The China Post - 23/04/09
TOKYO -- Elpida Memory Inc., Japan's largest maker of computer-memory chips, said it plans to raise prices as much as 50 percent next month after industry-wide production cuts eased a glut that drove chipmakers to record losses. "The left-over inventory at personal-computer and module makers that was skewing the demand-supply balance is finally gone," President Yukio Sakamoto, 61, said in an interview yesterday at Elpida's head office in Tokyo. The company plans to charge customers about $1.50 per gigabit of memory starting next month for selling prices to cover production costs, he said.
Elpida jumped 15 percent and led Asian semiconductor stocks higher as price gains may help the industry recover from a glut that forced Germany's Qimonda AG to seek bankruptcy protection. Computer-memory-chip makers may remove excess supply this quarter after they slashed capital spending 58 percent last year, according to Barclays Capital.
"The production cut among chipmakers has helped reduce the inventory level," said Robert Chuang, who helps manage $700 million at HSBC Asset Management Ltd. in Taipei. "However chipmakers also face the challenge of whether computer makers will accept the price increases."
Elpida and other producers of the dynamic random access memory will probably cut capital expenditure 64 percent to $3.35 billion in 2009, Barclays Capital said April 16. DRAM makers lost a record $12.5 billion from 2007 until the end of 2008, according to Andrew Norwood, an analyst in London at Gartner Inc., an industry researcher.
Shares Rise
Elpida climbed to a six-month closing high of 1,250 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after Sakamoto said he plans to raise prices and the Nikkei Newspaper reported the company may obtain government funds.
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of DRAM chips, gained 3.1 percent in Seoul and Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the second biggest, advanced 15 percent. Taiwan's five publicly traded makers of DRAM chips, which temporarily hold data to help computers run multiple programs simultaneously, rose in Taipei.
Semiconductor makers have boosted prices of the 1-gigabit model by 16 percent to 94 cents from record lows in December, according to Taipei-based Dramexchange Technology Inc., which tracks computer-memory contract prices twice a month. That has helped shares of Elpida and Hynix more than double this year.
'A Bit Skeptical'
Robyn Hsu, a fund manager at Capital Investment Trust Corp. in Taipei, isn't convinced Elpida will succeed. In March 2008, Sakamoto said the company planned to raise prices 20 percent the following month. The chipmaker then said on April 25 that customers had accepted an increase of about 10 percent.
"I am a bit skeptical since Elpida has a record of failing to raise prices in the past," said Hsu, who helps manage $3 billion in funds. "It would be great if it can raise prices by that much."
Sakamoto's planned price increase is "probably overly enthusiastic," Credit Suisse Group AG said in report today.
Nanya Technology Corp., Taiwan's second-largest DRAM maker, said last week it was in talks with customers including Hewlett- Packard Co. and Dell Inc. to raise prices by about 10 percent in the second half of this month, its second such increase in April. Samsung and Hynix declined to comment today on their DRAM rates.
Prices may need to rise above $2 for Taiwanese DRAM makers to break even because they lag behind Elpida, Samsung, Hynix and Micron Technology Inc. in manufacturing technology, according to Barclays. Prices may climb above $1.50 during the second half of the year, according to Barclays.
Quinta-feira, 23 de Abril de 2009
Segunda-feira, 20 de Abril de 2009
Taiwan Faces Scrutiny Over Its D-RAM Developer
Financial Times - 16/04/09
The Taiwan government is facing increasing scrutiny over Taiwan Memory, the company it established to reform the island’s struggling dynamic random-access memory chip industry.
Legislators on the economics committee passed a motion on Wednesday calling on the government to give regular reports on the company.
Pan Meng-an, the opposition party member who tabled the motion, said Taiwan Memory’s structure was already vastly different from what legislators and the industry had expected. “When Taiwan Memory was established, we had thought it would speed up industry consolidation and help Taiwan compete against South Korea, but that spark of hope turned into just a flash in the pan.”
Taiwan Memory was established last month in response to the D-Ram industry’s biggest ever crisis. A supply glut combined with the global economic crisis last year saw prices plunge sharply for the chip, which is mainly used in PCs to temporarily store memory.
