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Technology Stocks : Cohu, Inc. (COHU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robert b furman who wrote (2555)	12/19/2001 4:10:06 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 7827

With every delay, push-out and cancellation, the spring compresses just a bit more........ NEC delays 8-in. fab in Beijing in latest setback within China's IC industry By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (12/19/01 14:34 p.m. EST) SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In another possible setback in China's fledging semiconductor industry, Shougang NEC Electronics Co. Ltd. has quietly pushed out the production date for its new 8-inch fab project by several months. Beijing-based Shougang NEC--a joint chip venture between NEC Corp. of Japan and state-run Shougang Group of China--was supposed to break ground on its new 8-inch, 0.35-micron fab in May of 2001, with production slated for the third quarter of 2002 (see March 27 story ). Now, however, the company will not break ground on the 8-inch fab until the first or second quarter of 2002, with production slated for sometime in "2003," according to a spokesman for Shougang NEC. The company blamed the fab delay on the current downturn in the semiconductor business. The move will not impact Shougang NEC's existing 6-inch wafer fab in Beijing. Since the mid-1990s, the company has been making chips on 6-inch diameter wafers, using 0.35-micron process technology. This fab serves both NEC and other foundry customers. The company's decision to delay the 8-inch fab represents the latest setback in China's overall semiconductor industry. After a number of false starts to modernize its chip industry in the late-1980s and early-1990s, China's government has plotted a new and bold course for that nation's IC industry. Recently, a number of fledging IC makers have announced a slew of new 8-inch fabs that could transform the nation into the next Asian powerhouse for semiconductors. China's official blueprint, dubbed the "Tenth Five-Year Plan," calls for the nation to build about 25 new and advanced fabs between 2001 to 2005, including 8-inch and 300-mm wafer-processing plants (see March 30 story ). But China is off to a rocky start in modernizing its chip industry, leaving analysts to believe that some of the ambitious fab projects will never get off the ground in that nation. Poor business conditions have forced China's fledging chip companies to re-think their original fab plans, observed analyst Brian Matas of IC Insights Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "I don't think that the fabs in China are immune from what's going on in the rest of the world," Matas said. "China, like the rest of the world, is also feeling the pinch of the semiconductor downturn," he said. But the IC Insights analyst also believes that the fab delays in China are short-term glitches. Many of the nation's chip makers will regroup--if or when the IC industry recovers, he said. Still, NEC--which is reeling from the IC downturn--has been forced to scale back its original plans in China. In addition to the delays in its Beijing-based 8-inch chip venture, NEC in July said that a planned production expansion will be frozen at its joint venture fab in Shanghai, Hua Hong NECElectronics Co. (see July 31 story ). Another Shougang fab venture has also been delayed. Recently, silicon foundry startup Beijing Huaxia Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (HSMC) of China has quietly delayed the construction of its initial wafer fab, reportedly due to the current IC downturn and overcapacity. HSMC is a joint venture between Shougang and two U.S.-based design houses (see Dec. 5 story ). Still, other new chip makers in China appear to be on track. After years of planning a major chip production center in Tianjin, Motorola Inc. is preparing to begin chip processing in its new MOS17 8-inch fab, which is part of a planned $1.9 billion manufacturing complex announced last year. A new Chinese foundry startup--Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.--has recently moved into production with its initial fab in Shanghai. Another foundry, Shanghai Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., will begin production next year. Many of China's older chip makers-which boast 4- or 6-inch fabs with trailing-edge processes--are still in business as well, including Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (ASMC), Central Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and Shanghai Belling. Long term, Taiwan's chip makers are looking to set up fabs in China over the next two to five years, reportedly including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), and others.

To: robert b furman who wrote (2555)	12/19/2001 4:12:41 PM
From: robert b furman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7827

Wow, Ugly "at market" selling right at the close on Cohu. I've sold a 1000 shaes at the market when there wasn't any liquidity and it looked just like that. Blocks of 100 at a time as the price cascades down. 16000 shares drove Cohu down an additional .75. Strange triple witching week.Never cease to get an education in this market. Something tripped the semis at about 2:30 maybe the sox dipped below the 200??? Have to check what triggered the run?? Bob