Asia is that conventional media has been limited by its history of censorship. There is a common consensus that, generally, Asia will be an explosive market for the Internet because it will allow people to access alternative media and content and bypass legacy systems of retail commerce. That is fundamentally going to change the economy in general," Ravitch said. GigaMedia has a two-pronged business model: broadband access and broadband content. Currently, about 80 percent of its focus is geared toward access, but in about four year's time Chief Executive Raymond Chang said he could see a 60-40 mix, with content gaining more focus. "GigaMedia has a big stake from Microsoft. I think that the entire market is just waiting to explode. They are in an area that is seeing enormous growth," said Kenan Pollack, money editor at Hoover's Online. Microsoft's 10 percent stake in the company was also an attractive feature. Its relationship with GigaMedia includes operation of a co-branded portal based on Microsoft's MCIS server technologies. The partnership will also give GigaMedia the ability to go after the television segment of the market, Chang added. "The focus of our company is to look at Taiwan specifically. We have a great market that could potentially serve mainland China once the confusion surrounding China evaporates. We want to build a showcase, then we can duplicate there," Chang said. The company's Wall Street debut spoke volumes about the market's perceptions. "It's a recognition of the scale of opportunity of Mandarin culture delivered over Internet broadband media," Ravitch said. "Taiwan is an extraordinary country in terms of growth and domestic economy. (Taiwan) has a high discretionary income. They are early adapters. Most importantly, there is a recognition of broadband and GigaMedia is a broadband portal." Taiwan also has the same language as the rest of Mainland China, enabling GigaMedia to produce the same content, culture and music that is popular in China. Major competitors include Chunghwa Telecom, HiNet, EraNet and AsiaCast on the broadband side and China.com <CHINA.O> and sohu.com and sina.com -- both of which are expected to soon hold IPOs, according to its prospectus. While many Asian IPOs have been well-received in the United States, not every issue out of the region will be met with the same enthusiasm. "I think there are a lot of (IPOs from Asia) coming," Ravitch said. "Investors should differentiate. Just because it is out of Asia does not mean it will succeed." 17:27 02-18-00