The DRAM market conditions for 2017 will be brisk, according to Frank Huang, CEO for Taiwan-based Powerchip Technology.

Powerchip was once the largest Taiwan-based DRAM maker owning the most 12-inch fab capacity. The company has now utilized all of its 12-inch fab capacity to produce specialty DRAM chips, power management ICs, LCD driver ICs, CMOS image sensors, car-use ICs and others, on a contract basis.

The demand growth for DRAM chips is set to outpace the supply growth in 2017, Huang indicated.

Huang also commented that the Korea government will not agree to China's intention of licensing DRAM production technologies from Samsung and SK Hynix. As key technologies are still owned by three major DRAM firms, it is unlikely that new players from China will grow up fast to threaten the existing major players, Huang said.

Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan was quoted in a recent report saying the company finds less reason to partner with China's emerging DRAM firms by licensing its process technologies in exchange for part of the partners' output. DRAM prices have become more stable, while Micron's production base worldwide has expanded substantially, according to Durcan.

In addition, Huang noted that Powerchip has no plans to build DRAM production lines in China.

Nevertheless, Powerchip is investing in a new 12-inch wafer fab in Hefei, China. Powerchip in mid-2015 announced the company had reached an agreement with Hefei Construction Investment and Holding to jointly set up a wafer foundry in Hefei in the Chinese province of Anhui. The foundry will be a 12-inch fab running 0.15-micron, 0.11-micron and 90nm manufacturing processes initially for LCD driver ICs.

Huang said that construction of the JV fab is scheduled to complete in 2017 followed by volume production later in the year.

By: DocMemory
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