The legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday passed a resolution demanding the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) scrap a program to revitalize the DRAM industry.
The committee, which met to review the MOEA’s budget, said the National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan should not inject capital into domestic DRAM companies.
Lawmakers said the MOEA should stop the program lest it waste government resources, arguing that the need to inject funds had passed since memory prices rebounded from their low during the financial crisis.
RECOVERY
“The time for investing in the venture has passed,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) said by telephone yesterday. “We demand that the Ministry of Economic Affairs stop the project. The Cabinet should respect our decision.”
The committee’s resolution came after the MOEA on Tuesday said it would approve Taiwan Memory Co’s (TMC, 台灣創新記憶體公司) application for a capital injection of NT$4.9 billion (US$148.5 million).
RESPONSE
In response, the MOEA said yesterday it would ask the Executive Yuan for final decision.
“The DRAM revitalization plan was initially approved by the Executive Yuan itself,” Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) told reporters yesterday.
The ministry will consult the Cabinet next week, after Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang (施顏祥) has returned from APEC ministerial meetings in Singapore, he said.
TMC chairman John Hsuan (宣明智) told the Central News Agency last night that the company would not continue operating unless the National Development Fund injected capital into the firm.
The MOEA launched its DRAM program in July, giving domestic companies three months to submit proposals for financial aid.
The state-backed TMC was the first to submit a proposal. Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) and Kaohsiung-based Taiwan Creative Lab (台灣創造力實驗室) turned in last-minute applications last month.
POWERCHIP
Powerchip, the nation’s second-largest computer memory chipmaker, is hoping for NT$8 billion to establish a new flash memory company, Taiwan Flash Co (台灣快閃記憶體公司).
Powerchip said it respected the legislature but added that the company was applying for funding for a new sector — flash memory.
“We agree that the DRAM industry is on the path to recovery and doesn’t need assistance at this point,” Powerchip spokesman Eric Tang (譚仲民) said by telephone.
This is one reason Powerchip applied for funding for its flash memory plans, he said, adding that it was important to diversify. The flash memory business would also help better utilize the company’s DRAM production facilities, he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BLOOMBERG
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