Nanya Technology Corp. TAIEX: 3474), Taiwan's second-largest maker of computer memory chips, announced Monday that the company has decided to postpone its plan to construct a second 12-inch silicon wafer fab in Taipei County.

The company said the decision was mainly due to a sharp fall in the prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips on the world market. According to DRAM Exchange -- a global leading provider of market intelligence on major electronics components -- DRAM chip prices plummeted some 75 per cent in 2008.

Nanya Technology's plan would invest $100NT billion ($3US billion) to build the second 12-inch wafer plant. Although the Taipei county government issued a license in November for the construction project, the company has failed to proceed with the plan.

Taipei Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei, accompanied by senior county government officials, visited the company to express concern over its inaction, as the license remains valid for only three months.

Nanya Technology President Lien Jih-chiang and Vice President Lee Pei-ying told Chou in a briefing that the company's revenues had plunged from $75NT.1 billion in 2006 to $52NT.9 billion in 2007 and again to $36NT.3 billion in 2008 as a result of the global economic slowdown that has driven down world demand for DRAM chips.

Lien said the company will wait until the DRAM market recovers before considering whether to build the plant.

Nanya Technology, a member of the Formosa Plastics Group, is one of the global leaders in advanced memory semiconductors. According to DRAM Exchange, Nanya Technology and a number of other heavyweights, including PSC, Elpida, Promos and Inotera, have significantly slashed production in a desperate effort to drive up prices.

By: DocMemory
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