Hong Kong shanghaied

Article Abstract:

Hong Kong's future as a financial center is likely to be compromised by the strong emotional ties that Chinese leaders have with their home cities. China has long desired to return Shanghai to its pre-World War II eminence as China's business, commercial and financial center. Many of China's political leaders are from Shanghai, including China's chief executive and chairman of its Communist Party Jiang Zemin, and there is also a traditional animosity between the north and the south in China. China pledged $36 billion to build infrastructure for Shanghai's Pudong island over the next five years and is in the mist of a tremendous business development program. Another factor that may lead Hong Kong to lose its current status and become mainly a shipping port is that the leading trading company, the leading financial company, the dominant airline and telephone company are all British firms.

China, Column, Hong Kong, Shanghai, China, Domestic policy, Government programs, Government Regulation

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Lawsuit chills investments

Article Abstract:

Cadence Design Systems' April 1997 lawsuit against Avant! Corp. for alleged conspiracy and theft of trade secrets will make venture capitalists more wary of their investments in software startups. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has filed criminal charges, and the defendants, if convicted, could face prison sentences up to seven years. Former Cadence Design Systems employees founded Avant! in 1991, and by 1996 Avant! led all design automation companies with $741 million in revenue. Venture capitalists will ask sharper questions of startups to certify original work. Among the questions are detailing work of former employers, specifying non-compete contracts and demonstrating that new approaches originated from independent thinking. This also will result in venture capitalists attempting to acquire a larger company stake and increasing entrepreneurial costs.

Capital Management-Venture Capital, Usage, Investments, Venture capital companies, Intellectual property, Venture capital, Semiconductor production equipment industry, Industry legal issue, Cadence Design Systems Inc., CDN, Avant! Corp., AVNT

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IBM reconnects research

Article Abstract:

IBM's new research dir Paul Horn has a new objective to make the research organization, valued at $6 billion, into a business. Some of the changes are a direct result of the struggles IBM faced in the early 1990s, and now the research division has been revamped to make sure work produced has more relevance. The division had its budget cut to a low or $4.3 billion in 1994, but its budget is now at $6 billion because its work is more product-focused. Horn wants to stress joint ventures, such as the successful venture between R&D and the firm's semiconductor development group. Horn specifically sees a need to change the direction of the research division due to accelerating product cycles. In addition, the division wants to support IBM's 'pervasive computing commitment, which is focused on linking a whole variety of products, ranging from mainframes to handheld devices.

Electronic computers, Management, Computer industry, Cover Story, Company Business Management, International Business Machines Corp. Research Div.

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