Germany’s Qimonda, the only major European D-Ram maker, filed for bankruptcy this year and most other D-Ram producers are struggling with debt repayments amid mounting losses.
John Hsuan, Taiwan Memory’s chairman, has said that, rather than bailing out Taiwan’s D-Ram makers, he would pursue research and development opportunities that would create new markets for Taiwan chipmakers, which have long lacked their own technology. To achieve this, Taiwan Memory will go into partnership with Japan’s Elpida, the world’s third biggest D-Ram maker.
The two companies are expected to jointly apply for funding from the Taiwan government by the end of the month, Duh Tyzz-jian, director-general of Taiwan’s Industrial Development Bureau, said this week.
The Japanese government cleared Elpida’s co-operation with Taiwan Memory on Wednesday, but officials denied reports that Tokyo was considering injecting public funds into Elpida.
Mr Hsuan’s hopes of working with Micron as well as Elpida were dealt a blow last week when the US company announced it would not join Taiwan Memory. Micron will instead become a direct competitor with Taiwan Memory as it speeds up co-operation in research and development efforts with Nanya, its Taiwanese partner.
Nanya has also asked for “the same support from the [Taiwan] government” that Taiwan Memory will receive.
Taiwan Memory is fully government owned, but Yiin Chii-ming, Taiwan’s economic minister, has pledged to seek out private investors to take a more than 50 per cent stake in the company. The government would not be legally required to give reports on the company if it were privatised.
The Taiwan government is facing increasing scrutiny over Taiwan Memory, the company it established to reform the island’s struggling dynamic random-access memory chip industry.
Legislators on the economics committee passed a motion on Wednesday calling on the government to give regular reports on the company.
Pan Meng-an, the opposition party member who tabled the motion, said Taiwan Memory’s structure was already vastly different from what legislators and the industry had expected. “When Taiwan Memory was established, we had thought it would speed up industry consolidation and help Taiwan compete against South Korea, but that spark of hope turned into just a flash in the pan.”
Taiwan Memory was established last month in response to the D-Ram industry’s biggest ever crisis. A supply glut combined with the global economic crisis last year saw prices plunge sharply for the chip, which is mainly used in PCs to temporarily store memory.
Germany’s Qimonda, the only major European D-Ram maker, filed for bankruptcy this year and most other D-Ram producers are struggling with debt repayments amid mounting losses.
John Hsuan, Taiwan Memory’s chairman, has said that, rather than bailing out Taiwan’s D-Ram makers, he would pursue research and development opportunities that would create new markets for Taiwan chipmakers, which have long lacked their own technology. To achieve this, Taiwan Memory will go into partnership with Japan’s Elpida, the world’s third biggest D-Ram maker.
The two companies are expected to jointly apply for funding from the Taiwan government by the end of the month, Duh Tyzz-jian, director-general of Taiwan’s Industrial Development Bureau, said this week.
The Japanese government cleared Elpida’s co-operation with Taiwan Memory on Wednesday, but officials denied reports that Tokyo was considering injecting public funds into Elpida.
Mr Hsuan’s hopes of working with Micron as well as Elpida were dealt a blow last week when the US company announced it would not join Taiwan Memory. Micron will instead become a direct competitor with Taiwan Memory as it speeds up co-operation in research and development efforts with Nanya, its Taiwanese partner.
Nanya has also asked for “the same support from the [Taiwan] government” that Taiwan Memory will receive.
Taiwan Memory is fully government owned, but Yiin Chii-ming, Taiwan’s economic minister, has pledged to seek out private investors to take a more than 50 per cent stake in the company. The government would not be legally required to give reports on the company if it were privatised.
Nanya Plans To Rise Memory Chip Prices In April Again
The China Post - 17/04/09
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Nanya Technology Corp., Taiwan's second-biggest maker of computer-memory chips, plans to raise prices for the second time this month as industrywide production cuts helped ease a glut of the semiconductors. The chipmaker's in talks with customers including Hewlett- Packard Co. and Dell Inc. to increase prices by about 10 percent in the second half of this month after Nanya raised prices by a similar percentage in early April, Pai Pei-lin, vice president at the Taoyuan-based company, said yesterday.
