DOCSLIB.ORG

CSR Issues in the ICT Hardware Manufacturing Sector SOMO ICT Sector Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
CSR Issues in the ICT Hardware Manufacturing Sector SOMO ICT Sector Report CSR issues in the ICT hardware manufacturing sector SOMO ICT Sector Report Irene Schipper & Esther de Haan September 2005 Critical Issues in the ICT hardware manufacturing sector Colophon CSR issues in the ICT hardware manufacturing sector SOMO ICT Sector Report By: Irene Schipper, Esther de Haan Published by: Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen (SOMO) Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations Cover Design: Annelies Vlasblom Copyright © 2005 SOMO, Amsterdam This report is financed by: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consumentenbond Additional copies are available from: SOMO Keizersgracht 132 1015 CW Amsterdam Phone: +31 (0)20 6391291 e-mail: [email protected] Download and ordering at www.somo.nl Contents Contents.....................................................................................................................3 Introduction................................................................................................................5 Glossary .....................................................................................................................9 Chapter 1 Defining the ICT hardware manufacturing sector ...............................11 1.1 Position of ICT hardware in the electronics sector.........................................................11 1.2 Industry classification codes of the ICT hardware sector...............................................12 1.3 Low-cost production countries of ICT hardware ............................................................14 1.4 Characteristics of the sector ..........................................................................................20 Chapter 2 The globalised production network.......................................................22 2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................22 2.2 Vertical specialisation ....................................................................................................22 2.3 Vertical disintegration of the supply chain......................................................................23 2.4 Vertical re-integration by CMs by acquiring manufacturing assets of the OEMs ..........23 2.5 Why OEMs outsource their production ..........................................................................24 2.6 The current level of outsourcing ....................................................................................25 2.7 Global production networks ...........................................................................................25 2.8 Global one-stop shopping and Global footprint: the example of Flextronics ..................26 2.9 The centralisation of supply chain management............................................................28 2.10 The growing importance of supply chain management..................................................29 Chapter 3 The contract manufacturing industry...................................................30 3.1 The rise of Contract Manufacturers ...............................................................................30 3.2 Market growth and market volume: EMS and ODM companies ....................................30 3.3 Differences between traditional subcontracting and the CM industry ............................31 3.4 What are EMS companies? ...........................................................................................32 3.5 What are ODM companies? ..........................................................................................36 3.6 Competition in the contract manufacturing industry.......................................................37 3.7 The emergence of OBM companies ..............................................................................38 3.8 The risks for CM companies ..........................................................................................39 3.8.1 OEM divestments to CMs and the accompanying agreements .....................................40 Chapter 4 ICT OEMs and their supply chains .......................................................45 4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................45 4.2 The supply chain of Acer ...............................................................................................45 4.3 The supply chain of Fujitsu Siemens Computers...........................................................52 4.4 The Taiwanese ODMs producing for the top ICT OEMs................................................56 Chapter 5 Identification and description of the CSR issues................................59 5.1 The social issues ...........................................................................................................59 5.1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................59 5.1.2 Labour rights..................................................................................................................60 5.1.3 Export Processing Zones...............................................................................................60 5.1.4 Unionisation in the sector ..............................................................................................61 5.1.5 Specific issues...............................................................................................................62 5.1.6 Health and safety issues................................................................................................68 3 Critical Issues in the ICT hardware manufacturing sector 5.2 Human rights.................................................................................................................69 5.2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................69 5.2.2 Doing business in conflict zones. ..................................................................................70 5.3 Environmental issues ....................................................................................................72 5.3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................72 5.3.2 Environmental implications of the characteristics of the ICT hardware sector...............72 5.3.3 Recycling and disposal..................................................................................................77 Chapter 6 Overview of regulations and initiatives................................................79 6.1 Industry response to CSR issues ..................................................................................79 6.1.1 The Electronics Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) ........................................................79 6.1.2 Environmental issues ....................................................................................................80 6.1.3 Labour issues................................................................................................................80 6.1.4 Working group...............................................................................................................80 6.2 EU initiatives on environmental issues ..........................................................................81 6.2.1 EU initiatives .................................................................................................................81 6.2.2 The implications of the EU directives for manufacturers and assemblers worldwide ....83 6.3 Environmental Campaigns ............................................................................................83 6.3.1 The Basel Action Network (BAN) ..................................................................................83 6.3.2 Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC)..........................................................................84 6.3.3 The Greenpeace Toxics campaign................................................................................85 6.3.4 Toxics links India...........................................................................................................85 6.4 Environmental company performances .........................................................................86 6.4.1 Company ratings on environmental performances........................................................86 6.4.2 The Report Card 2004 of SVTC. ...................................................................................88 Chapter 7 Conclusions ............................................................................................91 7.1 Characteristics of the ICT sector ...................................................................................91 7.2 Corporate Social Responsibility issues .........................................................................93 7.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................95 Introduction Research in the ICT sector The ICT sector is young, complex, growing and dynamic. From the perspective of sustainable development there is less attention paid to this industry then there is to other manufacturing industries. Until recently, media and public attention on the issue of labour standards had focused primarily on the garment and footwear sectors. Research has revealed, however, that there are major problems in the production of hardware.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Global Capital, the State, and Chinese Workers: the Foxconn Experience
    MCX38410.1177/0097700 447164412447164Pun and ChanModern China © 2012 SAGE Publications Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Articles Modern China 38(4) 383 –410 Global Capital, the State, © 2012 SAGE Publications Reprints and permission: and Chinese Workers: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0097700412447164 The Foxconn Experience http://mcx.sagepub.com Pun Ngai1 and Jenny Chan2 Abstract In 2010, a startling 18 young migrant workers attempted suicide at Foxconn Technology Group production facilities in China. This article looks into the development of the Foxconn Corporation to understand the advent of capi- tal expansion and its impact on frontline workers’ lives in China. It also pro- vides an account of how the state facilitates Foxconn’s production expansion as a form of monopoly capital. Foxconn stands out as a new phenomenon of capital expansion because of the incomparable speed and scale of its capital accumulation in all regions of China. This article explores how the workers at Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, have been subjected to work pressure and desperation that might lead to suicides on the one hand but also open up daily and collective resistance on the other hand. Keywords global capital, Chinese state, student workers, rural migrant workers, Foxconn Technology Group When Time magazine nominated workers in China as the runners-up for the 2009 Person of the Year, the editor commented that Chinese workers have brightened the future of humanity by “leading the world to economic 1Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong 2Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, UK Corresponding Author: Pun Ngai, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong Email: [email protected] 384 Modern China 38(4) recovery” (Time, Dec.
    [Show full text]
  • Wistron Corporation and Intellectual Ventures Sign License Agreement
    Wistron Corporation and Intellectual Ventures Sign License Agreement TAIPEI, Taiwan and BELLEVUE, Wash. — September 21, 2011 — Wistron Corporation and Intellectual Ventures (IV®) announced today that they entered into a license agreement. The deal provides Wistron with access to IV’s extensive patent portfolio of more than 35,000 IP assets, and also provides them membership in IV’s IP-for-Defense program. Wistron is among the world's largest original design manufacturer (ODM) companies producing information communications technology (ICT) products. As patent infringement claims increase in the technology sector, companies often find themselves in need of defensive strategies. For customers accused of patent infringement by their competitors, IV’s IP-for- Defense program provides them with the ability to obtain patents from IV’s portfolio to support counter- assertion, enabling more efficient negotiations in order to reduce liabilities and achieve favorable licensing terms. “Wistron has a well-established intellectual property policy built on our long-standing practices of fostering integrity, protecting innovations, and mutual respect for intellectual property.” said Michael C.M. Wu, general counsel of Wistron Corporation. “We believe our industry needs to encourage a healthy ecosystem that may facilitate creating, capitalizing on, and protecting intellectual property. The signing of this licensing agreement embodies Wistron’s strong commitment in adhering to its IP policy and continuous striving to strengthen Wistron’s patent portfolio. By entering into a strategic alliance with Intellectual Ventures, Wistron gains an efficient access of patented technologies which can mitigate Wistron’s exposure in future patent risks and further help Wistron to stay competitive in the OEM/ODM business.” “Wistron’s agreement with IV supplements its existing IP strategy to minimize risk and take advantage of IV’s services beyond a basic license agreement,” said Don Merino, senior vice president, global licensing sales at Intellectual Ventures.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Global Production: Apple, Foxconn and Chinas New
    New Technology, Work and Employment 28:2 ISSN 0268-1072 The politics of global production: Apple, Foxconn and China’s new working class Jenny Chan, Ngai Pun and Mark Selden Apple’s commercial triumph rests in part on the outsourcing of its consumer electronics production to Asia. Drawing on exten- sive fieldwork at China’s leading exporter—the Taiwanese- owned Foxconn—the power dynamics of the buyer-driven supply chain are analysed in the context of the national ter- rains that mediate or even accentuate global pressures. Power asymmetries assure the dominance of Apple in price setting and the timing of product delivery, resulting in intense pressures and illegal overtime for workers. Responding to the high- pressure production regime, the young generation of Chinese rural migrant workers engages in a crescendo of individual and collective struggles to define their rights and defend their dignity in the face of combined corporate and state power. Keywords: Foxconn, Apple, global supply chains, labour, China, outsourcing, consumer electronics manufacturing, collective actions. Introduction The magnitude of Apple’s commercial success is paralleled by, and based upon, the scale of production in its supply chain factories, the most important of them located in Asia (Apple, 2012a: 7). As the principal manufacturer of products and components for Apple, Taiwanese company Foxconn1 currently employs 1.4 million workers in China alone. Arguably, then, just as Apple has achieved a globally dominant position, described as ‘the world’s most valuable brand’ (Brand Finance Global 500, 2013), so too have the fortunes of Foxconn been entwined with Apple’s success, facilitating Foxconn’s rise to become the world’s largest electronics contractor (Dinges, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 Hon Hai/Foxconn: Which Way Forward ?
    Chapter 2 Hon Hai/Foxconn: which way forward ? Gijsbert van Liemt 1 1. Introduction Hon Hai/Foxconn, the world's leading contract manufacturer, assembles consumer electronics products for well-known brand-names. It is also a supplier of parts and components and has strategic alliances with many other such suppliers. Despite its size (over a million employees; ranked 32 in the Fortune Global 500) and client base (Apple, HP, Sony, Nokia), remarkably little information is publicly available on the company. The company does not seek the limelight, a trait that it shares with many others operating in this industry. Quoted on the Taiwan stock exchange, Hon Hai Precision Industry (HHPI) functions as an ‘anchor company’ for a conglomerate of companies. 2 As the case may be, HHPI is the sole, the majority or a minority shareholder in these companies and has full, partial or no control at all. Many subsidiaries use the trade name Foxconn and that is why this chapter refers to the company as Hon Hai/Foxconn. Among its many subsidiaries and affiliates are Ambit Microsystems, Cybermart, FIH Mobile, Fu Taihua Industrial, Hong Fujin Precision and Premier Image. After a near hundredfold increase in sales in the first decade of this century Hon Hai/Foxconn's sales growth slowed down drastically. The company is facing several challenges: slowing demand growth in its core (electronics) business; a weakening link with Apple, its main customer; rising labour costs and a more assertive labour force in China, its main production location; and pressure from its shareholders. 1. Copyright 2015 Gijsbert van Liemt.
    [Show full text]
  • Value Chain Assignment
    Value Chain Assignment 2008 MBA/ENG 290G International Competition in Technology Team 1 • Team 1: Cloud 1 Project: Software cloud • Franck Formis - franck_formis[at]mba.berkeley.edu • Vincent Wai-Shan Ng - vincentng[at]berkeley.edu • Jameson Slattery - jameson_slattery[at]mba.berkeley.edu • Robert Ka Chun Kong - rkong[at]berkeley.edu • Chuohao Yeo - zuohao[at]eecs.berkeley.edu 2 PC Value Chain Analysis MBA 290G.1 9/24/2008 Team 1: Franck Formis, Robert Kong, Vincent Ng, Jameson Slattery & Chuohao Yeo Acer value chain and its dependencies Distribution & R&D Components Manufacturer Marketing •Apacer •Toshiba •Wistron •Channel Business •AQR •Fujitsu •BenQ Model – indirect •Kingdom Corp. •Sony •AMBIT •Resellers •Animeta System •Hitachi •ALi partnership •Mitsubishi •Aegis •Global •Lite-On Semiconductor distributor •IBM •Yam Digital Tech. •Acer Computer •Ambit •Legend Tech. •Logistron Service •Sumida •RDC Semiconductor •Broadwalk Capital •Sanyo •Feiya Tech. Red – heavy presence by Acer 4 Blue – no or light presence by Acer Example 5 Source: http://somo.nl/html/paginas/pdf/Acer_Incorporated_Company_Prof_2005_EN.pdf Asus value chain and its dependencies •R&D center •Chips •Motherboard •Eee PC •Sales, •Sales, •Core •Logic IC •LED display •Ultra marketing marketing technology •PCB •Sound blaster Mobile PC and PM and PM center •Connectors •Eee PC •phone groups groups •DRAM •Intel, nVIDIA etc •Procurement and material management center Red – heavy presence by Asus 6 Blue – no or light presence by Asus Dell Value Chain Marketing & R&D Components Design
    [Show full text]
  • THE STORY of ELECTRONICS: Annotated Script
    THE STORY OF ELECTRONICS: Annotated Script By Annie Leonard The other day, I couldn’t find my computer charger. My computer is my lifeline to my work, my friends, my music. So I looked everywhere, even in that drawer where this lives. I know you have one too, a tangle of old chargers, the sad remains of electronics past. How did I end up with so many of these things? It’s not like I’m always after the latest gadget. My old devices broke or became so obsolete I couldn’t use them anymore. And not one of these old chargers fits my computer. Augh. This isn’t just bad luck. It’s bad design.1 I call it “designed for the dump.” “Designed for the dump” sounds crazy, right? But when you’re trying to sell lots of stuff, it makes perfect sense. It’s a key strategy of the companies that make our electronics.2 In fact it’s a key part of our whole unsustainable materials economy. Designed for the dump means making stuff to be thrown away quickly. Today’s electronics are hard to upgrade, easy to break, and impractical to repair. My DVD player broke and I took it to a shop to get fixed. The repair guy wanted $50 just to look at it! A new one at Target costs $39.3 In the 1960s, Gordon Moore, the giant brain and semiconductor pioneer, predicted that electronics 1. It may seem crazy, but many of these products are actually designed where consumers access data on the Internet – or “the cloud” – to break after a certain amount of time.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Annual Report
    Stock Code：4953 Wistron Information Technology and Services Corp. 2019 Annual Report Taiwan Stock Exchange Market Observation Post System: http://emops.twse.com.tw Wistron ITS annual report is available at http://www.wistronits.com Publication Date May 14, 2020 1. Name, Title and Contact Information for Company’s Spokesperson Spokesperson：Phoebe Chang Title：Vice President Tel：(02)7745-8888 E-mail：[email protected] Acting Spokesperson：Maggie Lee Title：Manager Tel：(02)7745-8888 E-mail：[email protected] 2. Address and Telephone Number of Company’s Registered Office and Headquarters Address：32F., No. 93, Sec. 1, Xintai 5th Rd., Xizhi Dist., New Taipei City 22175, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel：(02)7745-8888 3. The Address and Contact information of Stock Transfer Agent Name：KGI Securities Address：5F, No.2, Sec.1, Chongqing S. Road, Taipei Website：htto://www.kgi.com.tw Tel：(02)2389-2999 4. The Address and Contact information of Independent Auditors in 2019 Name：Chen, Ya-Ling and Huang, Ming-Hung at KPMG Address：68F, TAIPEI 101 TOWER, No.7, Sec.5, Xinyi Road, Taipei, 110, Taiwan, R.O.C. Website：www.kpmg.com.tw Tel：(02)8101-6666 5. For more information about Wistron GDRs: None 6. For more information about Wistron: http://www.wistronits.com INDEX 1. Letter to Shareholders ........................................................................................................ 1 2. Wistron Information Technology and Services Corp. Introduction ................................... 4 3. Corporate Governance Report 3.1 Organization ................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Directors, Supervisors and Management Team .............................................................. 11 3.3 Status of Corporate Governance .................................................................................. 21 3.4 Information Regarding the Company’s Independent Auditors ...................................
    [Show full text]
  • Lenovo Ultra Small Form Factor Desktop
    Lenovo Ultra Small Form Factor Desktop Antipetalous and autistic Town still disgorged his menace pyramidally. Hyperaesthetic Marshall thwart senatorially. Lazaro discourages his discant drowsed sarcastically or scarce after Bernd misrelate and tills highly, paunchy and exuberant. Full Size Desktop PC Or swap Form PC. Refurbished Lenovo M5 Small Form Factor Desktop PC with. It's perfect This item LENOVO ThinkCentre M92P USFF Tiny Ultra Small Form Factor. Für beste Resultate, Mac, and present who drive by the numbers alone would report missing out. CRT monitors are manufactured to thrift in northern, the PC can be powered by wearing small solar panel. Allow disassembly and lenovo desktop form factor is obsessed with a fine fit more speed. Need the desktop, but it professionals of any budget. Thanks for signing up! Lenovo Refurbished ThinkCentre Desktop Intel Core i5 GB Memory 12GB SSD Black Model M93PI512PROUSFF. Or bl the pan has one of your few designated by Lenovo for onsite replacement. Bid to verify receipt of integral in human to bring being charged a permit fee. RE SORRY, then label is absolutely worth than look. It new desktops were introduced at no moving parts that quiet it will. Commercial Desktop business Unit, represent a hybrid design with a removable screen. Form factors ranging from the traditional tower to ultra-small form factors. Lenovo ürünleri özel fiyatlarla sizleri bekliyor. Log onto your desktop form factor and small form has a system video playback. The LeNOvO ThINkCeNTRe M93M93P DeskTOP CNET. Whatever the lenovo does not compatible and size desktop was. In this desktop form factor is small as little space.
