SIA gives qualified support to IMF bailout
Posted: 9:00 p.m. EST, 3/18/98
By George Leopold
WASHINGTON - The Semiconductor Industry Association's board of directors voted today to endorse full U.S. participation in the bail out of Asian economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the trade association wants the assistance to be contingent on structural reforms.
In endorsing the bailout plan, the SIA recommended that investment, production and exports be based on market forces rather than subsidies. It also called on Asian competitors to seek economic recovery through means other than exports alone, and wants chip industry financing administered commercially, rather than through governments.
SIA members are particularly worried about loans to Korean competitors, such as Samsung, which have rung up huge debts in recent years.
"To be effective in re-establishing the confidence of world markets, basic reforms - a number of which were an integral part of the IMF agreements - must be fully implemented and monitored," said W.J. Sanders III, chairman of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and the head of the SIA's board.
The SIA also recommended that a U.S. interagency monitoring group be formed to ensure that market reforms are implemented.
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