Record demand for public capital worldwide far exceeds underwriting resources as free-market economies create new firms in unprecedented numbers, William Hambrecht of Hambrecht & Quist told the firm’s 22nd annual technology conference in San Francisco this week; demand is fuelled by newer, free market economies, favourable government regulations and tax bias to job creation, available debt financing and a start-up mentality, creating a huge base of opportunity for investors and underwriting firms; US job creation continues to be fuelled by entrepreneurial companies – from 1980 to 1994 companies with fewer than 500 employees created more than 13m of the 19.3m new jobs in that period: contrasting with the proliferation of new companies is a trend to consolidation in the US electronics industry – fundamental financial and competitive dynamics are causing more hardware, software communications and semiconductor firms to seek mergers as part of their corporate strategies, driven by soaring costs of reaching the size needed for market leadership and the fact that innovative products alone no longer seal success.
