Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Creative Labs (CREAF) A New Hope - -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hitch who wrote (32)	4/2/1998 8:51:00 AM
From: Savoirman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 76

Hi wharrr this is a BIG topic. I will give it a shot. The retail business is not good, especially for luxury goods. A major retailer of Guess goods, FJ Benjamin, just reported disastrous results. But PCs may not be considered luxury items. Informatics, a company offering PC/Business courses in the region, just reported that even its INDONESIAN operations were doing well. Things have stabilised considerably. Thailand and Korea are well on the way to recovery. Indonesia is still the basket case. Malaysia wasnt as badly hit in the first place but there has just been a high profile receivership of a company called Wembley, which is linked to the guy who was to have built the Bakun dam (which has been put on hold). But on the whole, things have improved tremendously. Interest rates are definitely on the way down. DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest in assets, just cut its prime rate by 0.5% to 7%. Other banks will follow soon. Research reports are beginning to come out saying interest rates will trend downwards. Currencies have strengthened somewhat, and are staying at this level for some time already. Property prices are bottoming out in Singapore .., signs that prices have come down enough for people to start looking to buy again. There have been layoffs but nothing spectacular. Seagate laid off a few thousand people, 2000 I think. That was the largest. So far, no one is getting unemployed yet. Analysts who were laid off have almost all got replacement jobs. Many companies in the electronics industries have been reporting good results, some even beating estimates put out many months ago. NatSteel Electronics, world's no 6 largest contract manufacturer, surprised with a 106% rise in pofits, not counting foreign exchange GAINS. Analysts were expected 70%. NatSteel Broadway, another in the same stable, also surprised on the upside. Many electronics companies were in line with expectations. As long as they don't rely on the region, they were OK. In terms of demand, companies are saying Malaysia is again picking up for PC-related goods. Korea should, logically, be picking up after the crisis last year. Japan, still the dumps, Sony chief just said Japan was going into a recession (no change from last quarter for Creaf). Hongkong was never really hit, and is doing rather well after the bird flu and all. So salesgrowth there should be steady. Singapore - we have had an INCREDIBLE amount of Creaf publicity in the last 7 days. Tonnes of newsprint and ink have been going to print stuff on Creaf and Sim Wong Hoo. No problem here at all. Thailand and Indonesia are very small markets for Creaf, so never mind.