Nanya and larger rival Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. surged by their daily limits in Taipei trading today as spot prices of the chip climbed to a two-month high. The global recession exacerbated a supply glut that forced semiconductor companies to cut output from the second half of last year.
“We have seen the effects of production cuts,” Pai said. “If this continues, we predict a clear up at the end of the second quarter and a shortage in the third quarter.”
Makers of computer-memory chips, which temporarily hold data and help computer processors run multiple programs simultaneously, lost a combined US$12.5 billion in 2007 and 2008, the most ever, according to Gartner Inc. analyst Andrew Norwood in London.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Nanya Technology Corp., Taiwan's second-biggest maker of computer-memory chips, plans to raise prices for the second time this month as industrywide production cuts helped ease a glut of the semiconductors. The chipmaker's in talks with customers including Hewlett- Packard Co. and Dell Inc. to increase prices by about 10 percent in the second half of this month after Nanya raised prices by a similar percentage in early April, Pai Pei-lin, vice president at the Taoyuan-based company, said yesterday.
Nanya and larger rival Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. surged by their daily limits in Taipei trading today as spot prices of the chip climbed to a two-month high. The global recession exacerbated a supply glut that forced semiconductor companies to cut output from the second half of last year.
“We have seen the effects of production cuts,” Pai said. “If this continues, we predict a clear up at the end of the second quarter and a shortage in the third quarter.”
Makers of computer-memory chips, which temporarily hold data and help computer processors run multiple programs simultaneously, lost a combined US$12.5 billion in 2007 and 2008, the most ever, according to Gartner Inc. analyst Andrew Norwood in London.
Asustek To Introduce Laptops With Intel Processors By June
The China Post - 20/04/09
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Asustek Computer Inc. will introduce a range of laptop computers that use Intel Corp.'s ultra low voltage processors before the end of June, said Nick Wu, an investor relations officer at the Taiwanese company. The Taipei-based company will release several models of the new laptop, with screen sizes of between 13 inches and 15 inches and a battery life that is “relatively higher than normal laptops,” Wu said yesterday. The price of the new laptop will be “similar or slightly higher” than Acer's low-power Timeline notebook, said Wu. Asustek, which introduced low-cost laptops in 2007, reported its first quarterly loss in February after the global recession reduced demand and foreign-exchange declines eroded earnings. The company's shares rose 4.7 percent to close at NT$45 in Taipei trading today. The stock has gained 22 percent this year, compared with a 31 percent gain in the TAIEX index.
Acer's US$799 Timeline has an eight-hour battery life, aluminum casing, and is 24 millimeters (0.94 inches) thick.
Chairman J.T. Wang said earlier this week Acer Inc. may overtake Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest notebook computer maker in less than two years, led by sales of low-cost “netbooks” and slim laptops.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Asustek Computer Inc. will introduce a range of laptop computers that use Intel Corp.'s ultra low voltage processors before the end of June, said Nick Wu, an investor relations officer at the Taiwanese company. The Taipei-based company will release several models of the new laptop, with screen sizes of between 13 inches and 15 inches and a battery life that is “relatively higher than normal laptops,” Wu said yesterday. The price of the new laptop will be “similar or slightly higher” than Acer's low-power Timeline notebook, said Wu. Asustek, which introduced low-cost laptops in 2007, reported its first quarterly loss in February after the global recession reduced demand and foreign-exchange declines eroded earnings. The company's shares rose 4.7 percent to close at NT$45 in Taipei trading today. The stock has gained 22 percent this year, compared with a 31 percent gain in the TAIEX index.
Acer's US$799 Timeline has an eight-hour battery life, aluminum casing, and is 24 millimeters (0.94 inches) thick.
Chairman J.T. Wang said earlier this week Acer Inc. may overtake Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world's largest notebook computer maker in less than two years, led by sales of low-cost “netbooks” and slim laptops.
Sexta-feira, 10 de Abril de 2009
Acer Sees Rise In Shipments
The Wall Street Journal - 09/04/09
BEIJING -- Acer Inc. said it expects shipments of its personal computers to rise 25% to 30% in the second quarter from a year earlier, boosted by demand for low-cost laptops.
The Taiwan company's chairman, J.T. Wang, also said Wednesday he is confident Acer can maintain an operating profit this year despite the weak global PC market.
Achieving an operating profit this year will be "a challenging target, but we think we can achieve that by introducing" new products, said Mr. Wang, whose company is the world's third-largest PC company by unit shipments.
Acer's operating profit in 2008 rose 38% to 14.07 billion New Taiwan dollars, or about US$415 million at current exchange rates.
Mr. Wang was speaking at an event in Beijing to launch new products for Acer, including an ultra-thin laptop using a low voltage Intel Corp. processor that enables eight hours of battery life. Mr. Wang said Acer hopes the product will "mean a lot to consumers world-wide," even as demand for PCs has decelerated in recent months.
Mr. Wang said he expects Acer's shipments of desktop PCs to fall 5% to 10% in the three months ending June 30 from the same period a year ago. But he said shipments of notebook PCs, including small, low-cost "netbooks," will likely rise 35% to 40% over the same period.
The Acer chairman said netbooks, which have become increasingly popular in the last year, will account for more than half of all global notebook PC sales in two years. The company leads the global netbook market with a 32% share of units shipped as of the fourth quarter of 2008.
At a separate event in New York Tuesday, Chief Executive Gianfranco Lanci said Acer plans to partner with a wireless service provider in the U.S. to offer netbooks to consumers, as it moves to expand its share of the North American market. Mr. Lanci told reporters to expect an announcement soon, though he declined to offer any details on what wireless providers Acer may be partnering with.
BEIJING -- Acer Inc. said it expects shipments of its personal computers to rise 25% to 30% in the second quarter from a year earlier, boosted by demand for low-cost laptops.
The Taiwan company's chairman, J.T. Wang, also said Wednesday he is confident Acer can maintain an operating profit this year despite the weak global PC market.
Achieving an operating profit this year will be "a challenging target, but we think we can achieve that by introducing" new products, said Mr. Wang, whose company is the world's third-largest PC company by unit shipments.
Acer's operating profit in 2008 rose 38% to 14.07 billion New Taiwan dollars, or about US$415 million at current exchange rates.
Mr. Wang was speaking at an event in Beijing to launch new products for Acer, including an ultra-thin laptop using a low voltage Intel Corp. processor that enables eight hours of battery life. Mr. Wang said Acer hopes the product will "mean a lot to consumers world-wide," even as demand for PCs has decelerated in recent months.
Mr. Wang said he expects Acer's shipments of desktop PCs to fall 5% to 10% in the three months ending June 30 from the same period a year ago. But he said shipments of notebook PCs, including small, low-cost "netbooks," will likely rise 35% to 40% over the same period.
The Acer chairman said netbooks, which have become increasingly popular in the last year, will account for more than half of all global notebook PC sales in two years. The company leads the global netbook market with a 32% share of units shipped as of the fourth quarter of 2008.
At a separate event in New York Tuesday, Chief Executive Gianfranco Lanci said Acer plans to partner with a wireless service provider in the U.S. to offer netbooks to consumers, as it moves to expand its share of the North American market. Mr. Lanci told reporters to expect an announcement soon, though he declined to offer any details on what wireless providers Acer may be partnering with.
TFT-LCD Panel Global Uptake Expected To Rise In Second Half
The China Post - 10/04/09
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The global uptake of thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels is expected to regain near full capacity in the second half of this year owing to increasing demand, a display market research and consulting firm forecast yesterday. With uptake having dropped to around 70 percent since the start of the global economic downturn in the final quarter of 2008, it is likely that it will rise to 80 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and further to 90 percent in the second half of the year, said David Hsieh, vice president of the Greater China Market at DisplaySearch, during the 2009 Taiwan FPD International Conference in Taipei.
DisplaySearch statistics show that global shipments of large-area TFT-LCD panels totaled 29.5 million units in February, up 23 percent from the previous month, with revenue rising 14 percent month-on-month to reach US$2.96 billion.
Both figures represent the first positive monthly growth since September 2008, due mainly to increasing rush orders and inventory refills from clients, according to DisplaySearch.