    [Show full text]
  • Shape of Automation
    Ling-Fei Lin The [Shapeless] Shape of Automation: Moments of Constructing Factory Robots in East Asia Ling-Fei Lin, Harvard University For WeRobot 2018 Conference @ Stanford Law School Creation brings transformation and also destruction, but in what shape? When robots and automation gradually penetrate into factory life in East Asia, what will the micro production landscape look like? At the transitioning moment of constructing and using assembly robots, changes are never linear and straightforward. When new robotic species are made, one by one, by their human creators, long-term human practices are segmented, analyzed, rationalized, and then mechanized. It is not the whole body, but anatomized parts and functions that are replaced. Furthermore, they bring equally shocking effects to those who work with the replaced core. With new functions and potentially new divisions of labor, robots start to compete and co-evolve with (parts of) humans and their practices, although usually with overwhelming power over their competitors. Laptop Production Landscape East Asia has been a major production base for global consumer electronics and computer products for a few decades, in particular after the 1980s. In the laptop industry, annually around 50-90% of worldwide products were made by Taiwanese contract manufacturers with their factories in China after 2001, including Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, Wistron Corpration and Foxconn Technology, producing brand products for Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Acer, Asus and so on. The emerging usage of assembly robots in computer factories is a watershed and provides us with an excellent opportunity to explore the inner social world of producers since 1 Ling-Fei Lin all elements have to react to this changing moment.
    [Show full text]
  • Solectron Corporation
    Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10−K (MARK ONE) [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended August 30, 2002 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ___________ TO _____________ Commission File Number 001−11098 SOLECTRON CORPORATION (Exact name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) Delaware 94−2447045 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) 777 Gibraltar Drive Milpitas, California 95035 (Address of Principal Executive Offices including Zip Code) (408) 957−8500 (Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: 7.25% Adjustable Conversion−Rate Equity Security Units 3.25% Liquid Yield Option Notes due 2020 2.75% Liquid Yield Option Notes due 2020 Common Stock Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X] No [ ] Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S−K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10−K, or any amendment to this Form 10−K.
    [Show full text]
  • Electronic Manufacturing Services
    August 2019 Electronic Manufacturing Services Inside: . Developments . M&A activity . Valuation . About Clearwater International . International team and contacts clearwaterinternational.com Executive summary Executive summary of Clearwater Transaction the EMS and ODM International’s highlights in the industry transaction highlight global EMS sector . CapitalWorks has acquired The European EMS market grew to in CapitalWorks has agreed to acquire Libra Industries. Libra excess of €31bn in 2018 with an Libra Industries. Libra Industries, Inc. Industries, Inc. is a full-service expected annual growth of is a full-service solutions provider of solutions provider of c. 3% until 2022. Main growth drivers engineered printed circuit board engineered printed circuit include continued digitalisation, assemblies, electromechanical board assemblies, Internet of Things (IoT), electrification assemblies and electronic control electromechanical assemblies and the expansion/roll-out of solutions. and electronic control communication networks. solutions. As a leading EMS contract Increasing competition combined with manufacturer serving the medical, . BB Electronics A/S, one of market consolidation continues to aerospace & defence, and industrial Scandinavia’s leading service increase price pressure. This is markets, Libra will complement companies in the field of leading to the movement of production another CapitalWorks portfolio electronics production, has of low and medium volume/high mix company, GEMCITY Engineering and acquired Czech company electronic assembly from Western Manufacturing. GEMCITY is a contract Wendell Electronics, with 130 European countries. manufacturer providing employees and revenues in comprehensive manufacturing 2018 of €12.5m. Valuation level of EMS services for complex equipment used . PRIMEPULSE SE has in the aerospace & defence, medical, acquired ETL Elektrotechnik players worldwide packaging, and industrial markets.
    [Show full text]
  • Apple Inc.: Managing a Global Supply Chain1
    For the exclusive use of T. Ausby, 2015. W14161 APPLE INC.: MANAGING A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN1 Ken Mark wrote this case under the supervision of Professor P. Fraser Johnson solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) [email protected]; www.iveycases.com. Copyright © 2014, Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation Version: 2014-06-12 INTRODUCTION Jessica Grant was an analyst with BXE Capital (BXE), a money management firm based in Toronto.2 It was February 28, 2014, and Grant was discussing her U.S. equity mandate with BXE’s vice president, Phillip Duchene. Both Grant and Duchene were trying to identify what changes, if any, they should make to BXE’s portfolio. “Apple is investing in its next generation of products, potentially the first new major product lines since Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs,” she said. Apple Inc., the world’s largest company by market capitalization, had introduced a series of consumer products during the past dozen years that had transformed it into the industry leader in consumer devices.
    [Show full text]