Contracts between ProMos Technologies Inc (
In order to remain competitive in the new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips market, Infineon will have to increase its market share from 12 percent today up to 20 percent by 2004, and Taiwan will play a major role in this ramp up, said Johann Harter, executive vice president of Infineon Technologies, at an institutional investors conference hosted by ProMos Technologies.
Infineon has long worked with Taiwanese firms in the memory chip business. This year, the company signed new deals with Mosel Vitelic Inc (
Winbond will produce memory chips on behalf of Infineon in a straight deal for help with manufacturing technology, while the German chipmaker upped its equity stake in ProMos, a joint venture with Mosel Vitelic, from 38 percent to 48 percent and gain more production.
Becoming a partner with a Taiwanese company saves Infineon the cost of building new plants, analysts say. State of the art chip plants can cost up to US$3 billion.
Size matters in the DRAM market, where high-tech chips are mass-produced and sold on spot markets in the same manner as commodities such as oil and gold.
Prices often rise and fall quickly, and overproduction kills profits in down years, such as last year, when the world DRAM market shrank by nearly two-thirds to US$10.5 billion.
In order to recoup research and development investment, DRAM companies must produce and sell massive amounts of chips.
Infineon -- which will be the third largest producer of DRAM chips if US-based Micron Technologies completes its merger with Korean producer Hynix Semiconductor -- needs the Taiwanese companies to help it keep up in the DRAM market, analysts say.
The Hynix-Micron deal would give Micron the largest market share of the global DRAM market at around 34.5 percent. Samsung ranks second with a 27 percent market share, according to research firm Dataquest.
The Financial Times yesterday quoted Infineon CEO Ulrich Schumacher as saying that Infineon may lag in R&D if the Micron-Hynix deals goes through.
The paper also quoted him as saying he expects a preliminary agreement to cooperate with Nanya Technology Corp (
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS