DRAM chipmaker Rexchip Electronics Corp (瑞晶) yesterday said it was negotiating with a credit bank to repay NT$2.6 billion (US$89 million) in bank loans that will be due next month.
Rexchip is a joint venture between Tokyo-based Elpida Memory Inc and Taiwan’s Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶).
The Houli (后里), Greater Taichung-based company’s statement came after local, bigger rival Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) on Thursday announced a 23 percent layoff plan amid a prolonged industrial slump that has forced most local DRAM chipmakers, including Powerchip, to exit the market.
The NT$2.6 billion is the last part of the NT$39 billion bank loan owed to Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Rexchip said in a statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp.
“The company found it difficult to repay the debt as the worsening market situation recently made it [difficult] to digest inventory and to generate cash,” Rexchip spokesperson Stephen Chen (陳正坤) said.
Rexchip sought a rollover of the loan, or to arrange a new loan to pay back Hua Nan.
“Rexchip and its parent company will continue to seek all kinds of resources to repay the loan that is due in November,” Chen said.
The chipmaker said last month that its NT$8.02 billion debt will be due within a year and it expected its cash to increase to NT$813 million by the end of this month and NT$816 million next month, from NT$684 million last month.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday it would help local DRAM chipmakers to negotiate with their credititor banks to extend their debt.
The ministry is also assisting their unemployed people to get a job at local semiconductor companies after struggling DRAM companies streamlined their workforces in an effort to ride through this downturn.
The ministry said it has helped 200 engineers and 1,000 production line workers, who formerly worked at local DRAM companies, find new jobs.
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