The Taiwanese government plans to invest a fund of
up to NT$30 billion (US$911.9 million; US$1=NT$32.9) in restructuring Taiwan's
DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) industry and to consolidate the existing DRAM
makers into one or two groups, Economic Daily News of Taiwan reported. According
to explanations by the Industrial Development Bureau under the MOEA (Ministry of
Economic Affairs), the fund will go to DRAM makers which fulfill the following four
requirements: access to foreign companies' intellectual property rights, advantages
in technology R&D, plans for cultivation of professional talents, and industry
consolidation through mergers and acquisitions.
As per the MOEA's DRAM industry restructuring scheme,
one of the two remaining groups will be TMC (Taiwan Memory Company), a new fables
semiconductor company founded by the Taiwanese government to help revitalize
Taiwan's DRAM industry. TMC has formed technology partnership with Japan's
Elpida Memory and has obtained access to Elpida's 50nm technology. It is also reported
that current forerunners for the other consolidated group consist of Nanya
Technology and Inotera Memories, both affiliated with Taiwan's Formosa Plastics
Group and partnered with US chip maker Micron Technology.
The MOEA said that DRAM makers intending to
participate in the DRAM industry restructuring scheme will have to submit
applications within three months, by October 21, 2009. All applications and proposals
will be reviewed by a dedicated committee consisting mainly of scholars, to be organized
by the government.