YOKKAICHI, Japan: Toshiba Corp. expects the sale of its $18 billion memory chip business to be completed by June at the latest, if not by an agreed deadline of the end of March, as it awaits antitrust regulatory approval from China.
“We’ve been making various efforts to close the deal in March,” Yasuo Naruke, the head of Toshiba’s chip unit, told reporters on Friday.
Even if the deal did not close by then, it would close “at some point in April, May or June,” Naruke said during his visit to a new chip R&D center in central Japan.
Toshiba agreed last year to sell the semiconductor business — the world’s second-biggest producer of NAND flash memory chips — to a consortium led by US private equity firm Bain Capital to plug a huge financial hole left by the bankruptcy of its US nuclear unit.
It is widely viewed as unlikely to gain the necessary regulatory clearance by the end of the financial year in March, however, as Chinese reviews usually take at least six months.
Toshiba is in less of a rush to finalize the deal since it received injections of capital late last year from overseas investors. If it does not complete the deal by March, it has the option of walking away, sources have said.
Some activist shareholders have opposed the sale, arguing that the fresh capital made it unnecessary.
The flash memory chip business has been the source of most of Toshiba’s earnings as the company struggles to grow other core businesses such as social infrastructure.
Toshiba expects to complete chip unit sale by June at latest
Toshiba expects to complete chip unit sale by June at latest
Saudi Arabia among top states in tech security with 99% score, says official
RIYADH: Programs and security initiatives launched by the Ministry of Interior have contributed significantly to improving quality of life in Saudi Arabia by generating high-quality data that supports planning and enables faster responses, placing the Kingdom in the global spotlight, Khalid Al-Bakr, CEO of the Quality of Life Program, told Al-Eqtisadiah.
He noted that the Unified Security Operations Centers 911 in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, Madinah, and Makkah are among the Quality of Life Program’s initiatives implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Interior, producing data that helps develop plans and ensure swift responses to incidents.
Al-Bakr added that technology has been integrated into security capabilities, including the use of body cameras for security personnel, which has helped maintain high levels of public safety.
He highlighted that reporting violations or crimes via 911 has an average response time of just two seconds, describing it as a technological leap that serves residents and visitors alike and enhances trust in security services.
The CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program said the Kingdom ranks among the top countries globally in security technology, with a 99 percent rating, emphasizing that Saudi Arabia is a leader in leveraging advanced security technologies to serve residents and visitors, making it an attractive place to live and visit.
Al-Bakr explained that the major transformation in the use of technology — particularly in services provided by the Ministry of Interior — has had a significant impact on quality of life, noting that accessing services such as passport or national ID renewal has become faster and more convenient, often available at the click of a button.
