Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) said yesterday it planned to sell an additional 12 percent, or 350 million shares, of PC memory chipmaker Rexchip Electronics Inc (瑞晶) to Elpida Memory Inc to repay debts to the Japanese firm.
Rexchip is a joint venture between Powerchip and Elpida. It makes dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips at a 12-inch plant in Taichung.
Powerchip would obtain NT$3.7 billion (US$112.4 million) from the sale, while its holding in Rexchip would fall to around 30.84 percent from 42.29 percent.
Powerchip’s losses widened to NT$18.02 billion in the first six months of the year as prices plunged amid an industrial slump that has lasted for more than two years.
This compares to a NT$17.02 billion loss in the same period last year, a financial statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday showed.
Revenues shrank 67 percent to NT$10.73 billion in the first half this year, from NT$32.66 billion a year ago, company statements showed.
The price of DRAM chips rebounded to US$1.55 yesterday after supply was constrained in recent months because of output cuts, researcher DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) said.
Over the past year, Powerchip’s net value weakened to NT$3.48 per share from NT$11.04 per share. Under a margin trading ban, Powerchip shares rose 2.94 percent to NT$3.5 yesterday in Taipei.
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