Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation’s second-largest computer memory chipmaker, expects tight supply of memory chips to extend into the second half of this year on slower-than-expected output growth, helping stabilize chip prices, a company executive said yesterday.
Slow delivery of advanced semiconductor equipment, especially from ASML, would be one of the major reasons behind the limited increase in the output of DRAM in the second half of the year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) said on the sidelines of a forum arranged by the Global Semiconductor Alliance in Taipei.
“To some extent, that will have a positive [impact on] the industry, as supply and demand could reach parity,” Huang said. “This will be the first time that overall output growth will be less than projections by most analysts.”
PC replacement demand following the launch of Microsoft Corp’s new Windows 7 operating system and Apple Inc’s iPAD could aggravate supply constraints in the second half, Huang said.
“We don’t want to see price overshoot, however, as that would hurt demand. We hope prices hold steady,” Huang said.
Powerchip has budgeted NT$10 billion (US$314 million) for new equipment this year from almost nothing last year, aiming to upgrade to the more cost-effective 45-nanometer technology to fulfill recovering demand.
Separately, Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest memory chipmaker, yesterday said it was not yet planning to raise capital spending for its memory chip business.
“It is still hard to say,” said Kwon Oh-hyun, president of the South Korean company’s semiconductor business division.
Samsung would wait for its second-quarter results and collect information from customers, Kwon said, downplaying recent speculation that the memory chip giant could further boost capital spending.
The South Korean chipmaker said earlier it planned to spend 5.5 trillion won (US$4.85 billion) on new equipment this year.
Samsung expects prices to remain “stable” in the second half of the year, buoyed by strong demand in the first six months.
“Prices are stable, in other words a very small decrease,” Kwon said. “In memory, stable means slow price erosion.”
Customers are “expecting a shortage” in the second quarter, Kwon said.
Customers use the second quarter, when prices usually fall, to build inventory for second-half demand, he said.
Samsung doesn’t expect an oversupply of chips in the second half of the year because new capacity at Taiwanese manufacturers will use the older DDR2 technology, whereas the South Korean company is supplying newer DDR3 chips to computer makers, Kwon said.
He called on Samsung’s competitors to invest rationally and said further investment in older technologies would hurt the market.
Simon Donge-je Woo, a memory analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said lower capital spending over the past two years would create a good pricing environment for the DRAM sector this year and even next year.
“We believe this upturn will last two years,” Woo told a media briefing following an annual investment conference arranged by the investment bank in Taipei.
First-tier companies, such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Elpida Memory Inc, Mircon Technology Inc and Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), would benefit from the growth momentum, Woo said.
The price of benchmark DRAM chips rose 1.19 percent to US$2.55 per unit yesterday, Taipei-based market researcher DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) reported.
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