ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the nation’s No. 3 computer memory chipmaker, yesterday said its board had approved a proposal to sell an old 12-inch fab for NT$8.5 billion (US$271 million) to Macronix International Co (旺宏電子).
ProMOS said proceeds from the sale would be used to support its migration to more advanced process technology, which is seen as crucial for the company to catch up with rivals in supplying new-generation DDR3 chips using more cost-efficient technology.
The announcement came amid widespread optimism that recovering PC demand would boost DRAM profits this year, following a three-year slump.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The deal would “aid ProMOS in ramping up production using Elpida Memory Inc’s technology in time,” ProMOS chairman Chen Min-liang (陳民良) told a media briefing.
The chipmaker plans to use proceeds from the sale to purchase new equipment to migrate from 65-nanometer process technology to 63-nanometer technology at an advanced 12-inch plant in Taichung.
The new Elpida technology will enable ProMOS to make new DDR3 chips cost-efficiently beginning in August and rapidly growing mobile DRAM in the middle of next year.
ProMOS currently only makes DDR2 chips, which is fast being replaced by DDR3 as the mainstream memory chips for PCs this year.
ProMOS said it would book NT$2.65 billion in profits after the transaction, raising the likelihood of swinging into the black this quarter. This year, it plans to spend as much as NT$6 billion on new equipment.
Macronix, which mainly produces flash chips, said the transaction would help it double output in time to help ease supply shortages on strong demand for consumer electronics chips used in products such as Nintendo Co’s Wii video game consoles.
Separately, Elpida is planning to double capital spending for this year to US$1 billion from the US$500 million originally planned for the fiscal year ending in March next year, company chief executive Yukio Sakamoto said yesterday in Taipei.
Last year, Elpida spent US$600 million on new equipment.
“This year will be a good year for the DRAM industry,” Sakamoto said, citing supply constraints. “PC demand is very strong.”
That was based on his estimate that global DRAM capacity would grow between 30 percent and 40 percent year-on-year, while demand would increase by more than 50 percent, Sakamoto said.
“I do not think prices [for DDR3] will decline,” Sakamoto said, adding that prices should remain at a healthy level of US$3 per unit.
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
RSS