DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said it plans to invest about NT$300 billion (US$10.66 billion) to build a 12-inch fab to produce 10-nanometer chips, as demand for memory chips for 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer electronics applications soars.
It is the chipmaker’s first major capacity expansion in four years. Nanya Technology last invested about NT$200 billion for its process technology migration from 30 nanometers to 20 nanometers and 10 nanometers.
“We have little room [for further expansion] at existing factories. Nanya Technology needs to continue investing on developing new process technologies and new products, and expand capacity to ensure sustainable growth,” Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference in New Taipei City.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
On the demand side, the DRAM market is expected to grow at an annual pace of 15 to 25 percent, fueled by a variety of applications from 5G, AI, automotive, industrial and Internet of Things devices, Lee said.
The world’s major DRAM suppliers are expanding capacity to match an anticipated growth in demand, he added.
Nanya Technology expects its output for this year to be flat or to increase slightly from last year, after an annual expansion of 35 percent last year.
The new 12-inch fab, to be built in New Taipei City’s Taishan District (泰山), would add 45,000 12-inch wafers to the firm’s monthly capacity of 70,000 equivalent-
wafers, helping it to capture new growth opportunities, Lee said.
The chipmaker expects the fab to start commercial shipments in 2024, with a monthly capacity of 15,000 wafers in the first phase.
With the introduction of more advanced technologies, the new fab would help Nanya Technology broaden its product portfolio and expand its customer base from about 800, Lee said.
The company plans to deploy 10-nanometer process technology, developed entirely by the chipmaker, he said.
Nanya Technology had joined forces with major DRAM chipmakers, including Micron Technology Inc, to develop new-generation process technologies.
The company aims to lift its server DRAM share to about 10 percent of its total revenue, from 5 percent, Lee said.
The chipmaker generates up to 70 percent of its revenue from supplying DRAM used in consumer electronics, such as set-top boxes and game consoles.
Nanya Technology said it has no fundraising plans for the near term, as it had accumulated NT$686.7 billion as of the end of last quarter.
The firm’s capacity expansion plan comes amid DRAM supply constraints. Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) yesterday raised its DRAM price forecast for the current quarter due to strong demand for PCs and servers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average selling price of DRAM is expected to rise 18 to 23 percent, up from a range of 13 to 18 percent estimated previously, TrendForce said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS