The government is considering investing in foreign chipmakers such as Japan’s top computer memory chipmaker, Elpida Memory Inc, as part of a last-ditch effort to rescue the nation’s computer memory manufacturers.
The announcement came after Elpida said on Monday it might seek new funds from the Japanese government to shore up capital, confirming a report by local Chinese-language newspaper the Economic Daily News yesterday.
“We will not rule out any possibilities in assisting Taiwan’s dynamic random access memory [DRAM] chipmakers and will not cast aside the idea of investing in Elpida,” Chen Chao-yih (陳昭義), director-general of the Industrial Development Bureau, said by telephone.
Chen, who also serves on a special task force the government created in October to help the nation’s DRAM companies, declined to provide further information.
Like their global rivals, Taiwanese DRAM chipmakers including Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技) have been severely battered by a drawn-out industrial slump caused by oversupply and the global economic woes.
The government intends to help local DRAM players weather the most severe downturn in the DRAM industry’s history by helping them get bank loan extensions and by injecting government funds.
The government is considering buying foreign DRAM companies via the National Development Fund to finance local players and to acquire advanced technologies from their overseas partners, with the aim of boosting long-term competitiveness rather than just securing short-term financing, the Economic Daily News report said.
“It would be good for the government to invest in foreign memory chipmakers, as the deal may introduce advanced technologies to the nation’s DRAM companies, which will be crucial for local players to maintain long-term competitiveness,” said Kenneth Lee (李克揚), a chip industry analyst with Taipei-based Primasia Securities Co Ltd.
Elpida might be interested in getting a capital injection from the Taiwanese government in exchange for its advanced technologies, as the Japanese chipmaker has been forced to seek new outside capital to secure its long-term competitiveness, Lee said.
Although ProMOS has become an acquisition target, it may not be part of Elpida’s investment plan in light of its weakness in many areas, such as technological capability and financial structure, Lee said.
Powerchip and Nanya Technology are transferring technologies from their respective partners, Tokyo-based Elpida and US memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, in addition to operating the joint ventures Rexchip Electronics Inc (瑞晶電子) and MeiYa Technology Corp (亞美科技) with their partners.
ProMOS shares plunged 6.67 percent to NT$1.68 yesterday, while Powerchip dropped 3.3 percent to NT$3.52. Nanya stock rose 1.3 percent to NT$6.23.
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