Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation's largest maker of computer memory, rose by the daily limit on the market yesterday, leading shares of memory-chip makers higher after Asia's biggest spot market for chips predicted prices would rise.
Powerchip, Taiwan's biggest maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, rose by 6.9 percent to close at NT$13.20, its largest gain since October 2004. Nanya Technology Co (南亞科技), the nation's second-largest memory-chip maker, and Elpida Memory Inc, the biggest in Japan, also advanced.
Benchmark 512-megabit DRAM prices rose 1.1 percent, Dramexchange Technology Inc (
"A probable price rebound has finally appeared," Dramexchange wrote in a report dated Tuesday.
"This comes in the wake of manufacturers adjusting their production plans based on the changing market conditions," it said.
Makers of the chips expanded capacity last year in anticipation of strong demand spurred by the introduction of Microsoft Corp's Windows Vista operating system, which requires more DRAM for computers to function.
Sales of Vista failed to meet expectations this year, analysts said.
"They were too optimistic on Vista," said Joyce Yang (楊雅欣), an analyst at Dramexchange in Taipei.
"DRAM makers knew there'd be oversupply, but no one dared cut supply for fear of losing market share," she said.
Nanya shares climbed 6.8 percent, its daily limit, to NT$18.85 in Taipei trading, beating the 0.3 percent advance for the benchmark TAIEX index.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
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GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
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