Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation’s biggest computer memory chipmaker, yesterday said it may unveil its own industry consolidation plan with Japanese partner Elpida Memory Inc as early as next week.
Powerchip was not satisfied with a proposal made by the government to help DRAM makers ride through the industry’s severest downturn yet. The government proposed forming a state-funded firm, Taiwan Memory Co (TMC, 台灣記憶體公司).
Taiwan’s ailing makers of DRAM computer memory chips had been pinning hope on a capital injection from the government through the new company to help them resolve pressing financial difficulties.
But TMC head John Hsuan (宣明智), in a reversal of the original blueprint laid out by the government, said the new chipmaker would not put consolidation efforts high on its list of priorities, adding that memory chip companies would have to solve their financial problems by themselves.
No merger and acquisition deals or relief funds would be involved in the formation of the new company, Hsuan said.
Without support from the government, Powerchip will instead “speed up our consolidation efforts with Elpida,” spokesman Eric Tan (譚仲民) said on the phone.
“Creating TMC will not be of any help to the ailing DRAM industry. It is just another DRAM firm in competition with existing players,” Tan said.
Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told Unique Satellite TV (非凡電視) that domestic DRAM makers were struggling to survive the economic turndown because of oversupply and shrinking demand.
TMC would only exacerbate the situation and intensify competition, Huang said.
Huang was scheduled to meet high-ranking executives from Elpida next week for detailed discussions about a consolidation plan drafted earlier, Tan said.
The companies may retain the original consolidation plan, seeking to integrate some domestic DRAM makers into their joint venture, Rexchip Electronics Inc (瑞晶電子) in Taichung, which makes chips at cost-efficient 12-inch fabs with Elpida’s technology, Tan said.
Powerchip and Elpida submitted the consolidation and bailout plan to the Ministry of Economic Affairs in late December, but the plan was rejected.
Shares of the nation’s top three DRAM makers, Powerchip, Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), yesterday fell 6.4 percent, 2.3 percent and 6.3 percent to NT$3.33, NT$5.82 and NT$1.04, respectively.
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