“ THE TWISTED DONUT---
COMING THIS SUMMER TO YOUR LIVING ROOM! ”

Coming to your living room this summer—the Twisted Doughnut!

That’s what the flabbergasted Beijing locals have nicknamed the new CCTV Tower—headquarters of China’s biggest media company and sole broadcaster of the 2008 Olympics, which will arrive on your TV August 8.

What is it, anyway? The twin, eleven-story Leaning Towers of Beijing tilt sharply together and join via a 250 foot long cantilevered overhang to form what looks like a brightly-colored version of the letter Z. In an earthquake zone? What are they thinking?

“It’s what the new China is all about,” Dutch architect Ole Scheeren says. “Irreverent, a can-do spirit, fearless and extremely confident.”

And Intel Ponies Up . . .

The new China has got the blood pumping for some very conservative U.S. companies. Intel, for Pete’s sake. Yes, the inventor of the X86 series of microprocessors and at USD 31.5 Billion revenue (2006), the world’s largest chip company. In fact, that computer screen you’re looking at right now probably has ‘Intel Inside’—even if you’re running an Apple.

Intel’s CEO, Paul Otellini announced the unbelievable news in the Great Hall of the People, the heart of Communist Beijing, on April 2007. Intel would build its next fab, a USD 2.5 Billion dollar factory using 300 mm wafers to make ninety nanometer-featured chips, in Dalian, China’s most northerly, ice-free seaport, just a few hundred miles west of Pyongyang.

“It’s no secret that China is at the forefront of a remarkable surge in both market growth and innovation,” Otellini said. “Today’s announcement sends a message that the Chinese market is very important to Intel.”

Duh! China’s 2007 sales market for integrated circuits hit USD 82 Billion dollars, or 32% of the world total. Will Intel’s bold move start a new migration to China of U.S. industry? Who knows?

But if I was a betting man with a great product to peddle, I’d want to have a couple good men/or women representing my company in China.

Best Wishes,

Ken Reed
President

**To read more on Intel’s new fab in Dalian:
http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198700807

**To read more on the Twisted Doughnut:
http://www.gluckman.com/BeijingArchitecture.html