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To: DJBEINO who wrote (4776)	3/29/1999 10:12:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

03-30-99 Hyundai-LG chip merger may be subject to int'l anti-trust rules By Nam In-soo Staff reporter The planned Hyundai-LG chip merger may cause the United States and the European Union to raise concerns over restricting competition in their markets, industry sources said yesterday. Amid signs of concluding the protracted tug-of-war over Hyundai Electronics Industries Co.'s takeover price of LG Semicon Ltd., another factor has emerged over the creation of a behemoth chipmaker. Sources close to the deal said Hyundai and LG have considerably narrowed the pricing gap and an agreement may be made by as early as next week. Then comes the question: Will the new entity be subject to an investigation by foreign countries over a potential violation of antitrust regulations? "If the deal is done, we are considering reporting our merger to foreign governments, including the United States and the European Union," said a Hyundai Group official. He said a growing number of countries are intensifying rules against restricting competition and Hyundai is concerned about its chip consolidation. According to a recent report by International Data Corp., a U.S.-based market survey firm, Hyundai ranked second with its global DRAM chip market share of 12.4 percent in 1998. If Hyundai merges with LG, whose market share topped 8.4 percent, the combined chip revenue and production will place the new chipmaker ahead of Samsung Electronics Co., the current No.1 DRAM supplier. "Foreign competitors have shown keen interest in our merger and we are trying to ensure that the new company will not cause any legal problems in exporting chips overseas," said the Hyundai Group official. According to him, the chip merger may be subject to a report to EU competition authorities and the U.S. Fair Trade Commission, which will review its impact on their markets, including a violation of antitrust laws. "As far as we know, the merger between Hyundai and LG is unlikely to pose a legal problem. But we will consult international lawyers to determine if our merger falls under the scrutiny of the U.S. and European authorities," said the official. American competitors, including Micron Technology, have particularly been wary of the Hyundai-LG chip merger. Early this year, Micron Technology raised warning flags over the merger, saying it will press Washington to oppose it if the Korean government tries to forgive the new firm's massive debts. Micron has a long history of asking the U.S. government to take action against Asian chip rivals it believes dump products on the U.S. market. Last year the company unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the U.S. International Trade Commission to levy dumping duties on SRAM chips made by LG Semicon, Hyundai, and Samsung

To: DJBEINO who wrote (4776)	3/29/1999 10:16:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

Japan's PC Sales for 1st Week of March Hit This Year's High March 29, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Japan's personal computer sales for the first week of March hit a record high for this year on both a unit and value basis. Statistics compiled by Gfk Japan Ltd., an information service company handling point-of-sales (POS) data from 55 volume shops of home electric appliances, show that PC sales at about 2,000 volume shops of home electric appliances for the first week of March (March 1-7) posted a week-on-week increase of 11.3 percent on both the unit and value basis. Compared with the corresponding week of last year (March 2-8, 1998), the PC sales were 60.3 percent higher on the unit basis, and 61.7 percent higher on the value basis. The average PC retail price was 230,738 yen, down 22 yen from the previous week's 230,760 yen (118.02 yen = US$1). Spring PC sales are brisk. The week-on-week growth rate topped 10 percent on both the unit and value basis for two consecutive weeks, in the fourth week of February and the first week of March. The year-on-year increase for the first week of March was the highest this year, higher than the previous high registered in the first week of January. The average PC retail price remains stable. Although the desk-top type's average retail price declined slightly in the third week of February, it surged 919 yen this week. In the second week of March, retailers will begin selling new models loaded with Pentium III processors. The average PC retail price, therefore, is likely to stay on the same level for a while. GfK Japan collects POS data from 55 IT-related retail sales companies centering on high-volume stores specializing in home electric appliances. It covers about 3,200 stores (as of April 1998) throughout Japan. In cooperation with GfK Japan, Nikkei Market Access provides weekly reports of PC sales in volume and value. The sales data has been based on the same 41 companies (with about 2,000 stores) since April 1996. The number of PCs sold at the 2,000 stores is estimated to comprise about 10 percent of gross domestic shipments, and when limiting the sales to retail sales channel, the share comes to about 25 percent of such shipments. nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com

To: DJBEINO who wrote (4776)	3/29/1999 11:35:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

Mass Strikes Loom Large Mar 29, 1999 Symptoms of mass strikes are appearing. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) made their case for strikes at mass rallies on March 27 and 28. The two unions have held firm to the position that if the government and management sides do not suspend restructuring measures in various setors and reduce working hours, they will go on strike in April. Accordingly, it is forecasted that it will be difficult to normalize the activities of the tripartite committee- which consists of representatives from labor, management and government- and revive an effective dialogue to close the gaping chasm that exists between them until May, when the mass strikes are expected to conclude. Labor feels it is necessary to push a strong position in order to make its requests heard by the government and management sides. Concerning the matter, the government judges that there are limits to what it can do to avoid the crippling strikes. Most experts feel the gap is too large to easily mend. Accordingly, the government deems that some strikes are inevitable, but it is trying to drum up public opinion to resolve the strike actions.