| Posted: January 5, 2009 |
Nanotechnology in 2009 - creative destruction or credit crunch? |
| (Nanowerk News) Tim Harper over at Cientifica has published a thought-provoking brief white paper "Nanotechnologies In 2009: Creative Destruction or Credit Crunch?" that looks at the effects of the current financial crisis on the world of nanotechnologies. |
| He lists five issues which he sees as having a significant impact on nanotechnology in 2009: |
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| Some notable quotes from the paper: |
| "Given that the current liquidity crisis may last for up to two years, and most firms don’t have two years cash in the bank, I expect to see a growing number of fire sales and intellectual property disposals among most emerging technologies. Secondary investors may have a very good year buying distressed VC portfolios." |
| "I expect pressure to mount for a shift from blue sky to goal-oriented research as the year progresses. While most funding programs are run on three- to five-year cycles, nanotechnology research funding will come under increasing scrutiny from funding agencies that in turn will be under pressure to develop better value for money." |
| "As companies drew down mountains of cheap debt of the past decade to finance growth, 2009 will see falling share prices exacerbating to struggle to refinance existing bonds and loans. I expect to see a couple more high profile nanotechnology failures this year, probably among the large number of illiquid public companies focussing on materials." |
| Source: Cientifica |
