Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) will form a chip project with Infineon Technologies AG, the world's fourth-largest memory-chip maker, and will announce details to the press today, Nanya Vice President Charles Kau (高啟全) said.
Kau's comment was in response to a Chinese-language newspaper report that said Nanya, the nation's biggest memory-chip maker by market value backed by Nan Ya Plastic Corp (
Later yesterday, Nanya sent out a media invitation for a joint news conference with Infineon today but did not give details.
Infineon needs alliances with companies such as Nanya to share the costs of expansion and development of new technology to compete with larger rivals Samsung Electronics Co and Micron Technology Inc, analysts said. Infineon has previously said it expected to sign a preliminary agreement with Nanya this month.
Nanya and Infineon plan to start construction of the first plant next year, the report said. Infineon's share of the memory-chip market will almost double to 20 percent after the plants are completed, it added.
Nanya is also seeking partners for technology development. The company currently uses chip-making technology from International Business Machines Corp.
Infineon has a venture with Taiwan memory-chip maker Mosel Vitelic Inc (
The dinner-plate-sized wafers will help cut production costs by a third because they more than double the number of chips that can be made from smaller eight-inch disks that are the standard size for the industry.
Infineon may buy a stake in Nanya by purchasing some of the shares, analysts said earlier.
Infineon said it's been in negotiations with Winbond Electronics Corp (
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