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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique