Japanese chipmaker Elpida and three Taiwanese chipmakers will sign an agreement, whereby they will form strategic alliance, in an attempt to revive their money-losing chip business, the Nikkei Business Daily reported. Three Taiwanese companies include Powerchip, ProMOS, and Rexchip.

Further details will be finalized by the end of February 2009, according to the same source. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on February 18, however, the merger is slated for completion within 2009.

Should the alliance be established, the new JV is set to begin operations by March 31, 2010, becoming the world's second largest chipmaker after Korean Samsung Electronics. This is expected to reshape the industry into four major players: Samsung Electronics, Elpida, Hynix, and America's Micron, according again to the Nikkei.