Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) shares rallied nearly 4 percent during early trading yesterday amid optimism that the nation’s biggest DRAM chipmaker would benefit from China’s latest ban on purchasing memory chips from Micron Technology Inc.
The restrictions are widely considered a result of an escalating technology dispute between the US and China.
Chinese firms might shift orders to non-US suppliers such as Nanya Technology and South Korean memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The Cyberspace Administration of China on Sunday night said that its review found that Micron’s memory chips pose serious network security risks to the country’s critical infrastructure supply chains, affecting China’s national security, the agency said in a statement on its Web site.
To safeguard its national security, Beijing said China’s major information and infrastructure operators should stop buying Micron products.
Chinese companies would be barred from using Micron’s memory chips in servers and data centers, it said.
“Based on our observation, about 10 percent of Micron’s revenue will be affected, if Micron lost all orders of DRAM and NAND memory chips for networking, servers and cloud devices, as well as all local government clients,” Taipei-based market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in an e-mail.
“Overall, the restrictions will not lead to any major changes in the landscape of the world’s memory chip industry. It will not alter the current supply-demand dynamics,” TrendForce said. “Production in China accounts for only a small portion of Micron’s total production. Chinese business also makes up a minor part.”
If Micron’s Chinese clients turn to non-US memory chip suppliers to make up for the shortfall, the cut for each supplier would be minimal, given the small pie, TrendForce said.
“We do not expect any drastic changes to happen to the memory chip industry,” it said.
Nanya Technology makes about 60 to 70 percent of its revenue from DRAM chips used in consumer electronics such as televisions, set-top boxes, network devices and vehicles.
Nanya Technology is relatively new to the server DRAM chip business, which only constituted 6 to 8 percent of its revenue last quarter.
Shares of Nanya Technology closed up 0.29 percent at NT$70.10 in Taipei trading yesterday, while shares of Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技), which provides memory chip testing and packaging services in China for Micron, dipped 1.15 percent to NT$94.90.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi 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. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in