The growth could be an indication that the TFT LCD industry is at, or near, the bottom of a cycle, the company said.
Taiwan, which shipped 44 percent of the world's large area panels in 2008, plans to increase shipments by 12 percent in 2009, DisplaySearch data shows.
Hsieh predicted that China will become an important market for Taiwan's TFT LCD panel sector this year, thanks to that country's latest economic stimulus measures to encourage home appliance purchases by rural consumers.
The phase-out of traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets — which presently number 150 million units worldwide — also bodes well for a promising market for the TFT-LCD sector in the coming years, Hsieh said.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The global uptake of thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels is expected to regain near full capacity in the second half of this year owing to increasing demand, a display market research and consulting firm forecast yesterday. With uptake having dropped to around 70 percent since the start of the global economic downturn in the final quarter of 2008, it is likely that it will rise to 80 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and further to 90 percent in the second half of the year, said David Hsieh, vice president of the Greater China Market at DisplaySearch, during the 2009 Taiwan FPD International Conference in Taipei.
DisplaySearch statistics show that global shipments of large-area TFT-LCD panels totaled 29.5 million units in February, up 23 percent from the previous month, with revenue rising 14 percent month-on-month to reach US$2.96 billion.
Both figures represent the first positive monthly growth since September 2008, due mainly to increasing rush orders and inventory refills from clients, according to DisplaySearch.
The growth could be an indication that the TFT LCD industry is at, or near, the bottom of a cycle, the company said.
Taiwan, which shipped 44 percent of the world's large area panels in 2008, plans to increase shipments by 12 percent in 2009, DisplaySearch data shows.
Hsieh predicted that China will become an important market for Taiwan's TFT LCD panel sector this year, thanks to that country's latest economic stimulus measures to encourage home appliance purchases by rural consumers.
The phase-out of traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets — which presently number 150 million units worldwide — also bodes well for a promising market for the TFT-LCD sector in the coming years, Hsieh said.
Quinta-feira, 9 de Abril de 2009
Micron Technology Rejects Partnership With Taiwan Memory
The China Post - 10/04/09
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Micron Technology Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of computer-memory chips, rejected a partnership with state-led Taiwan Memory Corp., weakening the government's attempt to reorganize an industry that's posted two years of losses. The Boise, Idaho-based company will continue to work with Nanya Technology Corp., its local partner in Taiwan, Wu Chia- chau, chairman of Taoyuan-based Nanya, said at a press conference yesterday in Taipei. Wu said he was speaking on behalf of Micron.
Micron's decision undermines government prospects to use Taiwan Memory as a vehicle to revamp the US$23.6 billion global market for the chips. Concern about technology “leaking” to Elpida Memory Inc., the only partner of Taiwan Memory, was one of the major issues for Micron, executive Mike Sadler said April 5.
“Taiwan Memory has no structure, no money, it consists of nothing,” said Liway Chen, who rates the computer-memory chip industry “equalweight” at Polaris Securities Co. in Taipei. “If Elpida is left as the only one to join, then the prospects for TMC's success are not very high.”
Micron will continue to license technology to Nanya and their venture, Inotera Memories Inc., and will build closer ties with the two Taiwanese chipmakers by expanding cooperation to special memory chips, Wu said.
Micron, Nanya and Inotera have a deep partnership, while Taiwan Memory has only just started, Wu said, declining to elaborate.
Nanya Plastics Group, the largest investor in Nanya, will continue to inject cash into Inotera and Nanya, Wu said. Nanya Technology plans to raise money selling new shares, he said, refusing to say how many shares the company plans to issue.
“Nanya and Inotera fit the government's goal to develop in-house technologies, so we request the government to give us equal support,” Wu said. Micron is also in talks with the government, outside of the Taiwan Memory framework, to secure financial assistance to upgrade Inotera's factories, Sadler said April 5.
Taiwan in March named John Hsuan, honorary vice chairman at United Microelectronics Corp., to oversee the formation of Taiwan Memory. Economic Affairs Minister Yiin Chii ming said last month the company will focus on obtaining technologies from foreign chipmakers and will look for existing plants in Taiwan for manufacturing needs.
