Abu Dhabi SWF Deal Presages Industry Shake Up

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September 7 saw Abu Dhabi's state technology group Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) offer to buy Singaporean semiconductor foundry Chartered Semiconductor for US$1.8bn, in a move set to create a top tier manufacturer of customized chips and a rival to the current world number-two. Coming as it did after major shareholders in chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor moved to begin the sale of a US$2.8bn stake, the move underlines CFW's prediction of consolidation in the global chip sector, one hit hard by economic headwinds. Indeed, the deal came after shares in US memory chip firm Rambus rose by 11.4% to close at US$17.75 on September 4 amid speculation that industry leader Samsung Electronics was planning an acquisition, something later denied by Samsung. The latter has been thought to be on the lookout for acquisitions since it abandoned its attempt to acquire US memory chip maker SanDisk Corp for US$5.9bn.