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Check against delivery: Gordon Brown in India
“The Indian economy is today growing at more than eight per cent - a rate of growth that fills every other finance minister with envy - an India which has doubled your national income in just 15 years, doubled your share of world exports, lifted over a hundred million people out of poverty; an India that over the next five years will create one in every four of all new jobs in the world, and by 2020 an extra 200 million jobs - more than America, Europe and China combined.” An extract of the UK Chancellor Gordon Brown’s speech while on his visit to Bangalore, India, last month, focusing on enterprise and educational exchanges – click here.
European IPO numbers hit a high but amount is down
Ninety-one initial public offerings were completed by European venture-backed companies in 2006, outpacing U.S. liquidity activity in the same period and reaching the highest yearly level since 2000. However, the total amount of capital raised by these IPOs reached only €1.75 billion, a 19 percent decline from the amount raised by IPOs in 2005. This is due to the changing nature of IPO market with a mix of more smaller companies raising smaller amounts. Read more here.
Israeli VC investment hits five year high at $1.62 billion
Four hundred and two Israeli high-tech companies raised $1.62 billion from local and foreign venture capital investors, 21 percent higher than the $1.34 billion raised in 2005 and 11 percent above 2004 levels. In the fourth quarter, 105 Israeli high-tech companies raised $477 million, a 25 percent increase from the $381 million raised by 87 companies in the third quarter and an 80 percent jump from the $264 million raised in Q4 2005. Click here for more.
How much do the components cost in an iPhone?
Each Apple iPhone sold will generate nearly a 50 percent gross margin for Apple Inc. and partner Cingular Wireless, giving the companies a hefty profit, as well as plenty of room for future price cuts, according to a preliminary functional bill of materials (BoM) estimate created by iSuppli Corp. The 4Gbyte version of the Apple iPhone will carry a $229.85 hardware BoM and manufacturing cost and a $245.83 total expense, yielding a 50.7 percent margin on each unit sold at the $499 retail price. Click here for more.
Green Biologics awarded £560,000 to boost 'green' fuel development
An Oxfordshire biotechnology company is set to develop a new low-cost 'next generation' biofuel, with £250,000 funding from the Department of Trade and Industry-led Technology Programme and £310,000 from shareholder investors and business angels. Green Biologics Ltd plans to develop a way of manufacturing biobutanol, identified as a superior 'next generation' biofuel for transport, which will slash the cost of production by up to a third. Click here.
Nokia applies for delisting from the Stockholm Stock Exchange and proposes new stock option plan
Nokia has decided to apply for the delisting of Nokia's Swedish Depository Receipts (SDRs) from the Stockholm Stock Exchange, due to their decreased trading volumes. The company has also announced its Nokia Equity program 2007 and proposal for a new stock option plan. The holders of Nokia SDRs may retain their Nokia ownership by having their SDRs converted to Nokia ordinary shares and transferred to a custody account opened by the holder or to a Finnish book-entry account. Click here for more.
Triple play multimedia to drive biggest swing in electronics equipment market in 2007
The global market for all types of electronic equipment will essentially maintain its rate of revenue growth in 2007, propelled by accelerated expansions in the data processing, consumer electronics and wired communications segments, iSuppli Corp. predicts. Meanwhile, the other three segments will suffer decelerated growth compared to 2006 – the wireless communications segment will cool considerably, growing by only 4.9 percent in 2007, after the 8.7 percent expansion of 2006. Read more here.
Global VC investment on track to top $32 billion
Significant growth in ‘cleantech’ and other emerging industries and with $25.39 billion invested after the first three quarters of 2006, venture capital activity in the U.S., Europe, China and Israel in 2006 is estimated to hit a five-year high and register the highest annual investments since 2001, according to a global year end analysis by Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young. Investment is expected to top $32 billion in 2006 after the fourth quarter results are in. Read more here.
Freescale Semiconductor leads in $18bn automotive IC market
A report from Databeans estimates that Freescale Semiconductor leads in the automotive semiconductor market by a small margin over Infineon Technologies. The top three suppliers to this market, Freescale Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies, and STMicroelectronics, earned nearly one third of total worldwide revenue, which is reported at $18 billion for 2006. Other strong players in this market include Renesas Technology, NEC Electronics, NXP, Robert Bosch, Texas Instruments, Atmel, and ON Semiconductor. Read more here.
