Taiwan chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp said on Tuesday it will invest $1.85 billion to boost its share in the memory chip market, joining a flurry of rivals boosting capital expenditure to cash in strong global demand for semiconductors.

Samsung Electronics Co said last month that the memory chip boom that propelled it to record profit in the second quarter is likely to continue into the third, and announced it was investing at least $18.6 billion to extend its lead in the market.

China, led by state-owned group Tsinghua Unigroup, is also making a big investment in memory chips to reduce its reliance on foreign chipmakers.

As new applications such as cloud computing, autonomous driving and virtual reality emerge, chipmakers have recently benefited from a so-called semiconductor super-cycle.

Nanya Technology said it would invest T$55.7 billion ($1.85 billion) in building new headquarters, a fabrication plant and purchasing equipment, adding the plan would help its move to 20-nanometer process technology.

The investment will enable the memory chip supplier to increase its total production capacity to 68,000 wafers per month and boost its annual revenue by T$20 billion from as early as 2018.

The DRAM products to be rolled out from its 20-nm process line will specifically target demand in connected devices used in vehicles, homes, and offices, the company said.

Nanya, a laggard in DRAM market dominated by Samsung and South Korea's SK Hynix, also plans to start research and development on 10-nm technology, President Pei-Ing Lee told reporters at the company's opening ceremony at its new headquarters in New Taipei City. ($1 = 30.1680 Taiwan dollars)

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved