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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (5181)	6/1/2000 3:40:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Respond to of 6018

Softbank closes in Tokyo up a little to $159 US equivalent. The Nikkei Net has several stories on the Softbank NCB deal: Thursday, June 1, 2000 FRC To Delay NCB Reprivatization To Sept Or Later TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Financial Reconstruction Commission will have to postpone the reprivatization of Nippon Credit Bank from June to September, or even later, because a consortium led by Softbank Corp. (9984) will lose its priority negotiation rights on Thursday, sources close to the decision said. The commission and the consortium failed to agree on a number of issues, notably the amount of public funds to help cover loan loss reserves at NCB and whether guidelines on nonfinancial firms entering the banking industry, announced Tuesday, should be applied to Softbank. The FRC will now examine proposals from other candidates, even though the commission's secretary general said Wednesday, "We are neither breaking off nor canceling talks. The group led by Softbank is still the favorite." Softbank President Masayoshi Son and other group members remain very interested in acquiring the bank. "We were unable to reach an agreement with the Financial Reconstruction Commission because of one sticking point -- the issue of loss reserves related to the loans our alliance would inherit from Nippon Credit Bank," Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son said Wednesday evening. "Although we have run out of time to exercise our preferential negotiating rights, we are still in talks," Son said, adding that "there has been absolutely no change in our desire to acquire the bank, or in our business plans." The consortium's conditions, however, are thought to be similar to those of a rival U.S. investment fund, Cerberas Group. The commission hopes to secure a compromise from both groups over the issue of injecting public funds. In February, it was projected that 3.2 trillion yen of public money would be needed to reprivatize NCB. The amount is now expected to rise further, as the bank's assets will continue to deteriorate. Wednesday, May 31, 2000 Softbank Alliance To Lose Priority Rights On NCB Takeover TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Financial Reconstruction Commission said on Wednesday that it will rescind the priority negotiating rights it granted to a consortium led by Softbank Corp. (9984) that hopes to take over the nationalized Nippon Credit Bank. Behind the decision, which takes the takeover talks back to their starting point, is a disagreement between the commission and the consortium that comprises Softbank, Orix Corp. (8591) and Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. (8751). The FRC wants to minimize the amount of public funds that would be earmarked to cover loan-loss reserves at NCB, while the Softbank alliance has been pushing for large reserves. Even though the FRC will continue negotiating with the Softbank-led group, it will act on Thursday to open talks with other candidates. The FRC granted priority rights to the Softbank alliance in February, setting the end of April as the deadline for the end of talks. The FRC, however, extended the deadline by one month through Wednesday. NCB is due to come out of temporary state control at the end of March 2001. Analysts say that protracted negotiations will further deteriorate NCB assets and increase the burden on taxpayers. During the failed talks, disagreement also persisted over whether to apply to Softbank guidelines drafted by the FRC and the Financial Supervisory Agency concerning the entry of nonfinancial companies into the banking sector. Softbank was unhappy with guidelines, issued on Tuesday, which stipulate that major shareholders holding at least a 20% stake in a bank will be subject to supervision by the regulators, source close to the negotiations said. Wednesday, May 31, 2000 Govt To Begin NCB Talks With Others Than Softbank TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japan's Financial Reconstruction Commission said Wednesday it will open negotiations regarding the purchase of failed Nippon Credit Bank with parties other than the Softbank Corp. (9984) group from Thursday. "While we will continue talks with the Softbank group, we will also open the talks to other groups," said an FRC official. Wednesday marks the end of the exclusive rights that the Softbank group had in the negotiations, which started Feb. 24. Officials said the reason for this decision stems from Softbank group's uncertainty about the purchase and as the FRC has been unable to obtain sufficient agreement on all points of the purchase with Softbank. The official declined to elaborate further, but said the Softbank group remains a strong contender for the purchase of Nippon Credit Bank. The FRC had previously extended the negotiation period with Softbank by one month at the end of April. Copyright 2000 Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., all rights reserved.

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (5181)	6/2/2000 12:45:00 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6018

There was a report on the International Herald Trib a few months back that sites evidence that Lee the scientist was in fact stealing secrets for the benefit of Taiwan. Espionage and counter-espionage is never so clear. The gentleman who alerted US intelligence on PRC pilfering of US atomic secrets was in fact a PRC national who defected to the US, pointed fingers at Lee, and then defected back to China. I can not make this stuff up if I tried. Search IHT. Whatever the truth, I think Lee has gotten a bum deal for all his diligence and it only serves him right as stealing is simply wrong. On the other hand, if he was simply imparting his knowledge at scientific conferences, then he was foolish. Either way, I think the Chinese American scientists and PhDs in the US better start a few more i.com and e.net ventures as opposed to doing atomic research and such, the pay is better, vacations more posh, and the work environment more friendly, and no promotions are required.