“John Hsuan respects Micron, Inotera and Nanya's decision, Taiwan Memory said in a statement.
Micron's rejection of the plan puts Tokyo-based Elpida in a leading position to secure funding from the Taiwan government, which has said it will provide up to NT$30 billion (US$888 million) to Taiwan Memory.
Elpida, Japan's biggest computer memory chipmaker, will develop dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, with Taiwan Memory and will jointly own intellectual property rights to new technologies, Hsuan said on April 1. The new business may also work with Micron, which needs permission from Micron's Taiwanese partners, Hsuan said at the time.
Elpida shares jumped 7.9 percent to close at 820 yen in Tokyo trading, compared with a 3.7 percent gain by the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index. Nanya Technology climbed 5.8 percent to NT$8.26, while the benchmark TAIEX index rose 4.1 percent. Both markets closed before the press conference.
Taiwan has invested about NT$900 billion in the DRAM industry, including about NT$300 billion in bank loans, creating about 223,000 jobs on the island, Hsuan said last month.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Micron Technology Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of computer-memory chips, rejected a partnership with state-led Taiwan Memory Corp., weakening the government's attempt to reorganize an industry that's posted two years of losses. The Boise, Idaho-based company will continue to work with Nanya Technology Corp., its local partner in Taiwan, Wu Chia- chau, chairman of Taoyuan-based Nanya, said at a press conference yesterday in Taipei. Wu said he was speaking on behalf of Micron.
Micron's decision undermines government prospects to use Taiwan Memory as a vehicle to revamp the US$23.6 billion global market for the chips. Concern about technology “leaking” to Elpida Memory Inc., the only partner of Taiwan Memory, was one of the major issues for Micron, executive Mike Sadler said April 5.
“Taiwan Memory has no structure, no money, it consists of nothing,” said Liway Chen, who rates the computer-memory chip industry “equalweight” at Polaris Securities Co. in Taipei. “If Elpida is left as the only one to join, then the prospects for TMC's success are not very high.”
Micron will continue to license technology to Nanya and their venture, Inotera Memories Inc., and will build closer ties with the two Taiwanese chipmakers by expanding cooperation to special memory chips, Wu said.
Micron, Nanya and Inotera have a deep partnership, while Taiwan Memory has only just started, Wu said, declining to elaborate.
Nanya Plastics Group, the largest investor in Nanya, will continue to inject cash into Inotera and Nanya, Wu said. Nanya Technology plans to raise money selling new shares, he said, refusing to say how many shares the company plans to issue.
“Nanya and Inotera fit the government's goal to develop in-house technologies, so we request the government to give us equal support,” Wu said. Micron is also in talks with the government, outside of the Taiwan Memory framework, to secure financial assistance to upgrade Inotera's factories, Sadler said April 5.
Taiwan in March named John Hsuan, honorary vice chairman at United Microelectronics Corp., to oversee the formation of Taiwan Memory. Economic Affairs Minister Yiin Chii ming said last month the company will focus on obtaining technologies from foreign chipmakers and will look for existing plants in Taiwan for manufacturing needs.
“John Hsuan respects Micron, Inotera and Nanya's decision, Taiwan Memory said in a statement.
Micron's rejection of the plan puts Tokyo-based Elpida in a leading position to secure funding from the Taiwan government, which has said it will provide up to NT$30 billion (US$888 million) to Taiwan Memory.
Elpida, Japan's biggest computer memory chipmaker, will develop dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, with Taiwan Memory and will jointly own intellectual property rights to new technologies, Hsuan said on April 1. The new business may also work with Micron, which needs permission from Micron's Taiwanese partners, Hsuan said at the time.
Elpida shares jumped 7.9 percent to close at 820 yen in Tokyo trading, compared with a 3.7 percent gain by the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index. Nanya Technology climbed 5.8 percent to NT$8.26, while the benchmark TAIEX index rose 4.1 percent. Both markets closed before the press conference.
Taiwan has invested about NT$900 billion in the DRAM industry, including about NT$300 billion in bank loans, creating about 223,000 jobs on the island, Hsuan said last month.
Assinar:
Postagens (Atom)
