Nanya Technology , Powerchip Semiconductor , Winbond Electronics and Mosel Vitelic, Inc., agreed on Wednesday to file a joint petition with the Taiwan government, which should issue a preliminary ruling within two to three months, followed shortly after by a final decision.

If the memory makers win their case, it would likely have little impact on Hynix, which ships less than 10 percent of its products to Taiwan. Of greater consequence, would be penalties assessed in countries like China, Malaysia and Mexico, where computers are assembled.

The Taiwan action comes amid pending decisions in two other key markets for Hynix, which is accused of receiving government subsidies, by way of bailouts from state-owned banks, which have allowed it to survive in the cutthroat DRAM market despite massive debts. Hynix has denied the claims.

A Nanya executive said Thursday that the "chance is high" of the government ruling in favor of a tariff. "The government is under alot of pressure because of US and European rulings," said Charles Kau, a Nanya vice president. The "time is right" to file the complaint, he added, because Hynix is starting to channel more chips into Taiwan and other Asia Pacific markets as a result of those earlier rulings.

Kau said he could not yet place a monetary figure on the damages caused to Taiwan memory makers as a result of the alleged subsidies. He said the chipmakers will submit a report with that information by the end of this month.

By: Docmemory
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