Shares of some local computer memory chipmakers with big exposure to the spot market, like Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), rose more than 2 percent as they benefited from supply constraints after a power outage disrupted production at Samsung Electronics’ local plant.
The manufacturing disruption on Wednesday pushed the spot price of mainstream DDR2 computer memory chips to a record high of US$3.15 per unit yesterday, market researcher DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) said.
The stock price of Powerchip and ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技) rallied 2.32 percent and 2.53 percent to NT$4.85 and NT$2.03, respectively, beating the benchmark TAIEX index, which gained only 0.49 percent.
Limited output of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips by global manufacturers is propelling the sector’s recovery and has ensured a sustainable chip price since the fourth quarter of last year, with prices jumping 30 percent quarter-on-quarter, as PC makers increase their inventory to cope with PC replacement demand in the second half of the year.
The disruption at Samsung’s Kiheung plant could exacerbate this shortage, as the firm would need a minimum of three to five days, or a maximum of seven to 10 days, to resume complete production, DRAMeXchange said in a report released earlier this week. In the worst-case scenario it could take as long as two weeks for total resumption, the researcher said.
The share price of the nation’s biggest DRAM maker, Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), fell 0.81 percent to NT$30.65 yesterday after the firm announced plans to issue up to 200 million shares to raise funds to purchase equipment and repay debts.
Nanya does not immediately benefit from worsening supply constraints as it sells most of its chips to PC makers at prices negotiated on a monthly basis, or every two weeks.
Contract prices for high-density DDR3 chips, which are set to replace DDR2 as the mainstream chip, are expected to increase next month as greater demand and persistent tight supply drive up spot prices to more than US$3 per unit, while contract chips only average US$2.5 per unit, DRAMeXchange said in a report on March 10.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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